GARDENING GENTLY
Dense planting and allowing plants to self-seed help keep the garden in harmony with its surroundings
“I grow things closely together and it helps reduce weeding,” says Tricia. “And just seeing something put itself somewhere gives me pleasure, especially if it fits in with one of my careful colour groupings.”
To create the dense naturalistic canopy of vegetation the couple like, they allow the plants themselves to fill in the gaps through self-seeding, and actively encouraging plants, such as the sedge Carex pendula (which may be too vigorously self-seeding for many gardens). They also encouraged Linaria purpurea to seed into the walls along with male ferns, which have also have seeded themselves into gaps in the paving.
Gravel, which is used at Chapelside, can be an especially good environment for self-seeding, with many species able to germinate and survive in gravel that would not do so in the border. Gravel is a good foreground for plants, especially for those with low foliage that doesn’t sprawl too far over it, such as the large-leaved Phlomis russeliana used by Tricia and Robin.
Primula species are particularly good self-seeders. Primroses, cowslips and oxlips will seed in most gardens. In the weak grass beneath trees, they often seed and grow particularly vigorously, which if left unmown creates a colourful flowerrich lawn in spring, but which can then be cut conventionally from June onwards. On moist soils, the more exotic Himalayan primulas will seed too, and one of the best at Chapelside is Primula florindae, which has seeded into the pavement. This robust and wonderfully scented species is an exceptionally good self-seeder in moist and cool summer climates.