Designing a Herbaceous border

The herbaceous border, which is a comparative newcomer to the garden scene, is still one of its most popular features. Introduced at the turn of the century by Gertrude Jekyll as a protest against the monotonous formality of Victorian garden design, its popularity has steadily increased until today there are few gardens without some kind of perennial border to enhance their beauty throughout the months of summer and autumn.

Restricted originally to plants of purely perennial habit—in the main, those whose growth begins afresh from ground level each year—the terms of reference have gradually been extended so that today we find included not only spring and summer bulbs and corms but also small shrubby plants and those curious in-betweens whose woody top growth persists throughout the winter, but which otherwise display most of the characteristics of true perennials. These are the sub-shrubs, of which plants such as the plumbago-flowered Ceratostigma willmottianum, Caryopteris clandonensis, and the Russian sage, Perovskia atriplicifolia are typical examples.

Preliminary preparation of the site for an herbaceous border is of paramount importance. Much of its subsequent success or failure will depend on the thoroughness with which it is carried out. Some soils, of course, are a good deal more difficult to prepare than others, but whether you garden on heavy, back-breaking clay or easily managed, well-drained sandy loam, there must be sufficient supplies of humus in the soil if the plants are to give off their best.

Deep digging and thorough cultivation are two further essentials. Most of the occupants of the border will remain in the same positions for at least three years, while other more permanent specimens such as paeonies,