Even plants should go away on holiday

EARLIER this year I found a way to keep my plants watered while I went on holiday.

I simply moved everything I was growing in pots into the borders. I didn’t lose a single plant and returned from my break to find everything flourishing.

Because I knew the moves were only temporary, I just squeezed everything in where I could find space, paying little attention to the particular requirements of individual plants.

That meant woodlanders such as hostas found themselves sharing space with drought-tolerant phormiums and roses were squeezed up against rhododendrons.

Think of it a bit like a buffet where the sausage rolls and the chocolate eclairs share a platter, or a wedding reception where the seating plan unites all those relatives that would better remain divided and you’ll get some idea of the unsettling effect.

Now, belatedly, I’m sorting it all out again, lifting the sunshine-lovers including verbena and agapanthus and leaving behind the primulas and scented violets that are best-suited to this north-facing space.

Because they were in their temporary homes for just a few months, none of the plants suffered from being out of their comfort zone.

But any longer and those that hail from a Mediterranean-type climate could have started to fail or may have even rotted-off during the winter months as they just can’t cope with having their roots in cold, wet soil.

Lavender is one of the first to show signs of stress when planted inappropriately but this is also the plant most likely to find itself in the wrong place, stuck in a pot where it is never watered or planted along a path in a spot that never gets any sun and the soil is so heavy

you could make bricks.

The result is bare, blackened stems and just a few spikes of flowers, none of which conjures up heady images of Provence in high summer.

Now, it’s easy to lose the label and forget a plant’s name, never mind what it needs in the way of care and attention, so I have a simple tip for you.

If something has silvery foliage, it needs really welldrained soil and as much sun as it can get.

The same goes for things such as bearded irises with rhizomes that lie close to the surface of the soil - the reason they are partially exposed is they need to be baked to flourish.

I find most woodland plants can cope with what passes in our climate for a sunny border, but unless you pander to them, flowers, shrubs and bulbs from the world’s hot spots will struggle to put on a show if they find themselves cold and in shade, and that’s why I grow my sun-worshippers in pots.

That way, I give them freedraining compost and not heavy, clay soil; they all get a turn at occupying the hottest spot in the garden, right by the front door, and any they only have to endure the frozen north (my back garden) when I’m on holiday.