A perennial meadow in the making
Beyond the perennial plantings near the house, in a lower part of the garden, is an area of rough grass, including several locally uncommon, wildflower species into which cultivars of Eupatorium, Aster and Geranium have been planted. By late summer the grass is very rank and the perennials find it difficult to compete, but Alex and Jenni are keen to persist in developing a wildflower meadow with added perennials. Ideally, such a meadow would be on poor soil; low phosphorus soils in particular reduce grass growth, allowing for a better balance with perennials. Where this is not possible there is another solution, which Alex and Jenni are planning to try – sowing with yellow rattle ( Rhinanthus minor) in the autumn to parasitise and weaken the grasses the following spring, thus shifting the balance towards flowering wild species and perennials. Garden perennials grown in grass can flourish but will always be smaller than when grown in borders where there is less competition.
Geraniums are often the most successful, as they make early growth that enables them to compete effectively.
to propagate plants themselves. Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’ makes a very effective rhythm plant here, more original are some clumps of Symphyotrichum novae-angliae ‘Violetta’, which, pre-flowering, forms bushy clumps and gives real stability. Unusually for an aster, it seems to keep its lower leaves well.
To one side of the house is the kitchen garden. Clearly very productive, with chard, runner beans, sweetcorn, leeks and peas, there are also plenty of flowers: dahlias, sunflowers and sweet peas. The atmosphere is very much one of a traditional cottage garden – primarily for vegetables but with flowers shoehorned in wherever there is space. “We have just one raised bed in the kitchen garden that is almost hidden,” says Jenni. “Sam, our three-year-old, loves eating raw peas from there.”
Jenni points out that she and Alex both work at home and so they are able to do odd half hours in the garden; it makes all the difference. Growing vegetables inevitably involves a lot of organisation, and an ability to keep on top of tasks quite different from those involved in the management of contemporary, ornamental, perennial plantings. “We had a veg chart on a whiteboard at one point,” says Jenni, but adds that “veg growing conflicts a bit with what I like doing. I’m more about wildness and Alex is more into the technical and control side of things.”
Jenni and Alex’s work as ecological consultants certainly makes them more aware of the importance of the garden for biodiversity: “We have wilder parts of the garden and we try to keep local species such as marsh thistle [ Cirsium palustre] and corky-fruited water dropwort [ Oenanthe pimpinelloides]. It is always a question we have, about how wild we should be.”
Creating a garden where aesthetic pleasure and biodiversity are balanced is perhaps one of the great challenges of the age. In rural surroundings and with a keen awareness of the wild world around them, Alex and Jenni have got this balance right.
USEFUL INFORMATION
Address College Barn, Benter, Oakhill, Radstock, Somerset BA3 5BJ. Tel 01761 232605. Website ngs.org.uk Open Annually under the National Garden Scheme as part of Benter Gardens. In 2020 the garden will open 18 July, 2-6pm and 12 September, 3-7pm.