New cottage garden border

[veggiechicken]

Another idea for you - more confusion!!
Split the length of the border into 3. Have a Hot (red, orange, yellow) border and a cool (blue, purple white) border and let the two merge in the middle third.
Amongst your existing plants you seem to have a few hot ones and perhaps a couple of cooler ones. Spread out what you have through the border, buy in some more to fill the larger gaps and sow annuals in between. Later in the year, or perhaps next, take cuttings from the plants you have and increase the density of planting. Sow more annuals to fill the smaller gaps!!
This may be the cheapest option and would give you time to revise the planting if you decide you want to.

[Dr Pips]

Haha, if only my garden was bigger and I could do all of it!!

I've just been thinking and I came to a similar idea, but instead of hot and cold, I had a Purple and Yellow half and a Blue and Red/Orange half (with them merging in the middle).

For the purple and yellow I could have:

Anemone
Echinacea
Aster
Penstemon
Daylily (which I have one of already)
Coreopsis
and then a yellow honeysuckle climbing behind.

Then the other half, I could have:

Lupins
Geum
Red Hot Poker
Delphinium (I have one of these as well!! Keep forgetting what I've got!)
Lobelia
Campanula
Dahlia

Some sort of red climber behind, maybe a rose.

Then do as you say and fill any gaps with annuals. This way I can do half the border now and half when the other half isn't paying attention!

[GardenFaery]

From an artist's point of view, whether intentionally or not, you have made effective use of the colour wheel and 'complementary opposites', Dr. Pips. Purple and Yellow, and Blue and Orange are complementary opposite colour pairs. Designers use colour opposites to make elements in poster design, etc stand out. So it should serve for a striking and dynamic flower display

[Two_Sheds]

Don't forget you can propagate from your existing plants to increase your stock. Daylilies, delphs, dahlias etc are dead easy

[Dr Pips]

Good, I'm really looking forward to planting now!! Thanks so much for all the advice. I do have a couple more questions however

How close should I plant the groups of 3 identical plants together. If they should have a spread of 50cm, should I plant them 100cm apart? Or closer, really bunch them up?

Also, does one plant for something like a delph or red hot poker or lupin just produce one spike of flowers? Or as they get older do the produce more and more? Just wondering as when I drive to work I go past a house that has a largeish (1.5 meter) patch of red hot pokers and there must be 15 spikes of flowers on it, looks amazing. Just unsure as to whether its a couple of large plants close together or lots of small plants.

Oh, another thing, I don't really have a lot of low plants. Does this matter? I have some at around 70cm, the rest are mainly around 90-100cm.

Thanks,

Dom

[chris]

Stick a low growing spreading plant (campanula?) along the bottom edge - it'll soon spread through any bare gaps etc. My nextdoor neighbour has done this, and I'll be copying

[veggiechicken]

You could plant some spring bulbs in there too. They'll give you colour before the perennials do much.

[Two_Sheds]

How close should I plant ...If they should have a spread of 50cm, should I plant them 100cm apart?

The packet/label should tell you how far apart to plant them. If the spread of a plant is 12", then I plant them AT LEAST 12" apart from each other. I don't like a little plant in an island of bare brown soil, but some people do. It depends what effect you're after. I prefer a really lush effect with no bare soil

does one plant for something like a delph or red hot poker or lupin just produce one spike of flowers? Or as they get older do the produce more and more?

That depends on the plant. Delphs have lots of spikes, so do lupins. Our red hot poker (ack, I hate them) has just the one, and it might be losing that soon. I suspect it would have more if I looked after it instead of trying to kill it with starvation [/QUOTE]

I don't really have a lot of low plants. Does this matter?

The foliage starts from the ground though. It's not like you will have a bare flower stalk ~ there's a lot of foliage to come
I don't have any "ground cover" plants at all (see pic). I started the garden 4 years ago. It was laid to lawn when I got it. Everything has been grown from seed or cuttings, or bought cheap on eBay, Pound shops etc.

[GardenFaery]

Stick a low growing spreading plant (campanula?) along the bottom edge - it'll soon spread through any bare gaps etc. My nextdoor neighbour has done this, and I'll be copying

I recently obtained a trailing variety of blue campanula that would work well like this and also, with the trailing aspects from containers, living walls or raised levels.

[Dr Pips]

Thanks so much for the advice, I'll post a pic when it's finished!