How To Add Vertical Interest to the Flower Garden
June 10, 2015
This is my front yard flower border it's very first year. (about twenty years ago)
All of the flowers are annuals, all of the flowers are very healthy AND all of the flowers are 18 inches tall or less!
It seems that most annuals these days have been bred to be short and squatty. I find it harder and harder to find tall annuals at garden shops or nurseries.
I used to buy larkspur, cleome, bachelor buttons, and lavatera at the garden shops but no more. Almost all of the premium annuals are sold in $4 containers or hanging baskets, with only the few familiar annuals like impatiens, marigolds, petunias, and alyssum sold in six packs.
So how do I add vertical interest to my flower gardens and containers?
1. By adding taller perennials like purple coneflower, shasta daisies, and globe thistle to the back row of the garden.
And mid-sized Asiatic lilies and monarda toward the middle.
2. By adding ladders to the garden.
3. By adding tall garden signs and decor to the flower bed.
4. By planting in funnels on a broomstick or dowel.
5. By double-decker planting my container gardens. This oak barrel has a galvanized pail of coleus in the center for added height.
This oak barrel has a double-decker crate of lobelia.
6. By adding chairs or stools to the garden.
To the far left is a chair planter of petunias.
7. By adding container plantings within a flower border. Here galvanized laundry tubs of annuals add more height and dimension to the border.
8. By adding legs to a junk garden planter.
As you can see there are many ways to add vertical interest to your flower gardens and containers. Just use your imagination.
My creative junk gardening sister in law, Kris, added this galvanized tub to an old cement bird bath pedestal. (The water bowl was missing)
Then she added a fun window frame attached to metal sign posts behind it.
The pedestal adds the height and the window frame adds the whimsy!
How do you add vertical interest to your flower gardens?
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Beautiful flowers--great inspiration to get myself gardening
ReplyDeleteI'll bet your garden is the envy of the neighborhood. Love all your creative ideas.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh Carlene... every single picture is heavenly! I am so in love with your garden this year! The junky relics just take it over the top!
ReplyDeleteYour garden is beautiful! Love all of your ideas! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU for sharing such wonderful ideas!! I was trying to do what you have done and it simply wasn't working out for me....SO glad I ran across your site on Pinterest! Your creativity has inspired me to work on mine again knowing this time I will have great results WOO HOO
ReplyDeleteMay God bless!
Your flower is so nice
ReplyDeleteGreat tips on adding vertical interest to a flower garden! The ideas shared are simple yet effective. Can't wait to try them out in my own garden. Thanks for the inspiration! 🌷🌿 #GardeningTips #FlowerGarden 🌼
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