Imagine that you have built a long-awaited house, laid out a beautiful garden... And then they are there. The neighbors. With their terrible fence and tall house, from the windows of which your entire garden is visible as if in the palm of your hand. What to do? Fence yourself off with an even higher fence? Resign yourself and suffer quietly? There is a third option - forest edges.
This is a picturesque backdrop of plants: it covers and decorates fences, buildings. Forest edges in the language of landscape designers are "linear compositions of trees and shrubs." In general, when a wall of green spaces abruptly turns into open spaces of the garden, this is what we have in front of us - a decorative forest edge.
Forest edges are a reliable way to hide something from prying eyes. For example, a bathhouse or a lawn-solarium, where the owners intend to sunbathe without looking back at a curious neighbor with binoculars. The main thing in planning such a forest edge is to consider at which tier maximum coverage is required.
Depending on their appearance, forest edges can be simple or complex.
A simple forest edge is one in which all plants are arranged in one easily distinguishable line. The tiers are created by different groups of plants: the upper one is made up of trees, the middle one is made up of large shrubs, and the lower one is made up of low shrubs and perennial flowering plants.
Tall shrubs of the middle tier will help to decorate an ugly fence: lilac, bladder senna, ginnal maple, Cossack juniper, rock juniper, mountain pine.
To close off a font or an exit from a bathhouse - for this you need a forest edge with a dense middle tier. Or middle and upper - depending on the number of floors in your house.
You can close yourself off from prying eyes with forest edges with a dense upper tier of plantings - so the place will not be visible from the windows of the second floor. Conifers are best suited for this purpose. Or deciduous trees with a dense crown: horse chestnut, Norway maple, small-leaved linden, red oak.
Fencing a sports ground is another task that is solved with the help of simple forest edges. Plants serve not only as a visual screen, but also as a very real "shield" protecting the windows of surrounding houses from flying balls. We plan a dense middle and upper tier (both bushes and trees).
A complex edge is when there are gaps and irregularities in the plant growth line. Depending on how much the plants “stand out” from the general row, a distinction is made between bas-relief (protrusion) or high-relief (separate island). In the first case, individual trees or entire groups of plants grow at a small distance from the main line of the edge. In the second, they can be located quite far, even several meters from the general mass.
Complex edges are needed for places where it is important for you to “peep” from time to time. For example, the children's playground should be clearly visible from the living room / kitchen windows. But children can be fenced off from the barbecue area with an open fireplace or from playgrounds with ponds. In this case, trees with an openwork crown are suitable for the upper tier, and in the middle in the right places you can leave the “windows” without plants.
Both simple and complex edging can be created on a plot of any size - even impressive, even tiny. Only the scale of the plants will differ. For a small plot, we will replace the trees from the upper tier with vines on trellises or columnar trees - the vertical will be created, but will not take up much space. And in the foreground there will be more ground cover plants and perennials.
Tip: When creating an edging in a small garden, try to "use" the trees of your neighbors (especially if they grow on the border with your plot): tall plants will serve as the upper tier of the edging, and you will form the middle and lower ones on your plot - this way the garden will visually become deeper and more voluminous.
In all its glory, a complex edging appears in large spaces, where it is possible to organize both bas-reliefs and high reliefs. It will look especially interesting with retaining walls, stairs and ponds, when the smooth line of the edge will run throughout the garden, enveloping and framing it. Such a composition can take more than one year to create, but the result will be truly magnificent.
1. Consider the lighting requirements. Different plants need different conditions to achieve maximum decorativeness. Some need bright light, others - diffused. Some feel better under the delicate crowns of trees, others can withstand denser shade. Therefore, when planning a place for planting, pay attention to the orientation of the edge relative to the sun, otherwise too shaded plants will not bloom and will wither over time, and those suffering under the scorching sun will dry up.
2. Separate light and shade. The edge has two sides - choose the right plants. Let's imagine that you need to separate the "front" part of the garden from the utility part - with a vegetable garden and a greenhouse. In this case, one side of the plantings will be shady, the other - sunny. Therefore, different shrubs should be located on different sides of the high tier: on the shady side, more resistant varieties of hydrangea, dogwood and spirea; with sunny - more delicate weigelas, rhododendrons and roses.
Important: Plants with brightly colored foliage need good lighting, in the shade the beautiful color of the leaves will gradually be replaced by the usual green.
3. Predict the size of the plants. Beginning gardeners, seeing a picture they like with an adult forest edge, write down the names of the trees and bushes and go to the nursery for seedlings. They understand that large adult plants are extremely expensive and buy young ones. They plant. But with young seedlings, the forest edge looks too empty (and you want it like in the picture). And the gardener goes for a new batch of plants, making the biggest mistake: planting more closely. Do not do this under any circumstances.
When buying young seedlings, be sure to take into account that these plants are very small, and they will reach their maximum size in 5 or 10 years. With age, all plants change in different ways: some stretch upward, others spread out. Some grow quickly, while others will look like their younger selves even after ten years. And if you plant the seedlings too closely together, the fast-growing ones may end up in the shadow of the slow-growing ones, and the edge of the forest will very quickly lose its neat appearance. And the plants will gradually begin to crowd each other out, suppressing the more delicate (and usually the most valuable) specimens.
4. Consider the season. Consider the period of maximum decorativeness of plants when planting the edge. Perhaps you spend more time in one place of the garden in the spring and summer, somewhere you like to sit in the fall, and somewhere you want to enjoy the colors of the garden all year round. Include in the assortment of the edge those plants that will be the soloists at the right time of year in the right place. It would be a shame if the autumn blaze of the euonymus is visible only from the garden, where you spend little time at this time of year.
Alternatively, distribute along the edge the species that are soloists in the spring. In the summer, they will be replaced by hydrangeas, rose hips, hawthorns, decorative deciduous trees and shrubs. And also do not forget about conifers, decorative all year round.
It is worth including in the composition plants with beautiful fruits and shoots that will add charm to the edge in the winter. Think about how to cover the plants that look nondescript or even fall apart after flowering. Such species should not be planted in the foreground.
In the front part of the garden - at the entrance or near the terrace - topiary (figuratively trimmed shrubs) and niwaki (garden bonsai), which are always decorative, will add solemnity to the edge. But here it is important to take into account the style of the architecture of the buildings so that the plants look organic.
Forest edges need seasonal feeding, pruning and thickening. Many shrubs will need rejuvenating pruning (sometimes quite radical). In trees, it is necessary to monitor the shoots in the lower part of the trunk - they can interfere with the development of shrubs growing nearby. If necessary, shoots should be removed.
Fact: Plants located in a group are quite difficult to water. Therefore, a drip irrigation system will be a good solution. If you do not have this opportunity, leave technological passages between the tiers when creating a forest edge - they will not be visible from the side, but they will greatly simplify the care of the plants.
Garden sculptures. Depending on the overall style of the garden, a classic flowerpot, minimalist modern sculptures or neutral birdbaths can be placed among the shrubs. Large boulders can be laid out along the entire forest edge. Make sure that the boulders are of the same type: of the same rock and of the same origin (either all rounded or chipped), otherwise the elegant composition will turn into a gaudy collection of stones. Such decorations will additionally attract attention and help you forget about the unsightly fence of the site, which may be nearby. A garden bench or swing will also look good: it is so cozy to sit with a book under the cover of plants.
Landscaping. Will become a wonderful accent in your garden. Directional lighting will add depth and coziness to the edge, making it especially attractive in the evening hours.
Creating an edge is an interesting task that will contribute to the development of your garden for many years. By planting new shrubs and perennials, changing the shape of the haircut, removing boring plants or varying the line of the edge, you will see how your garden changes and transforms, and with it your mood.
