Mixed borders became very fashionable after World War II. They were and still are often promoted as being less labor intensive than herbaceous borders, but this doesn't make much sense to me. If you have to divide most perennials every few years, it should be easier to devote a bed to perennials, annuals and biennials, so that the entire bed can be dug up and renewed. Why is it labor saving to have to dig perennials out from among the roots of shrubs? As far as I can tell, the main value of mixed borders is that the shrubs add variety to a border and they are a way of combining perennials and shrubs in small gardens. It isn't that I find mixed borders unattractive; they are often more attractive than herbaceous borders, I just don't understand why herbaceous borders went out of fashion.
Many herbaceous borders in late nineteenth and early twentieth century gardens were designed to be in bloom during early summer, because their owners would travel in late summer, but with a careful selection of plants, herbaceous borders can be filled with blooms up until autumn.
Now I wish that I had a walled garden to plant like the garden in the photograph.
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