How to plan a perennial border that blooms from April to October
Groups of three or five, stepped heights, bloom times that hand off to one another and grasses for winter: a method for designing a perennial border.
Garden Design · 4 min read ·
Garden Design Masterclass
Video masterclass · with Claire Donovan, garden designer
Survey, base plan, structure and planting plan: design a garden you can install and maintain
$690
One payment, lifetime access- 50 video lessons, lifetime access
- 10 hr 3 min of video, at your own pace
- 14-day money-back guarantee
About the masterclass
A good garden starts on paper, with a plan that fits the site, the budget and the hours you really have for upkeep. In this masterclass Claire Donovan teaches the method she uses with clients: read the site, draw it to scale, set the structure, then choose the plants and count them. You finish with a planting plan you can install, not a mood board.
The course follows three California gardens from the first site visit to the first summer after planting: a Pasadena front lawn replaced with a dry garden, a 60-foot mixed border in Sonoma County and a shady courtyard in San Francisco. Drawing lessons are filmed at the table, with the tools and scales Claire uses every day. You learn to measure a yard with two tapes, draw a base plan at ⅛ inch to the foot, size paths and patios, build borders in layers and write a plant list with quantities and costs. Plant palettes for eight US regions carry the method beyond California.
Design takes time, and the course doesn’t pretend otherwise: expect to spend 20–30 hours on your own plan, measuring, drawing and counting plants, over a few weeks. Low upkeep is designed in rather than promised: plants matched to the site, set densely enough to cover the soil, on drip zoned by water need. The course covers planting, paths and small paved areas, but not engineering: retaining walls taller than about 3 feet, major drainage work and anything that needs a permit belong with a licensed contractor.
What’s included
- 50 video lessons in 10 modules, about 10 hours, following three gardens from survey to first summer
- Design workbook with drawing templates and plant-count sheets (96 pages)
- Plant palettes for eight US regions, with zone, height, bloom time and water needs
- Planting density tables and a worked plant list with quantities and costs
- Lawn replacement, hydrozoning and drip layout for water-wise planting
- Written feedback from Claire on one planting plan, plus a private student community
Who it’s for
- Homeowners about to redo a yard who want a plan before spending on plants and paving
- Gardeners whose borders peak for three weeks in June and look tired the rest of the year
- Anyone replacing a lawn with planting that needs less water and fewer weekends
Curriculum
10 modules · 50 lessons · 10 hr 3 min of video
Lessons never expire: watch at your own pace, on any device, and come back to them when you’re out in the garden.
Also included
- Design workbook with drawing templates (96 pages)
- Plant palettes for eight US regions
- Written feedback from Claire on one planting plan
- Private student community
- The design process in six stepsFree preview12 min
- Three gardens we follow through the courseFree preview10 min
- Writing the brief: budget, time and upkeep13 min
- Tools: scale ruler, tracing paper or free software9 min
Your instructor
Claire Donovan
Garden designer
Designs low-maintenance gardens with perennials and grasses. Trained in England, practicing in California since 2011.
Common questions
From the journal
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