How to Design a Rustic Garden
No one is denying that a well-manicured and exquisitely-planted garden is a thing of beauty but there is a quaint charm in to cultivating the rustic garden. In a rustic garden, linear structured formality is banished in favor of curving, irregular lines and seemingly haphazard flower beds. Instead of well-sculpted borders of evergreens the emphasis is on borders packed full of shrubs, herbaceous perennials and bulbs. Scented and traditional plants playa vital part, as do roses, especially climbers and ramblers grown over fences and arches. Rustic gardens can be productive, if you intermingle edibles with flowers, and are not labor intensive to create or maintain. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Clear and measure the area. Look at the area and try to incorporate existing features. If you had a tree stump taking up one corner it would have to be removed to install a formal garden but it can become a feature of interest in a rustic garden.
-
2
Lay a single garden path. You can fashion the walkway with a random mixture of stone, brick and paving is laid informally, with plants spilling onto it from adjacent borders. Unlike formal garden paths that require the area be completely leveled a rustic garden path can be a little uneven as long as it is not unstable or unsafe.
-
-
3
Install some reclaimed timber beams. Using post hole diggers install some rustic poles or reclaimed timber beams or poles around the garden. These can be planted with clematis, English ivy, or climbing roses and used to make an informal archway or even provide some shade.
-
4
Create a secluded corner getaway. A wooden bench or hammock, tucked away behind shrubs, provides the ideal place to enjoy the scents and colors of the garden and give the garden a “lived” in feeling.
-
5
Plant herbaceous shrub borders that will require little maintenance. Shrubs like azalea or hydrangea will bloom in spring and summer for display and need only be cut back in winter.
-
6
Build informal flower beds. Unlike formal gardens there is no need for strict symmetry or flower choices in creating flower beds in a rustic garden. Plants of all shapes, colors, textures and scents are planted without a hint of a straight line in a rustic garden.
-
7
Place rural-looking containers with annuals and seasonal flowers around the garden to infuse the space with a splash of new. Also consider intermingling herbs because annuals and herbs in containers are an often attractive mix.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Rustic gardens required less maintenance but be vigilant of weeds.
Resources
- Photo Credit Public Domain
