PLANT YOUR BORDER
Plant the bearded iris Sow the aquilegia
First clear weeds and spread lots of well-rotted organic matter. This will help the soil hold on to moisture as well as opening up the structure, while heavier ground might benefit from extra grit too. Water containers thoroughly before planting, add extra compost to each planting hole and soak plants weekly while they settle. Mulching will help to retain moisture and keep down weeds, but don’t bury the iris rhizomes.
Establish the geranium, lupin and salvia
Ideally, establish these herbaceous perennials in autumn or spring; spring is safer if you garden on heavy clay soil. If you want to plant now, source container-grown plants but make sure you water them in well over the coming weeks, especially during hot, dry spells.
Geranium palmatum has a statuesque shape and although it’s hardy to -10C (14F), it must have well-drained soil to survive winter. If you leave spent flowers in place it will start to self-seed around the garden.
Cut back the salvia flowers after the first flush to encourage more later in the season. Be sure to water when you do this. Lift and divide larger clumps in mid spring.
Take care to protect young lupin shoots from slugs and snails. Put in plant supports early so the foliage grows through the corsetry without leaving it on show. Cut back spent flowers for a second flush. You can take basal cuttings in April, rooting in a loam-based compost with extra grit.
Although lupins prefer a well-drained soil, provide extra water in the growing season to reduce the chances of powdery mildew. Clusters of aphids are best rubbed off gently by hand.
WINTER:
HAMAMELIS INTERMEDIA
‘RUBIN’ Deciduous vase-shaped shrub with colourful autumn foliage and deep red flowers Jan-Feb. H and S4m (13ft)
Plant pot-grown bearded iris from now until early autumn. Make sure they get a gritty sun-baked position, improving the ground with extra grit if necessary. Or, wait until August when bareroot rhizomes are available from specialist growers.
Plant rhizomes so they’re slightly above the soil surface, not below, and cut back leaves to 20cm (8in) to stop them being toppled in the wind while their roots get established. Mature plants benefit from a tidy up in late summer, removing spent flower spikes and any brown leaves. Divide plants every three years, lifting after flowering but before October. Split into chunks of young vigorous rhizomes.
SPRING:
Triumph tulip with deepest purple-maroon flowers in April, up to three per stem, against grey-green leaves. H45cm (18in) S15cm (6in)
TULIPA ‘HAVRAN’
Create a frothy pastel mix with deep blue Centaurea montana and umbels of Chaerophyllum
‘Roseum’
Granny’s bonnets are one of those easy, albeit short-lived perennials no garden should be without. Although you can buy young plants they’re also a doddle to establish from seed and now is a good time to sow. If they’re slow to germinate, pop them in the fridge for a few weeks to cold stratify. Because they self-sow around the garden, their short-lived nature is never really a problem, and they have a joyful habit of popping up in just the right place.
Add the camassias
Establish dormant camassia bulbs in early autumn, planting 10-15cm (4-6in) deep and around 30cm (12in) apart. They do best with extra moisture when actively growing in spring, then a drier dormancy spell over summer. Camassias naturalise well and bulk up by producing bulb offsets from the parent. Allow the plant to die back naturally so energy returns to the bulb. ✿
SUMMER: GEUM ‘PRINSES JULIANA’
Add a zing of contrast with these eyepopping semi-double orange flowers, May-Aug. H and S60cm (2ft)
AUTUMN:
SYMPHYOTRICHUM ‘LITTLE CARLOW’
Masses of lilac-blue daisy flowers with a yellow eye Sept-Oct. H90cm (3ft) S75cm (2½ft)