GOOD COMPANIONS

This unused doorway provides me with an ideal place to pop a few plants down where they can be enjoyed closer to both nose and eye level. The overall grouping is not so important, it is more about the individuals, that might otherwise languish in flower in the nursery, unseen and unappreciated. Here I have used a few spare grasses and pots of Gaultheria to show off the gloriously flamboyant nerines.

How to achieve the look

Pots are so useful for placing plants in places where they would not normally be happy. In this south-facing doorway I have used pots of nerines with grasses and gaultheria, none of which would be natural bedfellows of the nerines. However because the pots are temporary and will be moved when ‘over’, it doesn’t necessarily matter if the plants are not entirely suited to the conditions, for the few weeks they are here they will be more than content.

Nerines hail from the Drakensberg Mountains in South Africa and many species are not hardy, but cultivars from N. bowdenii can reliably withstand temperatures down to -15º C. I have chosen to use two N. bowdenii cultivars – ‘Nikita’, which I like for its subtle colouring, the bright, tangy pink ‘Isabel’ – that contrast nicely with each other.

The bulbs should be planted – whether in open ground or in pots – so their necks and shoulders are above soil level. If the bulbs are planted any deeper flowering can be delayed a year. Like many of these South African bulbs, once settled the bulbs shouldn’t be disturbed and seem to enjoy a degree of over-crowding.

From late summer loose umbels with up to ten flowers with wavy re-curved petals appear on erect leafless stems and last for many weeks. The flowers also offer a faint musky scent, so consider placing the pots where the fragrance can be appreciated. Strappy foliage appears once the flowers fade and persists through winter.

Plants

1 Carex testacea Although this ornamental grass will take some shade, it colours up best in full sun. 1.5m. RHS H5.

2 Gaultheria ‘Pearls’ Pale berries from late autumn through winter. 50cm. RHS H5.

3 Nerine bowdenii ‘Nikita’ Its subtle, soft pink contrasts nicely with the straight species. 60cm.

4 Nerine bowdenii ