![All change](https://cdn.magzter.com/1422872219/1691499365/articles/k_SRPv8l21691555043638/ALL-CHANGE.jpg)
A traditional mixed border in its prime is a glorious sight, but the key phrase is ‘in its prime’. As time passes, shrubs become overmature, roses can lose their vigour, perennials need dividing and even the finest border can begin to look tired, possibly old-fashioned and in need of a major overhaul. Sometimes it never worked in the first place.
This was the problem that faced garden designer Kristina Clode when clients requested her help. The couple knew that the existing layout and planting wasn’t working, but didn’t know how to improve it. They wanted more colour and yearround interest, but also wanted to keep plenty of sunlight in the garden, so there were to be no tall trees. More unusually, all the existing plants were to be incorporated into the new planting – although they could be moved to different positions. For plant lover Kristina, having more than 600 square metres of borders to fill was a dream job. “The planting was very shrub dominated and congested,” she says, “with too many red, silver and variegated-leaved shrubs, and there was little in the way of flowers, or varied texture and movement. The challenge was to incorporate multiples of shrubs I wouldn’t normally include in my planting designs, such as various red berberis, Teucrium fruticans, Nandina domestica ‘Fire Power’ and Pittosporum tenuifolium ‘Tom Thumb’, and disperse them through new borders in a way that did not dominate the planting.”
This story is from the August 2023 edition of Gardens Illustrated.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the August 2023 edition of Gardens Illustrated.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
![STEPS TO SUCCESS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/8833/1708876/IsLR0Aa0H1716465027220/STEPS-TO-SUCCESS.jpg)
STEPS TO SUCCESS
Enclosed within a rustic barn conversion, this courtyard garden contrasts riotous Mediterranean-inspired gravel planting with clean lines and a reflective pool
![ANNIE GUILFOYLE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/8833/1708876/e2EIxi9Wj1716464833724/ANNIE-GUILFOYLE.jpg)
ANNIE GUILFOYLE
The garden polymath on the pleasures of passing on knowledge, the rewards of close observation and the circuitous route towards grounding her itchy feet
![HEAVEN SCENT](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/8833/1708876/kveapN1yW1716464473452/HEAVEN-SCENT.jpg)
HEAVEN SCENT
As summer adds a new dimension to his garden, Nigel Slater reflects on the rewards of planting for perfume
![Colour therapy](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/8833/1708876/tjbvnk40D1716463776224/COLOUR-THERAPY.jpg)
Colour therapy
Ann-Maree Winter's joyful Australian garden became a place of solace and nurture in hard times
![30 plants with interest all year](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/8833/1708876/AbqLT7bnP1716462312763/30-PLANTS-WITH-INTEREST-ALL-YEAR.jpg)
30 plants with interest all year
These hard-working plants provide several seasons of interest in your garden through flowers, fruit, foliage, bark and even spring shoots
![PERFECT HARMONY](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/8833/1708876/U87XcfuW01716461552401/PERFECT-HARMONY.jpg)
PERFECT HARMONY
Rosarian Michael Marriott and TV producer Rosie Irving have very different ideas on gardening, but they have discovered the secret to sharing a single plot amicably
![SUMMERFLOWERING ALLIUMS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/8833/1708876/NFbOe9y0R1716460759401/SUMMERFLOWERING-ALLIUMS.jpg)
SUMMERFLOWERING ALLIUMS
Loved for their showy spheres, alliums have long been stalwarts of late spring, but now new introductions are extending the party through summer
![Faith in the future](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/8833/1708876/zmA9_B7WZ1716460391082/FAITH-IN-THE-FUTURE.jpg)
Faith in the future
Marian Boswall's contemporary design for the garden of a former chapel respects the property's history while looking to the future
![Summertime at Sissinghurst](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/8833/1708876/TydprowFz1716459419577/SUMMERTIME-AT-SISSINGHURST.jpg)
Summertime at Sissinghurst
Ensuring Sissinghurst’s famous roses look fabulous throughout the season is one of the many tasks keeping head gardener Troy Scott Smith and his team busy right now
![FRESH APPROACH](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/8833/1708876/w2UqFuBc61716459099296/FRESH-APPROACH.jpg)
FRESH APPROACH
Colm Joseph’s design for this new garden, which surrounds a modern house within a heritage setting, uses clever planting to give a historic site a contemporary feel