Create a Summer and Autumn Border with the GardenAdvice Online Garden Border Designer

by GardenAdvice · Published 15/10/2026 · Updated 15/10/2026

Click here to see the border plan and original border

Would you like more colour in your garden, a longer flowering season or fresh ideas for a tired border? The GardenAdvice online Garden Border Designer helps you explore the possibilities using a photograph of your own garden.

Whether you want to refresh existing planting or develop a new border, you can create an illustrative design, explore plant combinations and refine your ideas before starting work.

Try the Garden Border Designer through our MyGardenTeam demo.

Start with a photograph of your border

Upload a clear photograph showing the area you would like to improve. Try to include the whole border, together with surrounding features such as paths, lawns, fences and established trees.

Then explain what you would like to achieve. You might want more summer flowers, autumn colour, planting for pollinators or a border that takes less time to maintain.

Include useful details such as:

The approximate length and depth of the border.
Whether it receives sun, shade or a mixture of both.
Your soil type, if known, and whether it tends to become dry or waterlogged.
Favourite colours and plants.
Existing plants and garden features you want to retain.

The more information you provide, the more closely the proposal can reflect your garden and your aims.

Explore a design for your own garden

The designer uses your photograph and instructions to develop a proposed view of the border, supported by planting information.

This helps you picture how different flower shapes, foliage textures and plant heights could work together. A suggested plant list and approximate planting positions provide a starting point for developing the scheme.

You do not need to replace everything. Ask the designer to work around established plants, retain your favourites or suggest where existing clumps could be divided and repositioned.

Our example: more colour from June to October

The summer and autumn border shown here explores how an established perennial border could be refreshed while keeping much of its existing character.

The proposal retains plants such as Persicaria, cardoon, daylilies, peony and Stachys, with selected clumps divided and repositioned. New additions include blue Agapanthus ‘Midnight Star’, pink Echinacea ‘Magnus’, Aster ‘Mönch’ and Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’.

The aim is a succession of interest across the season, with contrasting flowers and foliage creating a fuller, more layered border.

The illustration shows the overall planting effect. Individual plants flower at different times, so the garden’s appearance will change as the season progresses.

Create different versions before deciding

Your first design is a starting point. You can ask for another version with different colours, fewer plant varieties, more height or a greater emphasis on existing plants.

For example, try asking:

“Keep the cardoons and daylilies, but create a blue, pink and purple border with more late-summer flowers.”

You can also request seasonal views to explore how the proposed planting might look at different times of year. Comparing versions helps you decide which direction suits your garden.

Turn your ideas into a practical planting scheme

Once you have a design you like, discuss it with your GardenAdvice adviser. They can help check plant suitability, mature sizes, quantities, soil preparation and planting distances.

Design images and planting positions are illustrative. Final measurements and an assessment of your garden’s conditions help turn the proposal into a practical scheme.