The savviest home gardener can fight to see the possibility in a narrow planting strip, and also when that pocket garden is on the outside of this fence, is it even worth bothering about? The challenges are many: difficult to water, reflected heat from the sidewalk, careless feet and often poor soil.
Yet these perimeter plantings can act as a picture frame for the interior garden and home beyond. When you examine how these architects and designers treated their pocket gardens, you could be tempted to rethink the positioning of your own border fence just to take advantage of the unique design opportunity.
Denise Dering Layout
1. A Romantic Border
A classic white picket fence festooned with fragrant roses — what can be more romantic? The beauty of the one is that passersby may enjoy the flowers, because they’re implanted on the outside of the fence.
Key design features:
Restraint in the colour and plantsRepetition of colors and plants down the whole borderGaining height by using the fence to support climbing rosesColor notes:
A restrained palette of pink and blue is accented with chartreuse.The deeper shades of purple provide depth, ensuring that this combination will still turn heads even in summer time. Plant selection:
Climbing ‘Mary Rose’ offers height and fragrance.Billowing mounds of golden creeping Jenny(Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’) and May Night salvia (Salvia nemorosa ‘May Night’) type the decrease tier.These perennials are tolerant of water, inadequate soil and warm sun.
John Lum Architecture, Inc.. AIA
2. A Contemporary Home
The strong geometric lines of contemporary architecture call to get a foliage-focused planting, and this narrow roadside border delivers.
Key design features:
Restraint in colour and plant varietyLinear planting that echoes the flat lines of the home’s siding and fenceEmphasis on foliage over flowersColor note:
Muted earth tonesPlant choice:
Grasses and succulents are suitable for contemporary landscape design, as they rely upon their strong form instead of colorful blooms.These plants require minimal water and maintenance.The grasses add a bright note to the dark stained fence panels.
Le jardinet
3. An Entry That Establishes a Theme
A garden entry should create a feeling of anticipation, setting the scene for what is beyond. Plantings on the road side of the lattice fence do that.
Key design features:
An intriguing blend of textures and heights makes this tiny planting pocket look much larger than it actually is.Several of those plants may also be glimpsed within the primary garden. Color note:
Subdued tones of tan and pink permit the eye to move through the garden entrance. Plant choice:
This can be a particularly hot, dry border, so these plants are chosen due to their tenacity. Mexican feather grass (Stipa tenuissima), feather reed grass(Calamgrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’)and sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ (Sedum ‘Herbstfreude’) provide long-term interest.More on this Fantastic garden plant combination
Le jardinet
4. Planting Strips That Link Multiple Homes
Planned communities such as this one in Kirkland, Washington, have their own challenges, not the least of which is abiding by homeowners association regulations.
These planting strips permit identity while maintaining a cohesive design.
Key design features:
A narrow planting strip adjacent to the sidewalk is located beyond each homeowner’s split-rail fence.Several plants have been replicated through all the gardens, while there’s still space for some unique choices. Shade note:
Shades of blue, green and lavender are replicated throughout. Plant choice:
All the plants are lower compared to the elevation of this split-rail fence; allowing the fence to be glimpsed the whole sidewalk gives the illusion of a constant border.Each plant typically has a mounding habit, creating a feeling of uniformity.Lavender(Lavandula spp)and sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ (Sedum ‘Herbstfreude’) are implanted throughout these pocket gardens as well as in the adjacent communal garden areas. Bronze-colored coral bells (Heuchera hyb.) And daylilies (Hemerocallis spp) are also used. More:
Guides to Flowers | Give Curb Appeal a Self-Serving Twist
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