Top tips for planning your perennial borders

All photographs © Jonathan Buckley

Perennials are the backbone of any summer garden, providing invaluable colour, texture, and scale, and of course, returning year after year. As they don’t need to be lifted, stored, or replanted, these are a super easy and rewarding choice for all types of gardener.  

Whether you choose to grow perennials from seed, or choose bulbs, or plants, there really is something for everyone. 

Autumn is the best time to plant your perennials – soils are still warm from summer and moisture levels are on the rise, creating perfect conditions for root establishment before winter arrives. These stronger more established roots will ensure a flying start next spring, with rapid growth and an abundance of flowers.

To help get you started, we asked gardening expert Sarah Raven to share her top tips and this is what she said:

Months of glorious colour 

When picking your varieties aim for a succession of flowering rather than a short lived hurrah and just a couple of weeks of colour.  

Adding some early spring flowering bulbs such as snowdrops and crocus, tulips and narcissi can kick of the show during the bleakest months at the beginning of the year. Biennial plants like Erysimum, lupins and foxgloves are then invaluable for carrying the baton from April on through the notoriously tricky May ‘colour-gap’ and into summer, when the majority of perennials and annuals really come into their own.   

Thrillers and fillers

Similar to a perfect pot combination, a border can be planned as a mix of ‘thrillers’ and ‘fillers’. Thrillers are those eye catching wowie varieties, chosen to grab attention. The fillers then back these more shouty stars up and give your border a feeling of abundance.  

Shrubs can be the ultimate fillers and absolute stalwarts of a garden too, often giving structure and colour year round.  

Height and scale 

Consider the height and scale of your chosen varieties, planting climbers and those likely to tower at the back of your borders where they can reign supreme and not overshadow their border fellows. The mid-height and shorter varieties can then be used to underplant larger shrubby plants and provide general ground cover towards the front.  

Also remember to give everything the space it will need when fully grown, bearing in mind that most perennials will gradually increase in size year on year.  

If planning your own is a little daunting go for a pre-planned collection. Our partner Sarah Raven has some lovely ideas to inspire you. Take a look here: Sarah Raven border collections.  

Special Discount Offer 

We are delighted to continue our partnership with gardening expert, Sarah Raven in 2024. They are helping to encourage individuals who are passionate about their gardens, to open in aid of the National Garden Scheme and to raise funds for vital nursing and health charities. And as part of our partnership with Sarah Raven, they are offering National Garden Scheme Supporters an exclusive 15% discount on their perennial shrubs and bulbs. Simply enter code 15NGS24 into your online basket to apply the discount.* 

Visit the Sarah Raven website to browse more top tips.  You can read more about our partnership here. 

* Ts & Cs apply: Offer valid until midnight 31st December 2024. Offer can only be redeemed once and not in conjunction with any other offer code, promotion or discount. Discount applies to the value of the goods only. Standard post and packaging charges apply. Not redeemable against: offline orders, previous orders, gift vouchers, gift wrap, courses, events, sale items or items in the shop at Perch Hill or other retail outlets. For full terms and conditions visit sarahraven.com/terms