Many terraced houses today no longer have large gardens, but just a narrow strip around the house and perhaps a few square meters for the terrace. Of course, these areas cannot be planted like a “real” flower bed in a large garden. With the right perennials and taking a few design rules into account, you can also create a colorful oasis of well-being.
Which flowers and design are suitable for a bed in front of the house?
For a flower bed in front of the house, heat- and drought-resistant perennials such as steppe candles, sage, spurge, woolly ziest, lavender and thyme are suitable in the sun, or table leaf, glories, purple bells, forest goat's beard, hostas and display leaf Shadow. Design the bed with variety and suitable plant height.
Site and soil conditions on a house wall
The location conditions in front of a house wall are often difficult, especially when it comes to the ground. The substrate is dry, stores little moisture, is often mixed with gravel or sand and, to make matters worse, is often very calcareous. Plants that can cope well with these conditions, that love dryness and limescale and are otherwise rather tough thrive here. The other location conditions depend on whether there is a lot or little sun there and what color the house itself is painted. A bright, south-facing house wall, for example, is ideal for heat-tolerant and sun-hungry plants that can also cope well with heat build-up. A north wall, on the other hand, only gets a little light, so shade-tolerant plants have to be there - which also have to cope with drought.
The most beautiful perennials and flowers for a house wall
Which perennials and flowers you choose for your bed in front of the house primarily depends on how much sun the selected area receives daily. For example, steppe candles (Eremurus stenophyllus), various types of sage (Salvia officinalis), spurge (Euphorbia polychroma), woolly ziest (Stachys byzantina), lavender (Lavandula) or thyme varieties thyme (Thymus) are recommended for sunny flower beds. Shady flower beds in front of the house, on the other hand, can be easily planted with table leaf (Astilboides tabularis), magnificent spar (Astilbe Arendsii hybrid), purple bells (Heuchera x brizoides), forest goat's beard (Aruncus dioicus), hostas (Hosta) and table leaf (Rodgersia aesculifolia).
How to design a narrow bed in front of a house wall
So that all of these beautiful flowers come into their own, you should follow the following rules when planning and designing the often long and narrow bed:
- Don't plant too many different species at once.
- Limit yourself to two to five species that you plant alternately.
- If the strip in front of the house is wide enough, you can also set several rows.
- Tall perennials always go to the back, flatter ones to the front.
- Choose species that are as tall and bushy as possible.
- Low perennials often appear lost in front of a high house wall.
Tip
Many houses have a strip of gravel or stone around them, which in many cases serves as a drip protection. You can safely plant such eaves strips. However, if the strip is used for drainage and is intended to keep moisture away from the foundation and house wall, it is better to avoid planting.
