During Victorian times in England, it was fashionable to have what were called annual "bedding plants" massed in patterns, or blocks of color, in beds in the gardens of mansions.
In the late 19th-century, intricate designs such as those depicting a family's coat of arms and elaborate geometric patterns, were featured in annual garden beds. These could be looked down on from the upper floors of large homes. The French called these labor-intensive designs repeated in a number of beds "parterres."
Nowadays, some large public gardens surrounding government buildings will occasionally have similar types of beds with less elaborate designs, achieved by arranging massed annuals. In our home gardens we use the word “bed” to describe a defined space containing a collection of annual and/or perennial plants.
A mixed border, on the other hand, is usually a defined space with a mix of perennials, annuals, shrubs, bulbs, and/or grasses with a walk, or path, in front and a wall or a fence behind as a backdrop. A mix of plants of different varieties thus ensures an extended period of interest.
During Victorian times in England, it was fashionable to have what were called annual "bedding plants" massed in patterns, or blocks of color, in beds in the gardens of mansions.
In the late 19th-century, intricate designs such as those depicting a family's coat of arms and elaborate geometric patterns, were featured in annual garden beds. These could be looked down on from the upper floors of large homes. The French called these labor-intensive designs repeated in a number of beds "parterres."
Nowadays, some large public gardens surrounding government buildings will occasionally have similar types of beds with less elaborate designs, achieved by arranging massed annuals. In our home gardens we use the word “bed” to describe a defined space containing a collection of annual and/or perennial plants.
A mixed border, on the other hand, is usually a defined space with a mix of perennials, annuals, shrubs, bulbs, and/or grasses with a walk, or path, in front and a wall or a fence behind as a backdrop. A mix of plants of different varieties thus ensures an extended period of interest.
This is Moya Andrews, and today we focused on beds and borders.