In order for the flower bed to look appealing and harmonious, careful planning and plant selection is required before the actual planting. With our tips and design ideas, you will be able to set a magnificently blooming flower bed as an eye-catcher in the garden in no time at all.
Playfully colorful or pure and monochromatic - there are no limits to the imagination when designing flower beds
Design after flowering
One of the most important criteria when choosing plants for a visually beautiful flower bed is the flowering time. So that you can enjoy lush flowers all year round, you should plant perennials and shrubs with different flowering times. Naturally, the selection is greatest in summer, but there are still flowering plants for autumn and even for winter. These provide a welcome dash of color in the dreary season. This composition is supplemented by evergreen and ornamental leaf plants, which also make the bed look attractive outside of the regular flowering times.
| heyday | Appropriate species |
|---|---|
| spring | Snowdrops, tulips, daffodils, ranunculus, hyacinth, squill, crocus |
| summer | Cranesbill, roses, hollyhocks, bluebells, coneflowers, dahlias, delphiniums, gladioli, many annuals |
| fall | Chrysanthemums, fat hen (stonecrop), autumn crocus, autumn aster |
| winter | Christmas rose, witch hazel, winter agaric, winter jasmine, snowball |
Design according to colors and shapes
You also have different design ideas with regard to colors and shapes: flowerbeds can be planted in one colour, for example beds with pure white, pink or blue flowers look exciting as long as you combine plants of different heights and widths with each other. In such a bed, the different plant types create the necessary variety. If single-colored beds are too boring for you, combine two or three colors that harmonize with each other (e.g. red and white, red and yellow, blue and yellow, blue and white…) or plant a different-colored, tall perennial in the middle of a single-colored bed. On the other hand, colorful beds with flowers in different colors look cheerful and never boring. However, always make sure to combine different growth heights and widths with each other: high-growing species always belong in the background of the bed and slender, upward-growing flowers should always be flanked by broad, bushy ones.
Garden style design
Maybe you are looking for a certain style that harmonises with the rest of the garden or that best suits your personal taste.
Natural flower bed
If you want to do something good for insects, you can plant a so-called butterfly border. The small moths and other insects such as bees and bumblebees love blue cushions, lavender, heather asters, spurflowers, phlox, candytuft and stonecrop. A white or purple flowering lilac makes a wonderful focal point in a larger flower bed. In an insect-friendly bed, be careful not to plant semi-double or double flower varieties, as the extra petals often present an insurmountable obstacle for insects.
Romantic flower bed
In a romantic flower bed, color and fragrance are the most important characteristics of the selected plants. The colors should be gentle and soft: pale pink, brown-yellow and white are typically romantic colors. Roses such as the historic Bourbon and Portland varieties are indispensable in such a bed. Also typical romantic flowers are pansy, ladder to heaven, globe flower, lady's mantle, meadowsweet, clematis, damsel in the green, forget-me-nots and commemorative flowers. In addition to pastel colors, dark purple and red tones also look gorgeous in the romantic flower bed.
tips
A flower bed does not necessarily have to consist of perennials and shrubs planted in a specific area. You can also create a pot garden instead, for example on the balcony or terrace. Exotic, non-hardy species also find a place here.