I DIG THE HARD STUFF
With a chance to focus on his own garden, Diarmuid creates a bed of hardy perennials
This is my year of garden rejuvenation. Generally I’m travelling all the time with a fleeting day here or there to root myself in my home soil.
But by good fortune I have an intensive project involving months of preparation near to home and so I’m grounded!
I’ve seen my garden from dawn to dusk, the snows melt, the soil warm up, the buds appear and the magic of layer after layer of growth turn what seemed like a desolate plot into a glorious tapestry of many colours.
But I’m taking the opportunity to revisit parts of the garden that haven’t performed well.
I’ve decided that one square of patchy lawn that’s about four metres across should be given over to summer colour.
The plants I’ve chosen to use are hardy perennials – that group of plants which make up so much of our spring, summer and even into autumn colour. They grow and flower in a few seasons and generally die down in the winter. However, unlike last week’s tender perennials, they are tough and rise phoenix-like in the spring and bulk out further.
With this bed I’m looking for a richness of colours so I’ve carefully chosen a small collection of nine different plants, but I’ve used at least five of each so the bed is intensively planted – I’m looking for quick results.
Once I began to dig I discovered why the lawn was so poor. Even from this small patch I must have taken out a ton of rock and rubble. Because flowering plants are heavy feeders, I dug in bags of farmyard manure, and now for the planting.
I set out my plants on the bare soil in their pots and arranged them in groups. My plan was for the eye to dart from group to group and to have pools of smaller plants hovering around their base. While they are still in their pots you can keep playing with different combinations
until you decide on their final positions.
Water pots before planting – if the compost is very dried out, completely submerge the pot and plant in a bucket of water until all the air bubbles disappear.
Once you have finished planting, water the bed thoroughly and maintain a good watering regime throughout the summer and keep an eye out for slugs!
Here’s the selection I chose:
Cirsium ‘Atropurpureum’ – the plum thistle has beautiful deep ruby red crowns of flowers. It’s good in most soils – although it prefers a moist well-drained soil in the sun. It will tolerate a bit of dryness and the bees instantly started buzzing around it. Aquilegia ‘Black Barlow’ continues that rich dark theme and I have spread its dark purple pompom heads through the planting. Unlike many other perennials it’s not mad keen on being lifted from the soil and divided. Scabiosa caucasica ‘Pink Mist’ – the pin-cushion flower is a classic cottage garden favourite which loves full sun and well-drained soil. It’s quite drought tolerant and will perform on sandy or chalky soil as well. I love the delicate
flowers atop its ferny foliage, as do bees and butterflies. Salvia ‘Caradonna’ – this is a great ornamental sage which will form pools of deep purple colour and keep going for the summer. Easy to grow and it’s drought tolerant too. Eryngium giganteum ‘Silver Ghost’ – the giant sea holly is suitable for dry soil and will reward with beautiful teasel-like flower heads which can be left to dry for winter interest. I love the silver veining on the foliage. Iris Germanica ‘Black
Swan’ – this is an old variety of iris with the most delicious dark purple velvety petals atop blue-green strappy leaves. The important thing with bearded iris is to plant their rhizome or root just above ground which
allows the sun to bake it and thereby encourage flower production. Cut the flowering stem down to ground when flowering is finished.
Thalictrum ‘Splendide’ – I think this is one of the best thalictrums out there – the stems are quite sturdy so may not require staking. The delicate fern-like foliage throws a gentle veil of blue over the bed and I look forward to their delicate clouds of mauve lavender flowers.
Digitalis – foxgloves are such an adaptable plant that can be grown in full sun or dappled shade. These will self-seed and next spring I need to be careful when weeding this plot that I don’t rip out the seedlings and allow them to form their rosettes for flowering the year after. Geums – these sparkle through, dotting their orange jewels about. Geums are superb for their longevity – they will start in May and keep powering on through to autumn. I’ve used ‘Totally Tangerine’ in my garden but I also like the red varieties such as ‘Mrs Bradshaw’.
With the plants still in their pots you can play with combinations