Gardening 101: Beginners guide to planting all year round Don’t know your crocuses from your chrysanthemums? So before cutting down that tree, think about how much easier a shady garden is. Plants that do flower often last longer. Plants establish in the ground quickly, before the cold winter weather sets in and will take off quickly once spring arrives. So much for the shrub border, having 12 months of colour or all year round interest. Perennials can look sparse when first planted. Choose the best winter and summer flowering plants and shrubs with these planning ideas to enjoy wonderful colour in your garden all year-round. Before beginning your garden, create a year-round garden planner where you can identify the plants that will bloom each season in your garden. Autumn is the ideal time to plant a border ready for the following year. Weeds don’t grow so fast. Shrubs: smaller for year round interest. As a rough guide if you’re using bulbs that grow to around 45cm tall then plant 10-15 bulbs per square meter. Plant plenty of ground-cover perennials and mat-forming shrubs to smother the soil and keep down weeds. There’s a huge range in leaf shape and colour. As the year advances add extra supports if necessary and deadhead any flowers that are going over – not only will it look better but it will encourage the plant to produce more flowers. Perennial borders: choosing plants. But then, when they are in full, lustrous leaf, they knit together beautifully. Honeysuckle will thrive in full sun or dappled shade in any soil type, and is semi-evergreeen, which means it will bring foliage colour to your garden all year round, depending on how hard the winter is. But, don’t cram plants in cheek-by-jowl for an instant effect. It’s more private. 14. If you haven’t grown a climbing plant before then honeysuckle is a fantastic choice to start with. The shape of plants is just as important as flower colour and because it’s around for much longer (with woody plants, all year round), shape helps to structure the planting. Autumn is the ideal time to plant a border ready for the following year. But then, when they are in full, lustrous leaf, they knit together beautifully. ... great border plants. Let’s firstly lay out some ground rules to see how we can achieve this utopia of year round colour and interest with shrubs. Designing year-round gardens ensures that your home is surrounded by color and interest through all four seasons. Garden bulbs -Using for colour all year round. As a general rule of thumb, bulbs need to be planted at a depth of 3 x the size of the bulb (you can measure this against your trowel). You need to soak the plants in water in a bucket (or the sink) before planting them. Planting bulbs. How to choose Shrubs for all year interest. It may be winter but there’s a plant for every season; Millie offers some ideas to get flowering colour in your garden for 12 months a year If big plants are your thing, explore how to make an impact with mature plants. 17. Colour in the border Alternatively, grow in a glass hyacinth vase and enjoy watching the roots dangle in the water. A planting of bulbs at the front of the border will provide early spring color. To combat this, you can incorporate herbaceous perennials into a mixed bed, planting them alongside shrubs and evergreens, spring bulbs and summer bedding plants to create year-round colour and interest in the garden. Discover 10 plants that look good in the garden (almost) all year round, including shrubs and trees, with expert advice from BBC Gardeners' World Magazine. You need quite a large area to fit in so many different plants, but in a small garden you can make a smaller mixed border without the trees and use only small shrubs. You may like to create a crescendo of colour over high summer, or a more staggered season of interest from late spring to late autumn. Arrange your plants (still in their pots) in the border in the pattern you intend to plant them. We call this succession planting. If you would like to delay or extend the flowering period in the border you can use the technique known as the Chelsea Chop. Shrubs form the framework of the garden and if selected carefully, can provide interest throughout the year. Few people can fail to be cheered by the sight of a snowdrop in January, or the first daffodils in February. Perennials can look sparse when first planted. 7) Boring but necessary ‘plant a border’ tips. Focus on shapes to add interest to garden borders. Cover all soil with plants. Designing year-round gardens ensures that your home is surrounded by color and interest through all four seasons. Shrubs, especially small ones, are easy to care for and therefore often labour-saving. The colour and texture will then supply the finish. Landscape borders can serve as habitat for a variety of wildlife.