PLANT YOUR BORDER
It’s awkward to hoe and dig out perennial weeds from gravel, so clear the site thoroughly first. Dig over compacted ground, adding grit and sand if the drainage needs improving. You don’t want high fertility, but if you add well-rotted organic matter you’ll help the soil retain a bit of moisture during summer drought. Use landscape fabric under paths, and lay a thick gravel or pebble mulch right across the site to reduce your weeding burden. 1 Plant the palm Plant the palm in mid-spring once the ground has begun to warm. Trachycarpus fortunei will put on stronger growth each year if it has richer soil and a bit of moisture at its roots, so it’s worth enriching the planting site to ensure it thrives. Water the container well before planting and water occasionally and deeply while it gets established. Young plants tend to be less cold tolerant, so invest in a larger, well-rooted container specimen. 2 Add the verbascum Either buy verbascums to plant out in spring, or sow seeds undercover in April. Use a gritty seed-sowing compost, pot them on and plant out in late summer to flower the following year. This might be a dry gravel garden, but it’s still important to water in at planting. Once you have verbascums in your garden you’ll find they self-sow, letting you choose which plants to keep while thinning them to 50cm (19in) apart. Overwintered plants usually need a bit of a tidy up in spring, pulling away old brown leaves from their base. 3 Plant the bergenias Good-natured elephant’s ears will appreciate some soil improvement with well-rotted organic matter before planting, as this will help to lock moisture in the soil near their roots: they don’t like the soil bone dry. Part-bury their rhizomes in the soil – much of their new growth will form as a network above ground. Once the old plants get too woody, discard them and replant just the new shoots. Snip off any old brown leaves for a neater look. 4 Sow the Californian poppies Once established on well-drained soil these poppies happily self-sow, often popping up in unexpected gaps. In the first year, sow seed direct in April or May, lightly watering the ground before sowing and being careful not to bury the seed as they need light to spur them into germination. Thin the resultant seedlings out to 10cm (4in) apart – they don’t tend to transplant well. Plants grow fast and start to flower when young. Prolong the display by deadheading, or cut some plants back hard in mid-summer to encourage them to flower again. ✿