PLANT YOUR BORDER
This gravel garden planting loves sunshine and free-draining soil. Plant as the soil begins to warm in spring. You don’t want to overly enrich the ground, but it helps to work in some well-rotted compost or leafmould as you clear the site of weeds and break up compacted ground. Help each new plant by soaking its root ball before planting. Work in compost to the hole, water thoroughly and finish with a thick gravel mulch. This helps keep on top of weeds and retains moisture. Young plants established like this in spring should be resilient enough to cope without further watering, even in a dry spell.
1 Plant the berberis and yucca
These two shrubs are the eye-catching punctuation marks of this border. Consider how they’ll look against their neighbours when you first set them out and make sure they have enough elbow room to shine. Yucca ‘Golden Sword’ isn’t the hardiest of plants, coping down to -5C (23F) as long as it has well-drained soil and a sheltered, sunny site. In spring tidy away damaged leaves and cut back old flower stems once they’ve gone over to keep things neat. The berberis is slow growing but will form a beautiful vertical presence in time, with lighter colours showing up well against its mass of upright purple-bronze stems. It has small yellow flowers in late spring and you can do a little light pruning to improve its shape after flowering.
2 Establish the lavender and santolina
These two dwarf evergreen shrubs make an aromatic backdrop. Plant them once the ground is warm in spring and dig in extra grit for better drainage. Cut back the lavender after flowering in August but resist cutting back into old wood. This gives enough time for any new growth to harden up before winter. Trim plants again in April if need be.
Keep the santolina compact by trimming plants after flowering, or cut away flowers as they appear if you want to keep it for foliage effect alone. Again, trim plants in spring to further encourage a dense, compact shape. Both plants may be short lived but can be propagated by taking semi-hardwood cuttings in late summer.
3 Finish with the stipa and hylotelephium
Both theses plants stand well into winter, bringing extra structure and texture to the planting. The flat seedheads of hylotelephium look wonderful coated in frost, so resist cutting them back until early spring when new growth starts to show.
If you’re on fertile soil, plants may flop over as they flower. If this is the case, tip back shoots by a third in late May (Chelsea Chop) to encourage shorter, bushier growth. Divide plants every three to four years in spring, discarding the older sections and replanting younger growth for best vigour. Deciduous Mexican feather grass tends to be short lived but will gently self-seed especially on welldrained soil. Propagate your own plants by sowing on the surface of damp seed compost in spring. In March, comb through established clumps to remove old leaves and stems. It’s also a good time to lift and divide larger plants. ✿