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A summer cottage for many people is a place where they can take a break from all city worries and feel unity with nature. Of course, growing a good harvest is also an incentive for many to regularly visit the dacha, but still, most tend to go to the dacha to relax. And for recreation, first of all, it is necessary to create comfortable and, importantly, aesthetic conditions. So that the eye has something to stop and relax.
Some time ago, the combination of the words “landscaping beds” would only cause a smile. But in recent years, more and more people are striving to create, at least on a small piece of land, a paradise on earth for themselves and their loved ones. Many people try to outdo each other in the design of their site with all sorts of figurines, hanging baskets, flower beds, paths and fences of the original form. Well, the beds in the country are the foundation of any summer cottage. The one that started it all…
Naturally, the desire is not only to make them convenient for both the summer resident and the plants, but also beautiful. Making garden beds is not such a difficult task, due to the large number of garden and building materials currently available for sale. Moreover, there are practically no restrictions on design, the main thing is that it be beautiful and safe.
Where to begin
If you are really planning to radically change your site, and not arrange one or two beds, then you need to start with a well-thought-out plan. After all, if on paper it is not at all difficult to change something, then when everything is finished in reality, you should experience only a sense of pride and admiration, but not disappointment. Otherwise, it makes no sense to start all this.
So, take a large sheet of paper and draw a plan of your site, preferably keeping the scale exactly. It is necessary to apply all existing buildings and paths to the plan. If the site has a slope or the terrain is not perfectly flat, then this is only good. Many specially arrange slides and embankments on level ground, and terracing even a gentle slope will add additional exoticism to your site.
In developing the design of flower beds and beds on your site, the main thing is that everything be in moderation. After sketching the main objects on the plan, be sure to estimate how many beds you want to arrange. If the site is very small, then it is necessary to consider vertical and multi-level beds. However, at least one such composition will not hurt in a large area.
Do not forget that the garden is created not only for beauty – the plants will need care.
The landscape design of your site provides for the creation of several zones that will differ from each other in their design. In one zone, you can arrange a place for passive recreation, in the other – a small playground. And in each zone you can break flower beds and beds. However, it is quite possible to combine them. After all, many flowers serve as excellent protection for vegetables from pests.
Materials for decorating beds
There are a lot of materials for decorating beds in the country.
The beds, decorated with various materials, are presented below, in the photo.
- From boards of different textures;
- From natural stones. From this material, you can create high complex ridges with the involvement of specialists, or you can lay out very pretty and uncomplicated beds yourself;
- From natural or artificial blocks;
- From bricks, including decorative ones;
- From the branches that are woven into a decorative hedge, you can create charming beds in the country with your own hands;
- You can create attractive compositions from plastic strips and containers if you arrange them in the form of various geometric shapes or lines;
- With the use of special decorative garden borders for flower beds of the most diverse shapes and shades;
- From slate;
- From a metal profile and metal sheets;
- From plastic bottles, after some preliminary preparation, which consists in painting them in different colors, you can create colorful compositions.
High beds
No matter how many beds you come up with to make in the garden, several of them must be high. Firstly, they greatly simplify the care of plants. Secondly, the most valuable and beautiful plants can be planted in them, because the conditions for the growth and development of plants in these beds will be the most optimal. And finally, the design options for such beds can only be limited by your imagination. They can be painted in any attractive color, they can be painted with patterns. On them you can lay out a mosaic of small decorative pebbles.
How can you easily and quickly arrange a high bed? If you decide to lay it out of bricks or stone, then this will take the most time. It is best in this case to invite a specialist bricklayer to make your building look professional. But with other materials it is quite possible to cope on your own.
The easiest option is to use ready-made boards, 1,5-3 cm thick and 15-20 cm wide. If the height of the proposed bed does not exceed 30 cm, then it is better to first dig a shallow ditch in the proposed place according to the size of the future bed. Its depth can be insignificant – about 10-15 cm.
You can choose the length of the bed at your discretion, and its width can vary from 50 to 80 cm. The main thing is that it is convenient for you to reach any part of it from the outside. Then, from the prepared boards, a box is knocked down according to the size of the future beds. On the four outer sides, it is limited to slats that are deeply driven into the ground. The basis for a high bed is ready. If the bed is supposed to be more than 50 cm high, then coarse organic materials – branches, boards, twigs, etc., must be placed at the very bottom with a layer of up to 20 cm.
To protect the boards from decay, it is recommended to lay a bed around the entire perimeter with a layer of polyethylene from the inside. The last step will be filling the beds with a mixture of earth, compost and humus. All these components can be prepared in advance on your own, or you can buy. At the last stage, decorate the outer side of the beds in any way that your imagination tells you. The simplest thing is to paint the boards in bright colors.
The contents of the beds are also important
If you are thinking about the question – how to arrange the beds in your summer cottage, then the beautiful design of the plantings themselves will be important. The most indispensable vegetables for creating beautiful compositions are various types of salads and cabbages. After all, there are so many varieties and colorings. And if you grow a lot of seedlings of these vegetables in advance, then you can create unique colorful patterns from them that will look even more decorative than flower beds.
Another idea, interesting for implementation, will be the creation of a small garden of fragrant herbs. If the initially prepared and leveled land is broken into many triangles or rhombuses using wooden slats, then they can be planted with various herbs. If you choose different shades, the result can be impressive. But this garden will still smell fragrant.
It is most logical to place such a flower bed of fragrant herbs near the barbecue area, where you receive guests and have picnics at your summer cottage.
Finally, try to master the various options for mixed vegetable plantings in your garden. This will allow you to minimize the use of chemicals to protect plants from pests, as they will protect themselves. In addition, mixed landings provide boundless scope for creativity. Your garden will be absolutely unique and unique.
Vertical beds
Speaking about the design of beds in the country, one cannot fail to mention such an important direction as vertical beds and flower beds. This is a fairly new direction, but its possibilities are truly inexhaustible. For a small area, they are simply irreplaceable. But even on large areas, their role can hardly be overestimated. First, they can help break up the site into zones. Vertical beds can serve as a kind of partitions, behind which another functional space begins.
In addition, suspended and vertical structures can play a role in the design of paths and transitions from one part of the site to another. An example is a garden arch, decorated with cells, with herbs or strawberry bushes planted in it.
In recent years, new materials have been used for vertical beds, such as, for example, plastic pipes of different diameters. You can make amazing designs out of them, thanks to a variety of connections.
Wood, as a material, will never go out of fashion, so vertical wood structures look very noble. For them, it is only necessary to provide protection from external influences by covering them with paints and varnishes. In this case, the service life of such structures will increase significantly.
If you have a large closed wall of the house or a blank fence on your site, then you can’t think of anything better than decorating it with hanging vertical beds.
Conclusion
As you can see, everything is in your power and decorating the beds and the entire plot can be limited only by the flight of your imagination. And ideas and materials for their implementation can now be found in abundance.
