Garden to visit

This Dorset garden is an atmospheric showcase for grasses in autumn, says Louise Curley

Knoll Gardens in Dorset is an atmospheric showcase for grasses

For many gardens November is the tipping point into hibernation as flowers and foliage fade, but at Knoll Gardens in Dorset it’s a different story. Home to thousands of grasses, this haven of naturalistic planting is reaching its crescendo right now. The four-acre garden had its beginnings in the early 1970s when the first nursery on the site was established on a carrot field. In 1994 Neil Lucas came to the garden and has since established one of the country’s most extensive collections of grasses. ‘Right plant, right place’ is very much the approach at Knoll, where planting is dictated by the soil and climate, rather than trying to grow unsuitable plants that will never thrive. The garden is also the perfect showcase for plants on sale in its awardwinning nursery, and offers visitors the chance to see different grasses growing in a garden setting, with inspiring ideas for planting combinations. Although primarily known for its grasses, Knoll used to be a private botanic garden and as a result it also has an impressive range of trees and shrubs. The delicate white, bell-shaped blooms of the Australian snowdrop tree (Atherosperma moschatum) announce the arrival of spring as their delicate scent fills the air. Summer highlights include herbaceous borders and hydrangeas, but it’s late summer when Knoll hits its stride, with late-flowering perennials such as sedums, asters and the wafty stems of Verbena bonariensis forming wonderful drifts of colour. Spectacular autumn hues from trees including Gingko biloba and shrubs such as Hydrangea quercifolia light up the

“Late autumn sunshine enhances the warm browns, golden honey and bleached blonde tones of the grasses”

gardens with a fiery glow. The collection of spindle trees (euonymus), which thrive on the free-draining sandy soil, put on an eye-catching display of vivid crimson and scarlet. Impressive specimen trees at Knoll Gardens include one of the best willow oaks in the country, a cork oak and a collection of magnificent eucalyptus. When owner Neil Lucas first came here more than 20 years ago the Dragon Garden (previous pages) consisted of bedding plants, formal hedges and lawn. It’s now been transformed so a single path weaves through a swathe of grasses and perennials, which create a tall meadow effect. At this time of year, late autumn sunshine enhances the warm browns, golden honey and bleached blonde tones of the grasses, and early morning frosts highlight the structural shapes and seedheads. The vast range of grasses includes low-growing pennisetums that tumble over paths to towering miscanthus and calamagrostis. One of the most effective planting combinations here is the native grass Molinia caerulea planted in drifts along with perennials such as persicaria, scabious and sanguisorba. Although grasses are mostly associated with large-scale naturalistic planting

SEASONAL FINALE (clockwise from top left) Mixed grasses with red-leaved euonymous and purple verbena; slender Pennisetum macrourum and calamagrostis with blue eryngiums; Miscanthus sinensis ‘Blütenwunder’ in the Decennium border; waterfall

schemes, such as those created by Dutch plantsman Piet Oudolf, small, easy-care beds have been created at Knoll showing how they can be used in a more modest plot. Knoll Gardens is an impressive garden to visit whatever the season, but at this time of year, with the seedheads and skeletons of the grasses and perennials catching the sunlight, it’s a place that shows how there can be beauty even in the dying embers of a garden.