Become a garden manager
LESSEN WORKLOAD: GROUP PLANTS WITH SAME NEEDS
This means you can care for the bed as a whole rather than individual plants.
The new approach that’s beginning to inform garden design is ‘management’ rather than maintenance. It’s about grouping plants that work together and in a nod to technology has been dubbed “social networking”.
According to Garden Media Group, which spots garden trends worldwide, influential landscapers are changing to seeing plants not as single objects in a bed, but as part of a social network. In other word, when you plant in communities, you manage the entire planting and not each individual plant.
One of the best examples of this is the informal, almost wild mix of grasses and perennials often associated with legendary Dutch landscaper, Piet Oudolf. It is an alternative to lawns and high-maintenance flower beds, which require seasonal replacement of annuals. The appeal lies in its informality, with the lightness of grasses complemented by swathes of perennials, especially those with the same airy feel like gaura, agastache and echinacea. The beauty of perennials, whether grasses, flowers or groundcovers, is that there are many with the same requirements; good initial soil preparation, sunshine and watering. The only real management is cutting back once a year.
GETTING THE LOOK
For height, background or to frame a view use evergreen plants. They can be left to grow informally and trimmed as needed. Use flowering perennials and grasses to create the dynamics in the garden; movement, texture and colour. Plant grasses in swathes to frame flower combinations. Showy specimens like Pennisetum Rubrum, or Eragrostis (Wind Dancer) can act as focal points. Stick to a few, hardy and expressive types of flowering perennials and plant these in large groups, which simplifies the design and makes management easier.
FOUR HARDY PERENNIALS
Agastache ‘Arizona’ a compact variety or ‘Summer’, a tall variety. Both produce dense spikes of mint-scented, terracotta-orange, yellow or coral-pink tubular flowers throughout the summer and into autumn. The grey-green foliage blends well with grasses, especially bronze leaves varieties. The flowers attract butterflies and nectar-seeking birds. The plants are heat and drought tolerant once established.
Gaura ‘Bantam’ forms a dense, compact clump that throws up a myriad of flower stems that sway in the breeze. The white or red flowers are long lasting. It really makes a statement. Cut back after flowering to encourage a new flush. It does best in full sun and is also a good companion plant for ornamental grasses. Echinacea ‘Cheyenne Spirit’
(Cone flower) is loved for its large flowers with cone-shaped centres that stand out and attract butterflies. The Cheyenne colour ranges runs from red, orange,
and scarlet, to cream, yellow and white. Plants are compact (51 to 76cm high), don’t need deadheading and won’t topple over during wind and rain. They grow in full sun to light shade and like welldrained soil.
Coreopsis ‘Uptick’ is a real toughie and has larger than normal flowers for coreopsis with a deep bronze eye. The neat, mounded plants are tough, heat and drought hardy and need very little care. Plant in well-drained soil as they do not do well in heavy, clay type soil. These plants need full sun.