Expanding the Long Border — Letting the Line Breathe

 

Newly lifted section of lawn forming a bulging curve in the long border

For now, I’m continuing to expand the border without planting anything new. All of that will wait until spring. What mattered here was shape.

Rather than extending the border in a straight, rigid line — something more suited to a formal or architectural planting, I’ve decided to let it bulge in the middle. A soft belly rather than a hard edge. It immediately feels more natural, more forgiving, and far more generous in terms of planting space.

I lifted another roughly 6 × 6 ft section of lawn here. Interestingly, this was the point where the rubble layer finally faded out, transitioning back into a more familiar clayey loam. In anticipation of long-term structure improvement, I incorporated around 140 litres of compost into this section. That should pay dividends over the coming seasons — better drainage, better root penetration, and a more forgiving soil profile overall.

Newly mulched border section showing curved outline and compost-improved soil

I’ve updated the design file to reflect this change, and visually it works far better. The border now reads as something organic rather than imposed — a small but meaningful shift.

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Planned Divisions: Geum and Echinacea

Mature Geum ‘Mrs J Bradshaw’ showing multiple crowns ready for division

One plant that’s now firmly pencilled in for spring work is Geum ‘Mrs J Bradshaw’. I’ve been growing this clump for around five years and it’s naturally formed five distinct crowns — essentially dividing itself. Perfect timing.

Come spring, I’ll lift it, split it cleanly, and redistribute those divisions into the main border. Strong, reliable colour, and excellent pollinator value — it earns its keep.

Over in the pollinator fish-shaped border, I had what I thought was an early resurgence of Echinacea ‘Magnus’ foliage appearing beside the Allium ‘Millennium’. On closer inspection, though, the green shoots weren’t Echinacea at all, but Green alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens) — a deep-rooted opportunist making its move while the crown was dormant.

Green alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens) 

This actually presents a useful opportunity. In spring, I’ll dig out the entire Echinacea clump, remove the alkanet properly, and then split the Echinacea into two or three divisions for the main long border. The vacated spot will be replanted with a division of Allium ‘Millennium’, which feels like a more stable long-term pairing for that space anyway.

Updated long border design plan showing widened central bulge and planting zones