How to save money on bedding schemes

Annual spring bedding displays maybe high impact, but they come at a price because they have to be replaced every year. If you are on a tight budget, it’s worth thinking about other options that could save you time and money and still put on a good show. The beauty of perennials is that, once planted, they will look good year after year. That means if they are combined with bulbs, you can achieve a seamless display from early spring and the bulbs don’t have to be dug up to make way for the summer bedding. As if that wasn’t enough, by choosing the right combinations of perennials you can provide colour and interest throughout the year.

Why choose perennials?

• Less work
• Cheaper in the long run
• Longer-lasting displays
• Can be planted in shade

Bedding effect

To get the same look and feel of summer bedding, you will have to select low-growing perennials with a long flowering period. You can combine spring- and summer-flowering perennials with evergreen perennial foliage plants for continuous interest throughout the year. Add spring and summer bulbs for added impact. If you want a high impact display, aim to combine perennials that flower at the same time. Many colourful groundcover foliage plants are worth considering here too, especially for use along the edge of the display. Many are shade tolerant, so you can have perennial bedding schemes in parts of the garden where annual summer bedding would not thrive. The key to success when creating your design is to emphasise the different colours and textures by planting contrasting varieties alongside each other. Using blocks of the same plants will increase the impact, as will framing the display with lines of bricks and covering any bare soil with a contrasting mulch of gravel or pebbles.