Ruislip & Eastcote & Northwood Gazette
HARDY WORKERS
With a chance to focus on his own garden, Diarmuid creates a bed of hardy perennials
Diarmuid Gavin picks the best hardy perennials for longlasting colour
This is my year of garden rejuvenation. Generally I’m travelling all the time with a fleeting day here or there to root myself in home soil. But by good fortune I have an intensive project involving months of preparation near to home and so I’m grounded!
I’ve seen my garden from dawn to dusk, the snows melt, the soil warm up, the buds appear and the magic of layer after layer of growth turn what seemed like a desolate plot into a glorious tapestry of many colours.
But I’m taking the opportunity to revisit parts of the garden that haven’t performed well. I’ve decided that one square of patchy lawn that’s about four metres across should be given over to summer colour.
The plants I’ve chosen to use are hardy perennials – that group of plants which make up so much of our spring, summer and even into autumn colour. They grow and flower in a few seasons and generally die down in the winter. However, unlike tender perennials, they are tough and rise phoenix-like in the spring and bulk out further.
With this bed I’m looking for a richness of colours so I’ve carefully chosen a small collection of nine different plants, but I’ve used at least five of each so the bed is intensively planted – I’m looking for quick results.
Once I began to dig I discovered why the lawn was so poor. Even from this small patch I must have taken out a ton of rock and rubble. Because flowering plants are heavy feeders, I dug in bags of farmyard manure, and now for the planting.
I set out my plants on the bare soil in their pots and arranged them in groups. My plan was for the eye to dart from group to group and to have pools of smaller plants hovering around their base.
While they are still in their pots you can keep playing with different combinations until you decide on their final positions.
Water pots before planting – if the compost is very dried out, completely submerge the pot and plant in a bucket of water until all the air bubbles disappear.
Once you have finished planting, water the bed thoroughly and maintain a good watering regime throughout the summer and keep an eye out for slugs!
HERE’S THE SELECTION I CHOSE:
CIRSIUM ‘Atropurpureum’
– the plum thistle has beautiful deep ruby red crowns of flowers. It’s good in most soils – although it prefers a moist well-drained soil in the sun. It will tolerate a bit of dryness and the bees instantly started buzzing round.
AQUILEGIA ‘Black Barlow’–
continues that rich dark theme and I have spread its dark purple pompom heads through the planting. Unlike many other perennials it’s not mad keen on being lifted from the soil and divided.
SCABIOSA caucasica ‘Pink Mist’
– the pin-cushion flower is a classic cottage garden favourite which loves full sun and well-drained soil. It’s quite drought tolerant and will perform on sandy or chalky soil as well. I love the delicate flowers atop its ferny foliage, as do bees and butterflies.
SALVIA ‘Caradonna’
– this is a great ornamental sage which will form pools of deep purple colour and keep going for the summer. Easy to grow and it’s drought tolerant too.
ERYNGIUM giganteum ‘Silver Ghost’
– the giant sea holly is suitable for dry soil and will reward with beautiful teasel-like flower heads which can be left to dry for winter interest. I love the silver veining on the foliage.