Making a bed of perennials along the path

What is a rabatka

Rabatka is a long elongated flower bed, its idea came to us from those distant times, when beauty was verified by geometry. In a classic bed, the width should correspond to the length, like 1 and 3, the tallest plants should not exceed 2/3 of the width of a double-sided flower bed or 1 of the width of a one-sided one. If all plants are of the same height, then 1/3 of the width of the bed will be optimal.

But in fact, deviations from all these figures occur, even in regular parks. It is generally believed that the width can be from 0.5 to 1.5 m, because plants in a wider bed are inconvenient to care for. The length can be anything, but designers recommend interrupting the pattern every 5 m and planting one or a group of plants that look good all season, but are not used in this flower bed, and after it continue the given pattern again. Another liberty of the new time - the rabatka is not necessarily rectangular, it may well repeat the bends of the path along which it stretches.

A few more numbers. Experts say that no more than 18 plants should grow on 1 square meter: 4 tall, 9 low and 5 medium height. The number of rows of plants is also strictly regulated: from 3 - in a narrow flowerbed, up to 5 - in a wide one. Elements should be repeated, be they stripes, squares or other shapes.

Types and forms

The correct rectangular shape is so often violated that it is no longer considered mandatory. Most often, the rabatka is tied to something - a path, alley, wall or structure, the line of which it repeats. Based on the point of contemplation, the ridges are one-sided or two-sided. A one-sided flower bed is placed along the fences, buildings, sides of the site. Plants of different heights are appropriate here, which are planted like this: the highest are placed near the wall, and they lower to the path, such flower beds are often made multi-tiered.

Double-sided ones are located in the middle of the alley (site) or border the paths, they are visible from both sides. They can be single-tiered, when all plants of the same height are used, or two-tiered - in this case, tall flowers are placed in the middle, and low ones at the edges.

The ridges can be symmetrical (ideal for a strict alley) or asymmetric, in which the plants descend from one side to the opposite. The flower beds also differ in color. Sometimes it looks very impressive when the whole flower bed is made in one color, but more often, especially long flower beds, are made up of several colors that emphasize each other. The most common combinations are: purple with orange, red with white, blue and yellow. Colors are in stripes or spots.

Video "Rabatki - a living decoration"

This video presents a selection of different types of perennials for decorating garden plots.

We create a rabatka

Having become acquainted with the basic rules, when creating a rabatka on your site, you can follow them, or you can only push off from them. Fantasies are difficult to fit into strict geometric frameworks, the variety of flowers and ornamental plants pushes to new discoveries. The organization of the rabatka needs to be well thought out - it must fit into the ensemble of the site, its idea is subject to the location and mood of the area.

Layout

For a flower bed, you need to choose an even place, determine the size, points of contemplation, and then draw its diagram on paper. Coming up with a pattern, the geometric shapes it will consist of, a color palette, plant heights - all this is done at the planning stage. The area of ​​each color spot must be determined as accurately as possible, the plants should not cover each other. First, the main accents are distributed on the diagram - the flowers-soloists will attract most of the eyes to themselves. Then the sizes and colors of the background plants are applied. The last on the plan are stunted plants that cover the soil. It is imperative to think about how to make the border of the flower bed, it can be a stone curb, gravel filling, a small fence made of paving slabs, or something else.

Color matching

Having decided on the appearance of the flower bed, you need to choose the plants so that they have the same requirements for soil and care. You cannot plant sun-loving and shade-loving flowers nearby, you cannot place moisture-loving plants and those that are afraid of waterlogging on the same bed. It is necessary to find crops that are suitable for the same soil composition, the same irrigation regime and daylight hours. Then they will grow and will delight the owners with their healthy appearance and beautiful flowering.

It is very important to agree on the flowering time so that the flower bed does not remain without flowers. Usually, on such complex flower beds, bulbous of early flowering are used, by the time they fade, it is time for other perennials to bloom.

It's good when the flower bed consists only of perennial crops, but this is also the main disadvantage - most of them bloom in the second or even third year. In addition, perennials tend to grow gradually, so they need to be planted (or sown) at some distance from each other. In the first year, such a flower bed looks, to put it mildly, not rich. In the second - third year, when all or almost all of the flowers are already blooming, it will look better, but the empty land between the plants spoils the whole look.

Various perennial crops grow to their peak 3 to 5 years after planting in the garden. Until that time, it makes sense to add annual flowers to empty spaces. Most often, this is exactly what they do - the main composition of perennials is diluted (or supplemented) with annual crops. Replacing them annually allows you to vary the appearance of the flower bed.

You can find more than one example of the composition of a rabatka, which someone has already tried and advised as a successful combination of perennial crops. If you take a tall blue delphinium, a undersized delphinium of a similar color (spur), azure anchusa, like a plant next to the highest tier, blue Veronica broadleaf, like the lowest plant, then you will want to dilute this blue with something bright orange. Lilies and toothed buzulnik of the same height as ankhuza, lower phlox, gravilat and yarrow are perfect. A low orange cinquefoil and a bluish mordovan of the middle tier will complete this composition. This is a complex flower bed that will be beautiful in 2 - 3 years.

Multiple plants can be selected for a simple pattern. Along the garden path, white daisies, yellow helenium, blue bells should be planted in rows. A narrow border of a row of white alyssum and a row of blue forget-me-nots can be run along the edge of the lawn. Such simple beddings are easy to make.Often in large flower beds, non-flowering plants are used, for example, cereals, dwarf shrubs and shrubs with beautiful leaves. Coniferous crops framed by flowers look good on garden plots.

Main works

Most perennials like sunny, flat areas with nutritious soil. Having carefully studied the preferences of the selected colors, you need to prepare the site. This is usually done in the fall. The bed is well dug up, the composition of the soil is adjusted if necessary. The borders of the flower bed are laid out in accordance with the plan.

After that, the locations of the plants are marked on the ground, they can be marked with pegs and twine, or simply sprinkled with light sand. After that, holes are prepared, flowers are planted. Most likely, some of the plants will have to be planted in spring if it is a large multi-component flower bed.

Care

Like all summer cottages, flower beds need to be weeded, loosened, watered, and fed if necessary. That is why you should not make the flower bed very wide. Perennial plants most often do not require special preparation for wintering, so they are good that they almost always winter without the participation of the owners. But they will need attention during the growth period. Some plants require transplanting after a few years (certain types of phlox), others need to thin out bushes or plant children (like hosta or ankhusa).

All this must be done on time. Fading flowers are cut, dry stems are removed, this is done throughout the season. Flowerbeds are often mulched with small stones for decorative purposes. But this also saves the flower garden from moisture evaporation and the spread of weeds, so mulching can significantly reduce the time and effort spent on caring for plants.

Video "Design of flower beds and rabatok"

A video selection of examples of how to create design patterns from perennials to decorate paths and alleys.