Great Garden Border Ideas for the Northeast

Creating beautiful garden borders in the Northeastern United States can be difficult, even under the best of circumstances. There are plenty of reasons why it is hard to have an easy to maintain and eye-catching border: cold days, cold nights, snow, lack of sunshine, too much rain or not enough rain – you name it and the Northeast will experience it. Therefore, if you want a garden border that will look great – at least most of the year – you will need to do some planning.

Great Garden Borders the Easy Way

The easiest way to create great looking borders that can withstand the ever changing weather conditions of the Northeast is to create one – that doesn’t use plants or flowers at all. Though it may sound strange, many beautiful garden borders are created from red bricks, large attractive stones or even short fences. They don’t need to be watered, don’t require sunlight and can survive a snow storm better than any perennial.

Beautiful Borders the Traditional Way

Nevertheless, if you want your borders to be all natural and be filled with beautiful shrubbery and flowers, there is hope. You just need to choose varieties that do well in the Northeast. These types of flowers and plants can take the colder weather and do not need as much sunlight as some others.

Some great perennials or annuals to consider for the Northeast are:

Astilbe

Astilbes are beautiful and add a lot of color to any garden border. They have beautiful foliage and often produce color plumes of pink, red, white and even lavender. ‘Fanal’ is a very popular type of Astilbe that has striking deep-red foliage and really stands out in a crowd of other plants and flowers. It grows to about 2 feet in height and can be easily grown in most areas of the Northeast.

Miscanthus (aka Maiden Grass)

Perfect for any flower bed or garden border, the four-season Miscanthus is one of the easiest types of ornamental grasses to grow. Miscanthus often has golden or silver variegated foliage and offers striking contrast to many perennials. It can grow up to eight feet in height and makes a beautiful and delicate back drop for many borders along walls or tree lines.

Trillium

Trilliums love dark and moist areas – perfect for the Northeast. They are usually native to the woodland regions of the Northeast, but are ideal candidates for garden borders. When in bloom, they are displayed in striking shades of white, yellow or maroon. They grow to a height of about 16 inches and make great ground cover foliage for garden borders.

Lily-of-the-Valley

Although delicate and subtle in appearance, the Lily-Of-The-Valley is actually quite resilient and does very well in the colder, damper weather of the Northeast. It produces soft, bell-like flowers that seem to be sad and drooping; however, their coloring is quite striking. The pure white petals and deep green leaves of the Lily-Of-The-Valley make it an excellent choice as ground cover or as a center piece for a bed or border.