"border" plant

hi all,
i know this is a TOTAL BEGINNER question, but what does the term "border plant" mean? I see this all of the time, such-and-such would make a good border plant...what exactly is the plant bordering? the house?

please don't laugh at me...
:)

-abl

A border plant is something that stays short. It usually is placed on the border(along the edge) of a garden bed.

abl, There is no such thing as a total newbe question. Everyone here has been there once.
Border plants are the smaller shorter plants you'd plant around the edge of a flower bed or garden. usually but not necessarily the same plants all the way around the bed.
I have a bed of daylillies with 30" high to 36" high lillies inside the bed and on the edge of the bed i plant abt 12" high daylilies making a border and i can see the taller daylillies in the middle.

Sorry three gardeners, Think we posted at the same time.

s'ok

Hey abl - I'm a 'newbie' too! This will be my second year...so it's a whole new experience watching the stuff I planted last year poking their little heads out of the ground saying "is it spring yet?". Luckily my husband is an experienced gardener. Border plants go around something like a garden or a path or walkway. DH has mondo grass bordering our flagstone walkway and a dock area. And "monkey grass" or "lariope" is used often. If you hear of some unusual "border" plants, let me know. DH has heard of society garlic, and I think I recently read about geraniums used as a border. Hope that helps! - Mary, Baton Rouge, LA 8B

abl

I am a very new trying to be gardener myself! This will be my second season, if spring ever arrives here...

Last year, after planting several things that I thought were pretty, I was amazed when plants began to come up, in all shapes and forms. I was even more amazed that I had short plants in the back and tall flowers in the front!

That's pretty much how I learned that border plants are supposed to go in the front. Of course, after I figured all this out, I just tapped my blonde forehead and said Duh to myself...:)

Happy Gardening!

Lisa

thanks to everyone who answered!
i have learned so much from DG...
you can read it in a book, but real world experience is always the best advice!

happy spring!
-abl

Hi All
Want to add something to the topic. Have been confused about the various uses of the term 'border',in gardening, for years. There's no doubt that it is used in a number of different ways. What I know, I tend to know about perennial gardening (only one type of gardening). But I think the "border" in a "perennial border" refers to a border around something, e.g. a house or a pond. Quite confusingly, it really does not have to be around anything. So a "grass border" is a flowerbed set in grass, i.e. surrounded by lawn. This would make "border" another word for "flowerbed". I appreciate why many gardeners don't use the word "border" in this way.
The point, as a perennial gardener, that I'm trying to get to, is that a perennial border contains plants of different heights. The plants are placed close together, typically with shorter plants at the front and a gradation in the heights of the other plants, with the tallest at the back of the bed. They're all border perennials.
The usage as defined by the gardeners,above, is just as correct as this one. In fact, their usage is probably more generally accepted. Sorry new gardeners. Things are seldom simple in gardening!




This message was edited Feb 27, 2009 11:37 PM

hi again everyone,
i've had a moment to think about the answers and to ponder why i have always been confused by this term...i just read one of my seed packets and realized WHY i am confused...

i have a pack of Cosmos seeds...from the seed packet description (and we all know) that Cosmos can reach a height of 36in...3 feet is pretty tall for a "border", no? but it says "good for cutting and borders"...

when i picture a row of "border" plants as you all described above, i see a shorter plant in the front row...maybe no higher than a foot or two tops...or even a short mound or ground cover type...am i incorrect?

are Cosmos really considered a border plant to go in front row? i guess i don't have anything in my garden that is so tall that could fit BEHIND the Cosmos and still show...in other words, over 3 feet tall...

HELP! why is this so confusing to me?

I think it goes back to the different uses of the word border as SunnyBorders just pointed out. When they talk about Cosmos being good border plants, they don't necessarily mean that it would go in the front row, but that it could be used in a border/bed that has plants of varying heights. In this sense though, most perennials and annuals could be considered good border plants so it's a pretty useless description. So to save yourself confusion, I'd focus on what height things are and then use your own common sense and judgement about whether you think they'd be a good plant for the front edge of a border or whether they'd have to go farther back.

Bravo ecrane3, as with most gardening it's all in what makes you happy. Technically there is no "right" border plant. It depends on where you want to grow it and what you have in your yard. Look at height and plant how you would like to have it & see if they (the plants) co-operate.

I once planted dutch iris bulbs and thought it would be cute to have muscari coming up between them. Well I thought I'd planted the iris bulbs far enough apart for that BUT when they grew you couldn't see the muscari at all. I decided it was one of those hidden garden discoveries they always talk about. Put surprises in your garden? Ya. At least it made weeding that area more enjoyable.

oh i def. do what makes me happy...i just like to understand the terminology...i now understand it's one of those things that depends on the gardener...

thanks all...

And now I'm going to look up cosmos. :) Have a few spots for annuals and looking for something pretty. Leaning towards tropical colors, purples, etc. Of course everything could be termed "tropical colors" I guess! LOL

A "border" plant is one that works well in a perennial border, regardless of height or stature... it's quite meaningless, really, so I suppose it's just shorthand for "a desirable plant". Short plants are usually designated as "for the front of the border".