Last Updated on January 25, 2023 by the Dobies Horticultural TeamWith so much choice when it comes to perennial border plants, choosing the perfect products for your garden can be difficult. If you’ve yet to try splitting your birders into three sections (front, middle and back), it’s an effective and fun way to make choosing your perennials easy. Once you start thinking about your plants by section, it’s just a question of choosing the right sizes and the colours to fit your scheme.
The back
Let’s start with the back of the border. This space is great for the larger plants in your collection, and they’re often quite architectural, tall and elegant. We’d suggest that you opt for plants that will stand up tall to make sure they’re visible behind the plants in front. Have a think about the width of the border and how tall you’d like your borders to go, and then it’s time to pick your perennials. Alceas, Delphiniums, Lupins and Verbena Bonariensis work well and you’ll find choices available in different colours, so it’s great fun choosing your favourites.
The middle
This section of your border is perfect for those perennials that are happy to be close to others. It’s a good idea to go for choices that are about medium in height, typically to around 70cm or 28” and ideally flower for a long period of time. Our Must Have range includes a wide variety of choices for this section – including the gorgeous Aquilegia and the Coreopsis, Gaillardia, Sweet Williams and Penstemons. These are great for adding colour over many many months. And it’s worth noting that many of the perennials in this section work well in containers too!
The front
The front of the border is probably the simplest section to plant, and it’s the more accessible section too! For this section, look for smaller, more compact perennial plants that may spill over the edges of a border onto a path, up to a lawn’s edge, or even in the front of a container. Bear in mind that these ones still need to earn their space with plenty of colour and interest – but just on a smaller scale. For this section, plants such as the Scabiosa, Salvia New Dimensions, Silene and for something a little different, in between paving, in gravel or a rockery or even on a green roof on a shed or guinea pig hutch the Sedum Little Urchins. A lovely mix of different sedums providing a mix of colours and foliage.
Browse our full range of perennial border plants here.