Oh, you pretty things
PATIENCE HAS PAID OFF FOR DIARMUID’S PLOT, AND HE’S GOT HIMSELF A NEW PUPPY, BOWIE
THE kids are back at school, there’s a chill in the air, days are much shorter and we are definitely into a new gardening season. The summer to autumn jump is one that is briefly marked by garden grief – the loss of what was. But the crispness in the air and the remarkable sight of plants such as Boston ivy turning crimson quickly jolts you into the anticipation of the joys that lie ahead and reminds us why it’s great to have four distinct seasons.
So this week I’m taking a moment to look back at my own plot and share with you what’s worked and what I need to rethink.
It’s funny how some plants just sit in the ground and do nothing for years. A long while ago I planted a Melianthus major at the base of a shed and it limped along. All of a sudden it has shot up to become a dramatic specimen. Sometimes you don’t have to do anything but just stick with it. I knew the conditions were right and my patience has paid off.
It’s nice when you can bring an essence of great gardens to your little plots. The best display of erigerons I ever saw was in Mount Stewart, a garden owned by the National Trust in Northern Ireland. These were tumbling down a staircase. I have planted them between stepping stones and they are beginning to selfseed. I look forward to showing you the display when they get established.
I’m also very impressed with how the epimediums are performing in difficult dry, shady areas. They took a while to get established, particularly with last year’s droughts, but are now developing into massive clumps. They’re excellent groundcover and a plant I’m going to rely on much more.
Agapanthus has been the big star. I planted lots down the end of the garden and for much of the year they were forgotten about. At the end of summer the flowerheads exploded into footballsized globes of white and deep blue flowers and should continue through the autumn. I’ve combined them with Verbena bonariensis and pink Japanese anemones, so in one part of the
garden there’s still plenty of colourful flowers.
I have a veranda around the house which is supported by wonderful old cast iron pillars from a reclamation yard. The idea behind this was to bring the garden right up to the house. I’ve planted some choice climbers to do that. The Solanum jasminoides has been a great success as an instant screen. It rambles around and right now is covered in white potato-like flowers. With the roses and wisteria finished, it’s lovely to have it.
Trachelospermum jasminoides is the other climber that has been a great success. It wraps itself around the spiral staircase and the scent of the white flowers is heavenly both first thing in the morning and late at night.
On the downside, pondweed has become the bane of my life. I have three medium-sized ponds and it has taken up residence, possibly due to newly planted water lilies. In the blink of an eye it takes over and many hours are spent fishing it out, or bribing my daughter to do so.
I’ve also taken to planting trees – lots of them. My garden is around a quarter of an acre and in it I have placed up to 60 trees. Some of them, such as Japanese maples, will develop slowly and will always be medium sized. Others, like the new monkey puzzle, currently one foot in height, will hopefully shoot for the sky. I have also planted an oak, a handkerchief tree, a eucalyptus and a Metasequoia. They’re small now but I’m gardening for the long term so, in time, this garden will have some magnificent specimen trees.
I’ve had fun sending buckets crammed with flowers from the garden to friends. They probably don’t last long as I don’t prepare them properly by stripping the stems of the foliage – maybe they turn to mush – but I do know the joy they bring is immense and it’s lovely to share what’s in flower in your plots.
Finally, dogs and gardens – they can work! We got a new one, a boy called Bowie and, yes, he means more work outdoors and indoors. He’s an important addition to the family and we weighed up the effect he’d have on our plot, but, in fact, he’s been a dream.
Our other dog, as a puppy, dug up every plant that I put in and we almost gave up on the garden. But Bowie’s great!