Add vertical interest with Border giants

Whatever your garden's style or size, towering plants are a must. Louise Curley recommends statuesque specimens guaranteed to take borders to new heights

- Louise Curley

HEIGHT is a crucial aspect of any good garden design, and as gardeners we generally turn to trees and shrubs to add this element to our outdoor space. However, there are plants – certain perennials, annuals and biennials – that put on incredible amounts of growth in a single growing season, and these should also play a role.

The biggest advantage of these plants is the ability to soar skywards in a short space of time. Rather than waiting years for slow-growing trees and shrubs to provide height and stature in a garden, these border giants will do the job in months. They’ll add privacy and screen unsightly buildings, and will help you create tiered planting so that your borders have multiple layers of interest.

Some towering plants are robust specimens forming large clumps with sturdy stems. These need space to grow, so site them carefully. They are best positioned at the back of a border where they’ll screen fences and walls, and provide a backdrop to a lower tier of medium-sized plants.

Light and airy
However, tall does not always mean chunky; some options combine height with slender stems that lend them a light and airy feel. These can be invaluable, forming a veil of foliage and flowers that you can weave through borders and run along the edges of paths, or use as a screen to separate different sections of the garden.