I have a plot, roughly 20' x 13' with about a 2' border for planting all around. It's pretty much a blank slate and I'd like to have it look less blankish in the spring. I plan on planting annuals and perennials in the border bed, but I was wondering what type of shrubs or large perennials would help fill in the border for instant impact?

If you can list the top 5 things you would plant, I'd like to cross-refernce that with my lists of wants and what grows well here. Two sides of the plot have a picket fence and another side has part of the house as a backdrop. The fourth side is next to the front walk leading to the front door.

You all have such lovely gardens that I'm striving for, so this newbie is open to any advice.

Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Thank you for your suggestions :)

If you can see the little girl schnauzer, that's about the area that is 2' on average.

The area in front of the fireplace. You can see the bare Black Elderberry (not black lace) and a rhododendron that's not doing too well. Hellebore and bleeding heart are planted here as well. The area is more than 2'.

Boy schnauzer helping me take another angle.

Echinacea, black eyed susans, queen Anne's lace, butterfly bushes, all these grow quickly and can fill a space in no time. Zinnias, salvias, cleome, cosmos, they can all be used as space fillers. Just plant in clumps, 3-5 plants in each area alternating all the way around. Toss in some hardy hibiscus and you've got an instant garden this year.

Your zone 5 location might prove a bit challenging at first, but you can pick and choose your shrubs for late summer planting using the larger perennials as a guide for final size requirements. I would stick to things that are evergreen or have some early spring blooms. But get some color in there first.

I did it with a much larger space using wintersowing. I have a thread on my blog about it. I'll give you the link. It couldn't be easier, although your timing will be different than mine. Last year I was already planting out this time of year, but the weather hasn't been as cooperative as last year.

Wintersowing a cottage garden.

Seed racks should be available now. Just google any plant you have questions about, or ask over in the wintersowing forum about when to sow. Hardy perennials can be sown now. Annuals are sown later. Direct sow some poppy seeds and larkspur now for early blooms. Next fall, tuck in some daffodils, muscari, hyacinth bulbs. This spring, plant some lily bulbs, gladiolas, etc. They'll all make an impact. Fill that space now, and edit as you find shrubs that you like.

flora and chohio, I was thinking of taller plants for the 2' area because the depth was so shallow. I thought it might fake the eye into thinking there was more depth. if I was wrong in thinking that, I would defer to your expertise. Like I said, I'm a newbie and while I know I can always move things that don't work, I also know I have a higher chance of messing up a transplant, killing plants in the process.

Gardening is NOT instant. It will take a year or three for it all to fill in and look full. In the mean time you could fill in with colourful annuals....

I would move or remove the rhodo from that location. It looks like it is planted to close to the house. Either move it out into the bed more or move it to some place where it has more room to grow. In your zone it may need some shade.....so keep that in mind. Honestly in that small of an area, I wouldn't be using shrubs at all. Also I have found that rhodo leaves dry out in winter in the cooler zones....so they need to be wrapped in burlap for the winter. Here in my zone 2, I wrap them well in burlap and put a wood box around them for the winter...the box prevents them from getting crushed by the snow. You probably don't have to go that far...but wrapping still wouldn't hurt them.

Don't be afraid of messing up, moving plants. That is how you will learn. If a plant doesn't make it, oh well. There is always something new to try next year. I don't think zone 5 is much of a challenge...there are many plants that will grow there.

In my eyes, to make it cottagey, I would have plants spilling over the picket fence as well as onto your gravel path. This would make it more a relaxed garden and not so formal.

Sierra

Wow! bhnash, that looks great! I'll definitely line up the entrance when the weather is a little warmer. Those two planting boxes were supposed to look like the makeover you did, but DH never got around to bringing the drip to those boxes like I kept asking. Maybe this will inspire him :)

chohio, thanks for the encouragement. We had two geothermal wells dropped in the front yard last fall and whatever time we could devote to the front yard went to cleaning up the mess it left. That's why the area is such a blank slate.

In other words you won't have a problem filling up the area, but you will have a problem narrowing down your choices. For full impact yard, you will have to limit your choices. Choose a few and plant many of that plant.

