To beautifully arrange a personal plot, desire is not enough. It’s good to have a basic knowledge of landscape design. One of the options often used for landscape design is a discount.
What is it
Rabatka is a flower garden, most often rectangular, narrow and long. Width and length are related as 1:3. So, if the width of the flower garden is 4 m, then the length will be, respectively, 12 m. It is placed along garden paths, fences, and the foundation of the house. The function of the rabatka is to decorate or divide the site into zones. Such flower beds are actively used in the landscape design of our cities. Alleys are often separated by ornamental plants, decorated in a discount.
Once upon a time, banal beds were called rabatka in Germany. And grew on them, respectively, vegetables. Now the filling of the rabatka has changed to floral. Although you can plant and spicy herbs. It will be both beautiful and useful.
Types
There are several signs by which a flower garden is classified.
By the location of the rabatka:
- Symmetrical – in the middle of some space. For example, a lawn.
- Asymmetric – along the fence or foundation.
Plant types:
- Annual rabatki are created from plants that grow one season, delighting with bright colors.
- Perennials are planted with representatives of the flora that grow for 2-3 seasons without requiring a transplant. Perennial ridges along the path will delight you with their beauty for several years.
According to the method of planting plants of different heights:
- In a single-tier flower garden, plants of the same height are used for planting.
- In a bunk – the flowers form two parts in height: high and low.
- A multi-tiered flower garden consists of plantings of different heights.
According to the form:
- One-sided rabatka – in the background, tall plants are planted along the fence or wall, then of medium height, in the foreground – undersized or ground cover. If you need to hide something, for example, the foundation of a house, then use plantings of the same color scheme. Or, on the contrary, plant flowering greens with a very bright color, then the flower garden will divert attention from construction errors.
- Double-sided rabatka – the middle part of the flower garden is occupied by tall plants, and low ones on the sides. Such a flower garden should be open to the eye from all sides. Its best location is in the middle of the site. The function of the rabatka is the division of the site into zones.
- Intermittent rabatka – a long flower garden is divided for convenience by a decorative stone, a path or undersized plants, or a large single plant (rose, dahlia, peony). It is not at all necessary that the shape of the rabatka be rectangular, it can be very different: both tear-shaped and wavy.
By color scheme:
- Monochrome – the use of plants blooming in the same color scheme for decoration.
- Contrast – the use of two or more colors.
DIY work
Most citizens cannot boast of large areas of their plots. Therefore, choose the appropriate size of the discount, it is better if its width is 0,5 meters.
Sketch
A step-by-step action plan for creating a discount is as follows.
First: plan. Start with a piece of paper. Draw what you want to see your discount. First of all, decide on the form. It will be even rows or fancy patterns, it’s up to you. Next, decide what color scheme your flower bed will be. You will combine plants of the same species, but different colors. Or go the hard way by combining annuals and perennials, or use flowers and plants with unusual leaf shapes and colors. This is a good move, as flowering plants usually lack greenery.
Below is a possible arrangement of perennials:
Place for a flower garden
The next step. It is necessary to orientate yourself in the area. Determine the place where the flower garden will be and what conditions are there. Conditions are important for your pets. Will there be shade or bright sun, high humidity? Consider the type of soil so that the plants grow well and delight you with lush flowering. If you want to decorate the site with longline plantings, then heed the advice from landscape designers: per 1 sq. m flower garden should be placed 4 tall plants, 5 medium and 9 small.
Plant species
When choosing flowers, remember the timing of flowering. Everyone wants the rabatka to please the process of continuous flowering from early spring to late autumn.
Early flowering plants: daffodils, tulips, snowdrops, crocuses. Unfortunately, this beauty is short-lived.
After the bulbous ones, one-year-olds can be planted in the vacated place: ageratum, calendula, petunia, marigolds, lobelia, pansies.
Decorative annuals can be added to flowering ones: seaside cineraria, crested chlorophytum, hybrid coleus. It is possible to use vegetable crops in the discount: carrots and beets, parsley and zucchini.
Perennials make life easier for gardeners. Irises, phloxes, lilies, lupins, hosta, peonies, bergenia, fern look good in a discount. The use of undersized coniferous plants is not prohibited: spruce, juniper. And spicy herbs: lemon balm, sage, thyme, mint, rosemary, which contain essential oils in their composition, will fill the garden with indescribable aromas, and they will bring you considerable benefits. Use herbs as spices or make tea.
Landing
We move from theory to step-by-step actions. Ready for gardening supplies. You will need:
- shovel;
- rake;
- pegs with ropes;
- watering can;
- decorative stone, tile – what will decorate the edges of the discount;
- a supply of fertile land and fertilizer may be required.
First, we make markings with the help of pegs and rope, where the flower garden will be directly. We dig up the earth, we make fertilizers. If the earth has never been dug up before in this area, then it is necessary to remove the top layer of turf to a depth of 10 – 15 cm, taking into account the shape of the rabatka. Then we fill this recess with gravel for drainage, then earth mixed with fertilizers. Next, armed with our sketch, we begin to plant plants. Start from the center, gradually move towards the edges. It is more comfortable. Otherwise, landings will be trampled and damaged.
When the plants are planted, they need to be watered. If you have planned to finish the edge of the flower garden with a decorative element, then do this before watering.
It will take some time for the plants to take root and adapt. Very soon the type of discount will change for the better.
Care
Blooming healthy plants are the dream and pride of any gardener. Do not forget that your flower garden will require attention. It is important to water on time. Consider weather conditions. Remember to loosen the soil and remove weeds. Then the landing will look neat. If the flower died for some reason, you should replace it with a healthy one. Fertilize plants, then there will be no losses due to lack of nutrients.
In autumn, perennials are freed from dried greenery and covered. You can arrange pegs with inscriptions to know for sure what and where hibernates. Be sure to inspect the plants, remove the dead and plant the overgrown ones.
Annual plants in the fall must be removed so that there is no rotting process and the spread of diseases.
Conclusion
Creating a rabatka is an exciting creative activity, during which dreams and aesthetic preferences will come true. Every day you will receive satisfaction and true pleasure from the work done. And on long winter evenings you will look at photographs of the past garden season and make new plans. You can stock up on new ideas by watching the video:
