Small Space, Big Impact: Enhance Narrow Areas With These Bedding Plants
A well-designed garden is a harmonious blend of various elements, including plants, hardscapes, and decorative features. However, there are often areas in a garden that present unique challenges when it comes to planting. Awkward spaces, such as narrow borders, gaps between structures, odd-shaped corners, small corners, narrow strips, or odd-shaped gaps, often leave us scratching our heads on how to make the most of them. Here we will explore several ideas for selecting bedding plants that are perfect for these tricky spaces, adding colour, texture, adding beauty and interest to every corner of your garden.
Bedding Plant Options You Can Consider. Here Are Some Ideas:
Ornamental Grasses: Grasses like fountain grass or Japanese forest grass are excellent choices for filling in empty spaces. They provide a soft, flowing texture and can create a naturalistic or contemporary look, depending on the variety.
For larger, open spaces that require filling, consider incorporating ornamental grasses. These plants provide height, texture, and movement, making them ideal for adding visual interest to expansive areas. Try feather reed grass, pampas grass, or miscanthus for their dramatic form and year-round appeal. Their swaying plumes or graceful blades can soften and enhance the appearance of any awkward spot.
Ground Covers: Opt for low-growing ground covers to fill in gaps between larger plants or in narrow spaces. Awkward spaces at ground level, such as narrow strips between pathways or beneath low-lying shrubs, can be transformed into beautiful carpeted areas with the help of ground cover plants. Low-growing and spreading plants like creeping thyme, periwinkle, or sedum offer both practical and aesthetic benefits. They suppress weed growth, reduce erosion, add colour and texture and create a seamless flow throughout the garden.
Potted Plants: If you have limited space or awkward corners, dealing with irregular; narrow walls; or limited spaces, use potted plants; decorative containers, usre hanging baskets and window boxes for a great solution. It offers flexibility and portability. By selecting attractive containers and placing them strategically, you can transform awkward corners or gaps into delightful focal points. Trailing flowers like petunias, bacopa, lobelia, or ivy-leaved geraniums. Their cascading growth habit adds visual interest and brings life to otherwise unused areas. Or opt for a mix of vibrant annuals, such as begonias, marigolds, or geraniums, or experiment with taller plants like ornamental grasses or dwarf shrubs for added dimension.
Annual Flowering Plants: Choose annual bedding plants with a variety of colours and heights to create a vibrant display. Options like marigolds, zinnias, cosmos, or salvias can add a burst of colour and fill in gaps in your garden beds.
Perennial Flowering Plants: Select perennial plants that spread and fill in spaces over time. Examples include creeping phlox, creeping Jenny, or perennial geraniums. These plants will continue to grow and fill out the area year after year.
Shade-Loving Plants: If your awkward space is shaded or receives limited sunlight, there are still plenty of options to choose from. Hostas, ferns, and astilbes are excellent choices for their lush foliage and ability to thrive in shady conditions. Impatiens, begonias, and coleus are colourful bedding plants that also thrive in low-light conditions and tolerate shades and can brighten up darker corners.
Climbers and Vines: If you have vertical awkward spaces, like walls or trellises, climbers and vines are excellent choices to utilize vertical spaces by growing climbing plants. These plants not only cover unsightly surfaces but also add a touch of natural charm to the area. Choose climbing roses, clematis, morning glories, or sweet peas or honeysuckle for colourful blooms, or opt for ivy or Virginia creeper for their lush foliage. These plants can be trained to grow on trellises, walls, or fences, adding height and visual interest to your garden.
With the right selection of bedding plants, you can transform awkward spaces in your garden into beautiful and inviting areas. Whether you have small corners, narrow strips, or open gaps, the plant choices mentioned above offer a range of colours, textures, and growth habits to suit your needs. Additionally, think about the desired aesthetic and maintenance requirements to ensure the chosen plants suit your needs.
More Bedding Plants That Are Perfect For Filling Those Awkward Spaces In Your Garden:
Dwarf Zinnias: Dwarf zinnias are a fantastic choice for compact areas and containers. With their vibrant and eye-catching flowers, they bring a burst of colour to any space. These low-growing plants come in various shades, such as red, pink, yellow, and orange, and they thrive in full sun. Their compact nature makes them ideal for filling small corners or edges of garden beds.
Creeping Thyme: If you have narrow strips of land between pathways or along the edges of your garden, creeping thyme is an excellent option. This ground-covering plant forms a dense mat of foliage and produces delicate, aromatic flowers. Creeping thyme is low-maintenance and drought-tolerant, making it a perfect choice for those hard-to-reach areas that receive less attention.
Coleus: For shaded spots in your garden, coleus plants can add a splash of vibrant colour and lush foliage. These versatile plants come in a variety of leaf shapes, sizes, and colours, ranging from deep burgundy to bright lime green. With their ability to thrive in partial shade, they are ideal for under tree canopies or in the shadow of tall structures.
Alyssum: Alyssum is a delicate and charming annual plant that is perfect for filling gaps between rocks or along the edges of raised beds. This low-growing plant produces clusters of fragrant flowers in shades of white, pink, or purple. Its trailing habit adds a cascading effect, softening the edges of any awkward space and attracting beneficial pollinators to your garden.
Nasturtiums: If you have a sunny patch of ground that needs some attention, consider planting nasturtiums. These fast-growing annuals produce beautiful, edible flowers in vibrant hues of orange, yellow, and red. Their trailing nature makes them ideal for hanging baskets or spilling over retaining walls, adding a pop of colour and a touch of whimsy to otherwise unused spaces.
Ornamental Grasses: For larger awkward spaces, ornamental grasses can provide texture and movement to your garden. With their tall and graceful plumes, grasses such as Miscanthus or Pennisetum can add drama and structure to bare corners or open areas. Their versatility allows them to be used as standalone specimens or as a backdrop for other flowering plants.
Verbena: Verbena is a versatile bedding plant that comes in a range of colours and sizes. These low-maintenance plants are perfect for filling gaps in flower borders or rock gardens. They produce clusters of small, vibrant flowers that attract butterflies and hummingbirds, creating a lively and inviting atmosphere.
Sedums: Sedums are hardy plants that thrive in dry and sunny conditions, making them ideal for filling hot, arid spots in your garden. These succulent plants come in various shapes and sizes, offering a wide range of colours and textures. Their ability to withstand neglect and their low water requirements make them a perfect choice for filling gaps in rockeries or gravel gardens.