Since moving into this house (a 1940s brick cottage that was turned into a rental before we bought it) we've had a lot of fixing up to do and the front yard seemed to always either be last on the list or torn up because of other projects. I'm ready for my front garden this year :)

My plot as I mentioned is very similar to yours. However I used various geometric shapes, like rectangles and square plots linked together with a tiny strip plot to form the outer perimeter of the yard. This way I managed to create a feel for large garden in a stamp size plot. I can see in your garden plot, that there are lots of room for expansion should you want to do so in the future and so you may be able to indulge your urges to add more variety.

ianna, I would love to see pictures of your yard if you have any to share!

Echinacea (purple coneflower)
Rudbeckia (black-eyed susans)
Leucanthenum "Becky" (shasta daisy)
Knock-Out roses (maybe some pink and some of the new "sunny")
Daylilies
Nepata (catmint)
Perovskia (russian sage)
Sedum angelina or creeping thyme

OK...I know that's more than five!

That said, nothing creates rapid landscape effect like a vigorous vine. Someone suggested sweet autumn clematis, which I like. Maybe some annual vines like nasturtium, thunbergia or hyacinth bean, too.

I managed to create an "instant impact" garden last summer. Yes, it will take a year or two more to fill in entirely, but it looked nice from the beginning. I used fairly large plants purchased from local garden centers rather than ordering online or planting anything from seed. I also didn't lose many plants transplanting them in the middle of the summer (2 or 3 out of 120 or more). So, if you want a quick effect, I'd suggest buying perennials locally in 1 gal containers or larger.

It looks like a space with a ton of potential!

Just a couple of thoughts - you might start some seeds now for big impact in a couple of months at low cost. Climbing sweet peas would give a sense of enclosure growing on the fence and smell lovely. Or on the trellises if you do those.

Personally I would limit colors to those that look good with the color of the brick on your house. Perhaps yellow, blue, and white. Or burgundy, pale pink, and white, Or rusty reds, yellow, and white. I think white is important as contrast with colors. I wouldn't use bright reds, I prefer them at a distance, but that's JMO.

Plan to use annuals that grow quickly to a moderate to large size while your younger perennials are maturing (petunias, and some marigolds, for example). Then next year when the perennials mature you may use a few annuals for early and continuous color or for cutting.

Don't use too many different types of plants, better to use several of each variety. Do some research on plants to find smaller varieties, for example, there are huge as well as smaller delphinium so you could use 3 smaller ones or one large in a corner of a bed. Of course over time even some smaller varieties can grow to be quite a large clump. Many roses are medium or smaller also.

In your zone I'd start with a few of *some* of the following: roses, delphinium, lavender (also available in colors other than purples such as white, pink, and blue), catmint, some sort of daisy (lots of choices there), hollyhocks, foxglove, columbine, forget-me-not, and white alyssum as an edging plant. Some annuals such as pansies, verbena, and a few herbs and/or coleus to fill in spaces and provide different leaf colors. Lamb's Ears or Dusty Miller for silvery white are nice accent plants. I know that's more than 5 and they are fairly common plants but easy to grow and all good for a cottage garden. A few are scented also which is important IMO when you are sitting on that bench enjoying all your work! Plant low growing thyme around the bench as it can withstand a bit of traffic and smells lovely when touched.

Rather than having your hose there and have to try to hide it you might invest in soaker hoses. In a small area can be a good investment.

I like the gravel paths - great for a cottage garden.

cottagegirl, great advice! I do plan on getting some evergreen plants to take me through winter. As you can see, I'd have a rather sad looking area if I didn't!

gardenluv, what are BES? I'm in Reno, what about you?

I'm zone 4, so they're annuals here too, but Lowe's had star jasmine for $5 a piece, so for $15 I had two beautifully planted pots. The white petunias attract hummingbird moths, which are fun to watch in the evening and the fragrance was so relaxing. Something like that might be nice for your bench :)

(I know there's more fragrance in humid areas, but we have very dry and hot summers in eastern Washington and it still was a great combination.)

gardenluv, I'm in the Old South West part of town.

If you plant a beebalm on either side of a monkshood it looks great because they bloom together. The deep blue/purple with the hot pink is one of my favourite combos.