THE LEAFY LOVE LIES
Foliage needn’t be drab — pick carefully and it will rival flowers
THE ‘green month’ starts next week. Each year, flower colour builds from modest spring beginnings to the glorious June climax. But July brings a brief intermezzo while we wait for late summer plants to take over. Some regard this time as disappointing — but that’s nonsense. There’s far more to enjoy than just flowers and, in a well-planted garden, every day should bring delight.
You can evade nature’s brief downtime by having lots of summer bedding and seasonal pot plants. Fuchsias, pelargoniums, colourful annuals and what-not will bloom non-stop.
Permanent planting, however, offers quieter beauty in foliage and form. So, if your plot is too flower dependent or temporarily dull, go for foliage plants. If they’re in containers, you can put them out straight away.
When flowers abound, leaves play a supporting role. But in a carefully planned space, varied textures, shapes and subtle hues make a huge contribution. So, when blooms are few, the garden will abound with leafy loveliness.
SHADY BEAUTY
LEAVES are especially important in shade, where summer flowers are often scarce. Hostas, for example, contrast with ferns.
If there’s room, such whoppers as hosta Sum And Substance or Big Daddy would go well with Polystichum setiferum Bevis or the rusty- furred Dryopteris wallichiana.
For small spaces or containers, arrange blue-grey hosta Halcyon with delicate ferns, such as silvery Cheilanthes lanosa or Himalayan maidenhair, Adiantum venustum.
Hostas are sold in garden centres, but there are countless varieties, so look online or seek exhibits at flower shows.
Try mickfieldhostas.co.uk or
bowdenhostas.com and fernatix.
co.uk for ferns. Slugs and snails love hostas, so have organic pellets to hand. Heuchera leaves can be gold, caramel, maroon or pewter-grey in a zillion tones and habits, often with attractive flowers. They enjoy partial shade as much as sun. For choices — and there are many — try plantagogo.com.
In mixed borders, there may be room for leafy shrubs, too. Consider Sambucus Black Lace for its dark, filigree leaves and dusky pink blossoms.
Golden-leaf plants often scorch in sun, so plant in semi-shade. I love golden mock orange Philadelphus coronarius Aurea for its gentle tone and fragrance, but there are many more. Choisya ternata Sungold is strident yellow in sun, but tones down in shade.
HERBY HEROES
SHRUBS are fine for big statements, but herbaceous plants make the dreamiest foliage schemes. Leaves of my favourite spurge, Euphorbia cornigera, have silvery midribs. It grows beside a Siberian iris valued as much for its straplike leaves as its short-lived blooms.
Grasses can transform mixed borders. The silkiest African love grass Eragrostis curvula has needle-thin, metre-long leaves and waving flower heads. Native tufted hair grass, Deschampsia cespitosa, forms neat tussocks topped by wiry stems carrying shimmering flower spikes.
Allow neighbours to merge and don’t be too quick to tidy. Spent plants such as lupins still have decorative value, so remove old flower spikes but keep the leaves.
Spring-flowering pulmonarias, if cut back, produce huge summer leaves. Try Pulmonaria Silver Bouquet and Blakes Silver, but I like plain green-leaved P. rubra for contrast.
For speedy border cover, try fancy deadnettles, Lamium maculatum. The pink or white flowers are a bonus, but silversplashed leaves make these charming as flowering carpets.
And if you include gold deadnettles, your borders will produce leafy riches beyond your dreams.
SHRUB roses that flower once a year and non-repeating old varieties, need attention now. When the last flowers have faded, remove all the dead heads or flower clusters, making sure to cut just below the lowest bloom.
While you work, discard any stems that are badly affected by mildew or black spot disease and cut out any damaged stems or those that appear weak.
Most will need no further attention, but if stems have become too crowded, remember to thin them out next winter.
Modern non-repeating shrub roses, such as Nevada, Fruhlingsgold or Marguerite Hilling, benefit from a light tidy-yup, so cut off any mumified flowers or those that have not shed their petals.
Do not prune climbers, ramblers or roses valued for their autumn hips.
Species such as Rosa moyesii and R. sericea, grown for autumn and winter interest, should also be left untouched.
NIGEL COLBORN’S ESSENTIAL JOBS FOR YOUR GARDEN THIS WEEK