Sensory planting can be a touching matter

TRAVELLING into Glasgow on the train, I overheard the couple in the next seats talking about sensory planting.

They were discussing what they described as “the fluffy stuff”, those plants and flowers that make you want to run your hands through them.

Lots of plants fall into the sensory category, from stachys with its velvety leaves, to lavender which is both tactile and scented.

I’m slightly obsessed with scented plants at the moment, and as the azaleas and lily of the valley fade away I’m looking for a climbing rose with a knock-out fragrance to take over the job.

Preferably it should be apricot in colour, repeatflowering, and well behaved as it will have to share its space with the wisteria and I don’t want it to get smothered or to swamp its neighbour.

My favourite rose is Souvenir du Docteur Jamain, but this is a fussy customer, prone to scorching if grown in full sun, so it won’t do for my south-facing wall.

Anyway, it is crimson and ideally I want something in a softer shade for this spot next to the patio.

Roses should thrive in my heavy clay soil, but the only one already growing in the garden when we arrived was a single climber that I hacked back in March. It has bounced back, throwing out lots of new stems but, so far, no flowers.

Next year I’ll prune it earlier in the hope of having flowers at the beginning of June.

The wisteria, which I chopped ruthlessly as it had grown into an untidy tangle, has also been slow to produce flowers. By pruning it more carefully this summer and again in winter I should be able to boost that number in future .

Knowing what to prune and when is a question that preoccupies all gardeners and there’s never a straightforward answer.

Three different sets of pruning instructions cover camellias, depending on when they flower. Rosemary can withstand a hard pruning, but do the same with lavender and it will curl up at the roots.

Hardy fuchsias can be cut to the ground without harm as can most perennials after their first crop of flowers.

I’m a fan of this technique – why look at a pile of tired leaves when, by chopping them off, you’ll be rewarded by fresh, green foliage and maybe a second flush of flowers?

It’s a bit late to start pruning most evergreens as new shoots require a full summer of growth to become tough enough to withstand frost, but go ahead and do it if you must.

Now, though, is the ideal time to take your secateurs to rhododendrons. Leave it until later and you risk cutting off next year’s flower buds.

And of course you should never touch hydrangeas, except to snip off the previous year’s flowers.

If you ignored this advice last year and cut yours to the ground, then you’ll have lots of leaves this year but no flowers.