Border Renovation and Restoration

Over the years we have met many people who have bought a house with large, unmanaged borders, where weeds and plants have taken over. I started on one such garden yesterday, and I have to say it is my favourite kind of gardening! I thought I would share the process I go through, to bring things back under control. I try to approach things in a methodical manner, so as not to feel overwhelmed.

This particular border had, what I believe to be, 'self-set' Hypericum and Lavatera throughout, along with ground elder, nettles, couch grass, wild strawberries and lots of alkanet!

I would recommend getting started as we approach autumn. This is a good time to divide a lot of perennials and it is also still fairly easy to identify the plants before they die back, or lose their leaves.

Where to start?

The first place to start is by doing a really good visual check. Walk the length of the border, taking note of what is going on. Are there areas of problem weeds? (It was ground elder in one area of this border). Are there any dead plants that will need removing? Are there plants that have either been planted in the wrong place or have 'self-set'? By this I mean are there tall plants at the front and lower growing plants hidden behind? Notice plants that look congested, or will need a hard prune at the appropriate time of year. Look for signs of plants that are struggling because they aren't getting enough light, or perhaps they are scorched by the sun, when they should have been planted in the shade? Make sure you stand back and look at the overall picture. The biggest thing for me that stood out from a distance in this border, was the beautiful, brightly flowering sedum, but I asked myself why it wasn't repeated along the border? Why have it all in one place when it could brighten up other areas.

Getting stuck in!

Once you have a bit of a plan in your head about what needs tackling, it's time to get stuck in! Now, depending on how much time you have, I would suggest labelling plants! If you don't get a chance to finish before winter, it becomes a more difficult task in spring if you can't identify the plants!

I like to start with the general weeding! This gives you some clear ground, for moving any plants later on. It also helps you to see where there are gaps and to uncover hidden plants. I don't kid myself that I will have got rid of all of the roots first time! All of the weeds that had made their way into this border, will take time to eradicate.

As I went to work weeding, I started to come across dead plants - actually it was only dead roses. So these were taken out.

I then started to remove the plants that I believe were 'self-set'. I'm not a big fan of Hypericum anyway, but it definitely looked out of place in this border, either positioned at the back where it couldn't be seen, or near the front, blocking out smaller, more interesting plants.

The two Lavatera in this picture will be removed at a later date (I didn't want to break my fork trying!), because they are too far forward and block a large planting space behind. As you can see, just through weeding and removing a couple of plants, a nice planting space has been revealed. This space helps to plan what can be moved from elsewhere in the border, to create a graduation of heights.

Whilst clearing nearer the back of the border, I came across a few Irises. These have been dug up, ready to plant nearer the front.

Once you have cleared some space, it's good to go back along the border and find some plants that either need repositioning or dividing. These can then be moved to their new position. I have identified a couple of clumps of Echinops, which are currently too near the front and some Rudbeckia which needs dividing. These will be planted once the Lavatera has been removed.

We are fortunate in this garden, that we have a space we can use as a nursery bed. I would definitely recommend this if you have the space. It means that you don't need to make decisions about plants straight away. You can heal them in, in the nursery bed and find a position for them later.

We will need to come back to this border in the spring, to prune some of the shrubs, so the renovation is not something that can usually be completed in one go. I'd advise taking your time over it. This gives you an opportunity to reflect on where you want things planted and to prune and divide plants at the correct time of the year.