Learning bush craft
Meet the shrubs that are designed to dazzle alongside flowers in the summer months
WITH the first flush of spring, there’s an advance party of shrubs which delight us by bursting into colour as if from nowhere. Plants such as forsythia, mahonia and ribes cheer us all with their yellows and pinks.
But how lucky are we to have the exercise repeated months later in the midst of summer?
There’s another follow-up party of shrubs to keep the party going. They’re just as easy, but these ones don’t get the show to themselves – they have to vie for attention with everything else that’s happening in the garden at its most productive time, and so have to be that extra bit special.
A tip from me to make a garden look full relatively instantly – mass plant in groups of three and five.
For example, plant a group of mallow, then across the garden somewhere else, a group of hydrangeas. This strategy draws the eye through your plot and creates a unified scheme that looks wellconsidered. Here are some of my favourites: Cistus, or rock rose, is a beauty of a Mediterranean evergreen shrub which is covered in June and July with beautiful blossoms that look like they have been hand-created using
crumpled paper tissue.
Cistus x purpureus has pink flowers with a distinctive maroon blotch and yellow centre, while ‘Jenkyn Place’ is a crisp white with maroon blotch. They like poor, well-drained soil – even stony soil – and a sunny, sheltered position, so ideal for coastal or cottage gardens.
Lavatera, or tree mallow, is a handy quick-growing shrub – ideal when you need bulk to fill a gap fast.
Its pretty pink holly-like flowers will blossom through the summer and the most maintenance it needs is a hard pruning in spring. It’s not fussy and will do well in most soils.
Hydrangeas, whether mop head, lace cap or paniculata, are summer stalwarts.
Personal favourites are ‘Vanilla Fraise’ – it gives a strawberries-and-cream display of flowers regardless of your soil’s ph; and the cool ‘Annabelle’ with its subtle green and cream flower globes.
The secret to hydrangea care is in its name – hydra is the Greek for water and that’s what they need plenty of, so keep your hydrangeas wellhydrated, particularly in the summer.
Hebe ‘Midsummer Beauty’ has beautiful long spikes of small lilac flowers that flower effortlessly through the summer and as late as November. An evergreen shrub that is ideal for coastal locations, it prefers moist, well-drained soil in full or partial sun. Abelia is an evergreen shrub for mild areas and will delight with small pink fragrant flowers from summer right through until October. If damaged by harsh weather, you can hard prune in March and it should spring back to life. It’s best planted in full sun.
Lavender – who doesn’t love lavender? Armed against nature’s hostilities with its silver foliage, its upright flower spikes brighten any location, coastal or inland. However, make sure you have excellent drainage and as much sun as possible.
Santolina has almost delicate grey/ silver fern-like foliage. It’s an absolute delight but keep it compact with steady pruning, otherwise it will become leggy and ungainly. The real joy is crushing the foliage to release the delicious smell.
Buddleja is sometimes overlooked as we see it growing wild everywhere. But there are some beautiful dark