Get see-through chic
For space and light, these graceful, see-through plants are perfect. Louise Curley shares her favourites
They’re lighter than air, transparent and yet sparkling and elegant. For a soft, loose feel in your garden, these transparent plants can’t be beaten. These are plants with tall, slender stems that will create a wispy, ethereal feel in beds and borders. The stems tend to be leafless, with any foliage growing low down, so even though these plants are tall, their delicate flowers and stems add height without bulk. This means they can be planted at the edge of a path, or grouped together and used as a natural screen where sunlight can still filter through, affording glimpses of other parts of the garden. Flowers tend to be small or gathered together in clusters so they form a haze of subtle colour rather than a distinctive block. Their wiry stems catch the breeze, adding movement and in some cases sound to a garden as they sway. To get this light and dreamy look in your own garden, here’s our pick of the best see-through plants.
STIPA GIGANTEA
Golden oats is the most majestic of grasses, with large hummocks of grey-green foliage and towering stems topped with oat-like flowers. These flowers start out purple-green before turning pale gold as summer unfolds. Its arching stems and seed heads continue to look good well into autumn where they glisten in the low light levels. It’s hardy and thrives in full sun and well-drained soil. Flowers June-July. H2.5m (8ft) S1.2m (4ft)
MOLINIA CAERULEA ‘TRANSPARENT’
A variety of our native purple moor grass, which means it copes well with cool, wet summers. Narrow, strap-like leaves form a loose, low-growing mound above which stately stems of fine flowers are held. Delicate rice-like seed cases follow and remain well into autumn where they create a golden haze. Prefers acid to neutral soil that’s moist but well-drained. Flowers July-August. H1.5m (5ft) S60cm (24in)
VERBENA BONARIENSIS
The tall, slender branching stems and clusters of tiny purple-lilac flowers make this the queen of all transparent plants. The sparse foliage is clustered around the lower stem. It’s a perennial, although borderline hardy, so it may not come back after a cold winter. Looks great planted en masse as a screen, or weaving through other perennials and grasses. Needs a sunny, sheltered spot and well-drained soil. Flowers July-November. H2m (7ft) S45cm (18in)
CALAMAGROSTIS ‘KARL FOERSTER’
Feather reed grass has a stiff, erect habit offset by graceful flowers that add gentle movement in the breeze and soft screening at eye level. Green flower stalks and pink-tinged fluffy flower spikes fade to a lovely straw colour. Great for adding height or used in groups as a natural divider. Full sun or part shade in well-drained soil. Flowers July-August. H1.8m (6ft) S60cm (24in)
GAURA LINDHEIMERI ‘THE BRIDE’
A particularly graceful plant with slender, wafty stems covered in delicate star-shaped flowers that form a froth of colour. Pink buds open into pure white; other varieties include ‘Siskiyou Pink’ and the white-petalled ‘Rosyjane’. ‘The Bride’ is borderline hardy and often treated as an annual. Needs fertile, moist but well-drained soil. Flowers May-September. H up to 1m (39in) S45cm (18in)
ANTHRISCUS SYLVESTRIS ‘RAVENSWING’
This purple, almost black, form of our native hedgerow cow parsley brings a floaty quality to sunny borders with dappled shade. It has elegant stems with deeply cut, lacy foliage and clusters of tiny creamy-white flowers in late spring and early summer. Use it to add a wild, naturalistic feel to your garden. A hardy perennial, it needs a well-drained soil. Flowers May–June. H1m (39in) S30cm (12in)
SANGUISORBA OFFICINALIS
These plants are characterised by tight, button-like or fluffy bottlebrush flowers held on thin stems. Cultivars come with flowers in a range of pinks through to crimson red that contrast well with the grey-green leaves. To achieve the see-through effect, look for tall varieties such as ‘Red Thunder’, ‘Blacksmith’s Burgundy’ or S. menziesii. Thrives in sun or part shade, in moist but well-drained soil. Flowers July–September H up to 2m (7ft) S60cm (24in)
DIERAMA PULCHERRIMUM
These graceful arching stems have bell-shaped blooms dangling along their length – which is why plants are more commonly known as angel’s fishing rods. The flowers come in pale pink, magenta or sometimes white, and rise above clumps of grass-like foliage. Plant it by a pond or stream, or at the edge of a border or path. Plant in fertile, well-drained but moist soil. Flowers June–August. H1.2m (4ft) S50cm (20in)
FOENICULUM VULGARE ‘PURPUREUM’
A clump-forming perennial herb with delicate feathery, aniseed-scented foliage and tall stems topped with sulphur-yellow umbel flowers. The flowers fade to attractive skeletal seed heads in autumn. This variety of fennel has fine, smoky purple-green leaves that combine well with pastel flowers or more vibrant colours. Its ornamental qualities make it just as at home in the border as it is in the herb garden. Flowers July-August. H1.8m (6ft) S45cm (18in)
THALICTRUM DELAVAYI
Clouds of dainty pink flowers are held on the slenderest of stems that arch attractively, high above a mound of fern-like foliage. The grey-green leaves can take on purple tinges over the summer. Good at the back of a border, but works just as well at the edge of a path where you can appreciate the sprays of fluffy flowers at close range. Happy in dappled or full shade in moist but well-drained soil. Flowers July-September. H up to 1.5m (5ft) S60cm (24in)