MIXED BORDER COLOUR SCHEME

COOL PINKS 

 

Mixed beds and borders are one of the easiest ways to incorporate roses into your garden. Combine different rose varieties with a mix of companion plants in varying tones. Our Cool Pink scheme is bold but calming with the strong pink blooms toned down with the addition of silvery elements. The dark foliage and purple companion plants add further depth to this sophisticated take on pink planting.


MIX IT UP WITH COOL PINKS

Combine light and bright pink roses with blue tones such as lavender and nepeta, silvery grasses and dark foliage.

Create your mix by combining a variety of

plant height, bloom colour and style, foliage colour and style, flowering season


Planting plan: cool pinks

1. Hyde Hall English Shrub Rose
2. Lythrum virgatum Rosy Gem
3. Silas Marner English Shrub Rose
4. Salvia nemorosa Caradonna
5. Olivia Rose Austin English Shrub Rose
6. Stachys lanata
7. Heuchera Obsidian
8. Festuca glauca

Plan not to scale, for illustrative purposes only.


Things to consider when planning your cool pink Mixed Border

Allow space for the mature size of the plants

When planning your mixed border it is important to allow enough space for the mature space of the plant. See our Planting Guide here. Immediately after planting it may look a bit sparse with lots of soil showing but this will be covered as the plants mature. It can be helpful to place the plants out in their pots before planting to map out where they will go and to make sure you have allowed enough space.

Position plants according to their mature height

Placing your pots out before planting will also help to check you have the plants in the right position for their mature height. Taller plants should be placed towards the back, getting gradually smaller towards the front of the bed or border. This will ensure you can see all the plants, and avoid one plant obscuring another. Placing the smaller stachys at the front will also help to cover the lower part of the stems of the roses which can look a bit bare once mature, giving a finished appearance to your border.

Keep your pink cool with touches of dark purple & silver

It is important to consider foliage colour as well as bloom colour. The three different pink rose varieties give a gentle variance of pink. Adding the purple salvia and the dark foliage of the heuchera gives some depth to border. The silver touches from the stachys and grass keeps the overall effect from being too sombre.

Combine different plant textures together

The thin, pointy salvias sit interestingly against the full blooms of the roses.Towards the front of the bed, the combination of the silver soft, wide leaf stachys and the spikey silvery grass provides interest and a sharp contrast to the larger, dark leaf of the heuchera.


HOW TO UPDATE YOUR BORDER

Firstly select the area you are going to update. We recommend following these guidelines:

  • Choose your mix of roses and companion plants - use the mature plant width when deciding how many plants you need to cover your designated area.
  • Make sure your mix combines a variety of height, size, texture and colour.
  • Lay out the plants while still in their pots on to the designated area. For a bare root rose use a cane to indicate where they will be planted.
  • Check each plant has enough space and taller plants are towards the back. Place smaller plants at the front of the bed. See our Planting Distances Guide here.
  • For smaller plants it can be nice to group two or three together so that they make enough impact when sat next to the larger plants.
  • Plant your roses according to our Bare Root Rose Planting Guide or Potted Rose Planting Guide.

 


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