Keep off the grass

Small garden, or challenging space? No problem! The Beautiful Borders are always awash with take-home ideas to help you squeeze the most into your garden. Find out more about James Fenneberg’s Border below.

Designed by James Fenneberg

Agave plants are a prominent feature in the design and symbolise the sense of protection James wanted to create for his space. The inspiration came from once reading about how their spiky leaves were used by ancient Mayans in their bloodletting rituals.

The idea for this protective border originated from the annoyance of people walking over his newly sown front garden meadow as well as a desire to create a space of dangerous beauty.

The design incorporates a substrate of volcanic black sand and rock, volcanism was also an integral part of ancient Maya life, this will also accommodate ground nesting wasps and bees whilst setting off the planting with contrasting colours.

James has studied both fine art and scenic painting and as a relative newcomer to gardening draws upon his experience with colour and shape as the basis for his design. Inspired by the fractal shapes, growth patterns and jewel like aesthetics in the formation of these plants, James has incorporated this into the overall spiral design.