First spring – in 2012.

When I moved to a townhouse with townhouse-size front and back yards, I loved starting new in a small space. And boy, was I confident! When a friend predicted that it would take three years to create a garden I like I scoffed! Not ME! And I couldn’t imagine waiting that long. Ha!

So it’s with humility that I admit that it’s taken 14 years to really, really like my garden. It’s not QUITE there yet but with a couple more years of growth, I think it’ll do.

Why did it take SO LONG? Let’s look at the journey of just one border, the most visible one in my back garden, but small, just 12 by 14 feet. That first spring it was soooo empty and sad, with a truly terrible view into a neighbor’s trash area! 

The first thing I did after moving in was to have the shed built, the flagstone patio and path laid.

May 2013.

By the following May there are lots more plants, but nowhere near the fullness that makes a border look DONE.

And when I look at this photo I see SO much failure! Literally the only plants that I still grow there are the groundcover Sedum (S. takesimense) on the left and groundcover comfrey, far right.

May 2015.

Two years later, you can see how dominant those groundcovers are here, causing me to eventually confine the comfrey to one small spot. But not much else is happening in the border.  If only I’d filled it with shrubs the first year!

May 2020.

Five years later, there’s (finally) the desired fullness, at least in May. But I spy still more plants that didn’t last long in that border (e.g., the Nepeta that was getting shaded by other plants) and too much comfrey. 

But a big hole was about to open up in the border, with the death of a Koreanspice viburnum that was strategically located to block pedestrian views of me on my porch, where I do my workout.  I grew maybe a dozen viburnums in my last garden that are still thriving today, so this was a surprise. 

August 2023.

By 2023 I’d planted two oakleaf hydrangeas to replace the viburnum and they’re growing fast, as promised. I’ve replaced most of the comfrey with another very thuggish perennial that I’m keeping an eye on – the black-eyed Susans. I’ll take their thuggishness any day over the plants that never fill out at all, or peter out after 3-4 years (looking at you, Echinacea!) The Susans fill up a border fast, have a long, cheerful bloom and happen to be Maryland’s state flower.

In the fall the three Amsonia hubrichtiis put on quite a show, finally! It took them at least five years to reach their mature size.

But there was still an empty spot in the border – time to buy something!

August 2025.

So last fall, to fill up that hole behind the groundcover sedum, I planted two caryopteris, which survived an unusually cold winter and will be blooming pretty soon.  As shrub-like perennials, they were large enough right out of container to provide that certain something I look for in a border – you know, fullness.

Crossvine and coral honeysuckle trained up the trellises.

What’s newest of all in this last photo are the black metal trellises at the rear, along my neighbor’s fence, quickly being covered with evergreen crossvine and during the growing season by Joe Pye Weed. Boy, do I love that Joe! Especially now when it’s abuzz with insects.

Why did it take 14 years?

  • Many plants didn’t do well in this spot – or maybe I failed them? But with perennials, because they sleep, then creep before finally leaping, it easily takes three full years to find out if the plant is doing well, looks right in that spot, etc.  ‘
  • Other perennials were short-lived, and they’re gone.  So I complain that no one told ME they were short-lived, or I wouldn’t have given them prime real estate where they do finally look great before petering out a year or two later.  
  • Some perennials, like spiderwort, are ephemeral, so they stay underground most of the season. 
  • Some of the perennials couldn’t compete with others.
  • I’m not a professional designer.

My point? Perennial borders are challenging, and I have tips

You know those photos of famous perennial borders, with perfect fullness, and color coordination, too? I can’t imagine how even professional gardeners pull that off.  Surely the perfection is temporary, lasting a week or two before something flops over, goes underground or dies. 

So my number one tip for borders it to use more shrubs! They’re less maintenance than perennials because they stay in place generally and need just a couple of minutes of pruning every year, if that.  But to my point here, they provide fullness, fast! I’m still annoyed by that short-lived viburnum, but I have great faith in the five oakleaf hydrangeas I’ve planted in my tiny back yard. They grow fast and SEEM to be long-lived. Better damn well be.

Two other tips for new borders can be temporary fixes, like filling them up with as many passalong plants as possible, especially the fast-spreading black-eyed Susans.

I think this lantana is ‘Havana Red Sky.’ 

Another great filler for the first years are potted or in-ground annuals, like lantana, which is an instant hit with pollinators. Pots in fun can contribute a lot to a new gardens.

Wait, one more point.

New gardeners are working their butts off, excited as hell, but many I see online are discouraged and asking for help because their wild garden is a “hot mess.”

But here’s the thing. They’ll put up with a lot of failure if they’re seeing their yard not only becoming more beneficial, a boon to the greater good, but also at least their own eyes, much prettier! Seriously, beauty is some kind of an instant reward, a rival to some altered states I’m familiar with.