The realization of your plan
Geometrically, a modern massif is characterized by clean lines and rectangular and square shapes are preferred. The first step, before you start making your flower bed, is to develop a plan. You don’t have to be an expert in drawing for this. This can be done very schematically. The important thing is to allow you to develop your project and think about it in more detail.
Whenever possible, it is important to make your sketch to scale and to think of the layout according to the actual size of each plant. This way you will avoid disappointments once your project is completed. This step will also save you time when you move on to the realization, because you will know exactly what to place and where. You can also buy whatever you need when the time comes, as well as accurately estimate the cost.
Choose your plants carefully
An essential rule for the realization of your flower bed, but also for everything you are going to plant in your garden, is to choose plants adapted to the conditions of your land. This way, they can develop optimally and you can take full advantage of them. You should therefore be interested in their hardiness depending on the region where you live, the exposure, the type of soil, etc. To structure a modern bed, you must also think about the location of each plant. Here are some plants you can bet on:
- large grasses to be installed at the bottom of the massif while the smaller models will find their place at the front;
- you can also opt for giant plants, hydrangeas or flowering shrubs. You will thus create the bottom of your massif by betting on different levels;
- ground cover perennials will finish off your bed wonderfully by constituting the border;
- you can also choose to line up bulbous or rhizomatous plants, such as tulips, lilies, etc. ;
- for a more contemporary result, you can turn to plants with decorative foliage, such as spurge, sagebrush, hostas, etc.
The choice of colors
It is important to determine the colors that you want to invite in your garden and for good reason, it is the first thing that tends to catch the eye. Several solutions are available to you depending on the desired result and your tastes, but remember that for a contemporary solid, the range of colors must be limited. You can choose one or at most two.
- The white will be, aesthetically, the most beautiful effect and you will enjoy a wide choice of flowers of different shapes.
- You can also opt for silver gray for a solid enjoying a sunny exposure.
- Why not bet on dark flowers? They can be used in contrast with white.
- You can also play with shades of color. It is then enough to choose a color and to select plants which decline the various shades of it.
The shape of the massif
The contours of the massif must be defined beforehand. As we have seen before, in a modern garden it is often a square or a rectangle, but you can also imagine different shapes for your flower bed. The shape is important, because it will give character to your space. It is also possible to outline this shape to accentuate it even more. You can then use different types of materials such as wood, stone, metal, etc. Depending on the shape you want, some materials will not be suitable.
Develop the massif
When designing, the flower bed should be thought of to be interesting all year round and not just when it is in bloom. It would be a shame to make it so ephemeral. Flowers fade, but your flower bed must survive the seasons. There are several solutions for this.
- You can, at first, decorate this space by marrying the shapes of plants and shrubs. You will thus opt for certain varieties with an upright habit while others will be creeping or in clumps. Thus, your flowerbed will retain an interest thanks to the different shapes that will offer it movement.
- You can also imagine the massif in such a way that it changes with the seasons. For this, choose a few plants with evergreen foliage. In addition, some see their colors change over the seasons, which will allow you to benefit from a new appeal month after month. This is the case, for example, with the Mexican orange tree.
The interview
The maintenance of your flower bed is of great importance. It is therefore necessary to think about it upstream. Depending on the plants you select, it will tolerate more or less well if you neglect it. It can therefore be useful to choose the plants according to the time that you will be able to devote to them. However, do not delude yourself, for a good result, a minimum of maintenance will always be necessary. Here’s what to do:
- prune the plants that need it, when necessary:
- regularly rid plants of their faded flowers. In addition, being more aesthetic, they may eventually bloom again.
- do not let weeds invade your bed. To simplify this tedious work, it is possible to opt for mulching. It is possible to use a mineral mulch which will allow you to take advantage of the mixture of materials essential to the contemporary appearance of your flowerbed.