Rosy Rescues a Problem Garden Border w/

Go subscribe to Jenny's channel: @MurphysGarden
Jenny reached out to Rosy for advice on a border she was having difficulty with. We hope you enjoy this video laying out the issues Jenny is facing and what Rosy suggests she does.
Plant suggestions Rosy made:
Molinia
Calamagrostis
Penisetum
Helenium
Echinacea 'Magnus'
Coreopsis 'Mercury Rising'
Cephalaria alpina (not gigantea)
Veronicastrum 'Challenger' / 'Apollo' / 'Diana'
Alliums
Cosmos
Nigella
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Buy Rosy's plants via mail order - www.hardysplants.co.uk/all-pl...
(UK Mainland only)

[@MurphysGarden]

Thank you to Rosy for such valuable advice, I can’t wait to get stuck in and begin implementing the suggestions you recommend Jenny

[@Bandaid17]

If I could give a triple thumbs up I would!!

[@amyh3619]

Wow, I was hanging on every word! Thank you Jenny for recognizing that we all have problem areas and get stuck when trying to figure them out. Genius idea to consult with Rosy for some expert guidance and clear-eyed advice. Such a valuable video for us all, many thanks!

[@zoewhite7705]

This was so good, would love to see it become a series!

[@chrisallison1706]

Excellent video, look forward to the updates.

[@lizmorris206]

Looking forward to updates on this garden. Great ideas.

[@SMElder-iy6fl]

Jenny is young and agile. I would love to see a video like this for the aging gardener. For example, i am taking out my big old Panicum as i am having a hard time cutting it back in the Spring. I need to reduce maintenance that is getting to be more than i can handle. I love my garden and want to keep it as long as i can.

[@SiSwitzer]

This is some great information here, both for renovation and also sound advice for starting a border, good ways to keep it simple but still very interesting! Thanks Rosy!

[@ThreeRunHomer]

Excellent. The advice from an outside expert was fascinating.

[@marleneshaw3788]

That was so good and informative Rosy thank you so much from Australia x

[@jasminebambury5841]

Loved this Rosie and Jenny. Cheers

[@Thewildmanwoods]

Right that’s me busy digging out my border and starting fresh😉😂 … inspiring…thanks ❤

[@scallywags12]

Less hedge and less work! Great tip Rosy!

[@wendylanman7183]

That was a masterclass! Thank you Rosie!

[@missprettyplants7217]

This video was amazing! Rosie I loved all your edits and suggestions. It really helps to get expert advice when you are stuck. Sometimes when you are in the middle of, it is hard to see the bigger picture. Murphy you have a gorgeous garden! I enjoy seeing both your videos! can’t wait to see how you transform these borders ❤

[@trishsantos2485]

This video was great fun to watch! Well done, Jenny, in recognizing your first effort wasn't delivering on our vision. And Rosy, your advice made so much sense. Thanks both of your for sharing your expertise.

[@lookforward2life]

This was one of my favourite videos of either of yours that I’ve ever watched! love the question/problem followed by specific advice or thoughts. Please do more videos like this if you can, if not then I’ll just savour this one. Thank you!

[@bewoodford2807]

Interesting you said about animal ladders it was my first thought when I saw the gug out rill- especially with her dog standing on the edge of the rill. What if he fell in when there was no one about, and the wildlife will be in so much danger. On my large border I have stepping stones along the back so I can get to my climbing roses to give them attention. I love your idea of the border edging path- I must adopt that idea so it will be easier to mow and maintain the grass. Such great asvive heer Rosie. Brilliant and interesting video. Thank you 😃

[@ThreeRunHomer]

If the rill were kept very shallow, it would attract lots of birds for bathing.

[@maryeustace1620]

Thank you for a wonderfully helpful and informative video. Only wish it had gone on for longer. I learned so much.

[@marycain7424]

Wow, this is great info, very helpful!

[@CK-wn1ik]

Thank you, both, for raising the questions and providing the answers. A very useful video as I, too, am planning a new border and struggling with imagining things in 3-D on a flat piece of paper!

