Shady companions

Just outside of my bathroom window sits one of my most important pots. This is the first pot I see in the morning and the last one I look at in the evening. In May, I concentrate on just three plants for this pot to last well into the autumn. A recent visit to Roberto Burle Marx’s garden near Rio de Janeiro inspired me to choose strong foliage and a pot full of character, such as this one that I discovered in an antiques centre.

How to achieve the look

Colours and shapes A shady position with a dark, lichen-patterned background provides a great opportunity to play with texture. Heuchera are available in many sizes and colours and I have chosen ‘Silver Scrolls’ for its predominant silver on a burgundy background, mirrored in the colour of the pot. Its dainty flowers seem to hover above the leaves and sway gently with the slightest movement of air. Polystichum munitum will ultimately grow into a large fern, but for this season it will do well in this display and anchor the Maianthemum racemosum with its creamy-white flowers. Within a few weeks the flowers of both theHeuchera and Maianthemum will fade, but the display will be a reminder of that happy afternoon in Brazil. Pots, cultivation and care I drilled three holes in the pot and filled a third of it with grit to provide enough drainage. Being located in the shade, the plants will need less water and over-watering could be a danger. Well-rotted leaf mould mixed with multi-purpose compost are a good choice, but a good-quality, ready-mixed growing medium should suffice. Cut the spent flower stalks off the Heuchera, but leave the Maianthemum as the flowers will develop into attractive red berries. A weekly dose of liquid fertiliser will keep the plants growing well, but there is a chance of vineweevil infestation. Vine weevil larvae will eat notches out of the leaves, but a treatment with nematodes will help break their lifecycle. Thomas is head gardener at Rockcliffe House in Gloucestershire, which is featured this issue on page 52.