A SELECTION OF LUCY’S FAVOURITE PLANTS
Himalayan blue poppy, meconopsis ‘Lingholm’
These beautiful perennial poppies bear large, bowl-shaped flowers, which are sky blue in colour, with golden centres. They bloom from May to July and look most effective planted in large groups. Height 39in (1m); spread 20in (50cm).
Tree daisy, Olearia arborescens
A large-growing, bushy evergreen shrub, with glossy foliage. Clusters of small, white, daisy-like flowers are borne in early summer. Height and spread to 13ft (4m).
Giant viper’s bugloss, Echium pininana
A spectacular evergreen biennial plant, with long, lance-shaped leaves. Rosette-forming, in its second year, it sends up towering spires of up to 12ft (4m) in length, bearing thousands of tiny purple-blue flowers. It is both bee and butterfly friendly. This plant should be handled with gloves, as tiny hairs on the leaves and stem are an irritant, and the plant is toxic if eaten. Height to 12ft (4m); spread to 39in (1m).
Giant golden saxifrage, Chrysosplenium macrophyllum
A low-growing, shade-tolerant spreading perennial. This hardy evergreen produces open rosettes of dark, grey-green, hairy foliage, flushed with red. Clusters of white flowers, with pink-tipped stamens, are produced in early spring. After flowering, the rosettes send out stolons above the ground, which root to form new rosettes. Height and spread 8in (20cm), but has the ability to root and spread to cover 39in (1m) over a period of four to five years.
Antarctic beech, Nothofagus antarctica
An unusual, hardy tree, the small, sweet-smelling, heart-shaped leaves turn an attractive golden yellow in autumn. When they fall, the naturally twisted, irregular shape of the tree, along with the silver highlights on its chocolate-brown bark, can be appreciated. It needs plenty of space to reach its full potential, with a height of 24ft (8m) and a spread of 13ft (4m) in 20 years. It may reach twice that over the course of 50 years.
A line of ballerina plum and apple trees hide another vegetable bed, while a row of raspberry canes are fitted into the lower corner, making the most of the available space. Later in the season, colour can be found in the lower border, tucked at the side of the drystone wall at the foot of the garden. Here, the rich, jewel-like hues of ruby-coloured sanguisorbas, tall, purple aconitum and deep red Persicaria amplexicaulis combine with soft, shade-loving Maianthemum racemosum and yellow Kirengeshoma palmata. “There is colour here until late October,” says Lucy.
But her favourite spot in the garden is the seating area at the top of the hill. “The view sweeps round from Ben More on Mull to the Isles of Ulva and Gometra and on round to the Treshnish Isles,” says Lucy. “In summer, I can look out over a low hedge of scarlet bottlebrush, Callistemon rigidus, and in autumn I am surrounded by giant agapanthus ‘Loch Hope’; their deep blue contrasting with the bright red flowers of Kniphofia rooperi.
“The light up here is constantly changing,” she adds, surveying her surroundings. “Even on a dull, cloudy day, I could gaze out at the view for hours.”
“To climb steep hills requires slow pace at first”
William Shakespeare, Henry VIII