[@quailhollow7955]

This was an absolutely amazing video! I learned so much!!! This one will be on repeat as I rethink one long border of mine. Thank you both for the opportunity to learn. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@joyscott374]

Loved your video & great advice about the Box, seems they have reached Norfolk. Despite the Sparrows, who gorged themselves on the Box caterpillar's, my beautiful 7 yr old Box Balls were heavily hit. I decided to replace them with Yews. I used Bunny Guinness' Bottomless Pots idea this time too, as living in an urban area i'm surrounded by cats who made use of them with their spray leaving burnt holes at the bottom. I must say they look somewhat lost in their lovely pots at the moment but i'm very excited about watching then fill out. Your advice on boarders has been very helpful

[@sunitashastry5270]

I suggestions made a lot. Especially the analysis of what is wrong is key, and then finding solutions. The key take aways I think were a rhythm. For that you need to repeat plants at regular intervals in your border. b. A bare track or border at the back so you can access the back without trampling other plants c) putting an edging of stones to define the border. D) knowing your plants well ie those that need rich soil vs those that do not. E) being careful with water, and making sure you have ladders for animals to get in and out. Theses points can be helpful to any gardener. The other thing I would suggest is Jenny, as you redo the border, write down exactly when each plant flowers and looks their best. I find that it really helps me to ensure I have good stuff to look at , at all times.

[@wernermcgann3792]

What an interesting vlog, thank you

[@MarylineMallet]

This was so interesting! Other perennials that i love and wonder how they would look in that border are totally tangerine geum, blue agastache as well as the caradonna salvia! Also the alium serendipity or milleniums :)

[@helenazzopardi1713]

Wow Rosie so informative. Loved it

[@radieschen1965]

Sooo helpful!Thank you so much,Rosy 🦋🌺🌼

[@brendahayes3365]

Such a helpful video Rosie! I have the exact same issue with my long border, one of this and that here and there🤦‍♀️! I know better and you’ve just convinced me to take action, can’t wait to start! Thanks Rosie, this was great. Brenda🇨🇦

[@simonbrown8509]

First class, very interesting and practical.

[@michelleyanche1706]

So looking forward to seeing the borders evolve!

[@6732Louise]

Timed to perfection, I have two 8x1m borders to plant up after a clear out. Glad I didn't go shopping before watching these top tips!

[@gillianstewart681]

I loved this video. Very informative. And two great presenters. 👏👏👏

[@eliev7844]

What an awesome video!

[@arnorrian1]

Heliopsis Burning Hearts and Bleeding Hearts are amazing plants, with nice dark leaf color.

[@lisab.6818]

I liked the diversity of your garden. I think it added interest witht the more formal borders.

[@jenniferbrawley6461]

What a fantastic,insightful and thought provoking video. I now know where I have been going wrong in some of my thinking regarding my garden borders. Thank you both.

[@nickiramsay2421]

Excellent video ❤

[@beckyscheller9358]

Very interesting and helpful. I do not have a long boarder but still find this useful. Also would love to see how it evolves

[@catherinehenderson627]

I have green twister echinacea which grows tall and sturdy. Also alstromeria for late season colour

[@MarkusHessen]

Brilliant explanation.

[@agnessaltonstall2182]

Wisdom & experience - invaluable advice, thanks.

[@SMElder-iy6fl]

This was so helpful!

[@amyjones2490]

Such an interesting video. Very helpful.

[@idreamtiwasbackatmanderley414]

Great vlog, very helpful. However something struck me : the gardener wishes for a Piet Oudolf style but everything structural in this part of the garden (back hedge shape, box front edge, wooden structures for the roses, the shape of the pond, etc is square edged and thus far removed from the desired naturalistic style. So in the end she is fighting against the structural shape she created. Just my feeling…

[@pansepot1490]

Yeah, same. Can’t fit a naturalistic style inside a very formal setting. I too love watching photos of Piet Oudolf garden but I have learned that you get that effect only in very large scale. If you have just a border or a small garden it doesn’t work. Better go for a cottage look.

[@jaqmackie]

This was so interesting. Loved it👍🏻👍🏻

[@dosso9958]

Great video! Very inspiring! As a novice gardener, I would really appreciate the common names along with the Latin. Thank you!

[@karlsorchidparty2395]

Nice. Thanks!

[@AmyHieter]

This was such a helpful video, thank you!

[@BertiesGardener]

Excellent advice! Thanks Rosy and Jenny. Do agree about removing dodgy box plants, however painful. I'm in Worcestershire uk and box caterpillars devastated my mature box hedging last year, within about 3 weeks from first sighting.It was shocking how quickly the damage progressed. It couldn't be saved so all of it has been removed. I also saw box caterpillars in other local front gardens here and even in box plants for sale in some garden centers and nurserys. A warning to be vigilant and think carefully about how to mitigate the impact on your garden.

[@sallynolan5928]

Same here - devastation.

[@dunbardunelm3924]

Fantastic 💝🥰🌿

[@debs-more-plants]

Great video!

[@mariusmarius4832]

Great video.

[@nicolasbertin8552]

This border is also missing a lot of grey foliage. Something like salvias, artmesia ludoviciana, nepeta, calamintha... Most of these are filler plants, and you're really missing those, there's architectural plants but no ground covers, no fillers. If you had enough, you wouldn't need to weed the border, and wouldn't need to mulch as much either. On top of the grey foliage, you should try some geraniums, saponaria Tumbling Ted, origanum (especially Thumble's Variety)... Geraniums can be hit and miss coz some are quite vigorous, while origanum and that species of saponaria (not the normal saponari which is too invasive) are more tame, and look amazing. I think too many people want all the structure first when they see a big border to fill, a bit like John Lord's garden. But his garden is just a show for the plants he sells, it's actually not a harmonious garden at all. The most easy border people can do in my opinion is matrix planting. You select a filling mix first, it can be one grass, like sporobolus heterolepis, or carex, and then you add clumps of structure plants, like 3 eupatoriums, 3 veronicastrum or 1 stipa gigantea, and here and there you can do blocks of medium plants like salvias, echinacea, echinops, eryngium... And thank you Rosy for saying that most perennials don't need a rich soil. This is the number one mistake people make. Your plants don't need manure or compost every year, all you'll achieve is make them flop, which is why British gardeners need the Chelsea chop so much, and you'll make them die quicker as well. If your echinaceas last 2 years, look no further than rich soil as the culprit. I've been guilty of it in the past too...

[@mrpogdog8987]

This has been very helpful thank you. Jenny mentioned in her video that she had climbing roses on her obelisks. Would you recommend she kept those in the border or not?

[@scottanthony6269]

Try grasses winter flowering shrubs like witch hazel .Daphne . Dog wood for winter colours and Edgeworthia chrysantha for the climbing frames winter flower jasmine and winter flowering clematis

[@craighastings5508]

Would there be any chance of a planting plan between you when all is discussed. I'd like to copy. Terminology like "moving the plants through" and "ribbon effect" comes naturally to yourself, but bit of a mystery to some.

[@ramblingimbecile2295]

Try to imagine it as a river meandering through the bed. Especially if it is large deep bed. Select grasses and evergreen shrub to form this backbone/River and plant them in a way to simulate that flow so it's not just a straight line from left to right or front to back. When selecting your flowering perennials then make sure you plant them in clumps of odd numbers and in a sort of close hexagonal form. Like how seats are staggered in a stadium so the view is never obstructed.

[@ramblingimbecile2295]

Remember that nothing in nature occurs in straight perfect lines so try not to plant your bed in that way.

[@rosyhardy18]

Jenny is making a planting plan. In future similar videos I’m going to make some sketches of these ideas if I bring them up

[@idreamtiwasbackatmanderley414]

Ribbon effect : selecting a curated number of plants taking into account - foliage interest (shape, color, size, height), - flowers (when and how long do they flower), shape of flower head, interest of seed head, seize, color - add grasses, evergreen, bushes And repeat, as Rosy said, each border should repeat 3 times the choosen planting scheme. Moving the plants through : when you have a long and deep border, ideally you should plant 5/7 of the same plant en masse in your chosen planting scheme which is then repeated. However, depending on your budget because these numbers means things are getting very expensive very quickly, you can of course start with a lower number of identical plants, wait using annuals in the meantime and then split to achieve 5/7 herbaceous identical plants for 1 part of your repeated border scheme. Finally identical plants should be planted in a tadpole shape since then they will visually mesh from one kind to another. I hope I have been able to help you a little, since English is not my mother tongue I probably was not very clear.

[@katrinkatterman3069]

This was a super fun video because I was making a list in my head about things I would change and I got to see if I was right! One question about the beech hedge at the back - is there a reason to keep it at 5’? All of the pictures from inside the space made it possible to see partially over the hedge and I kept getting distracted by ‘what was over there’. One of my thoughts was to let it grow up another foot or so it didn’t distract. What do you think?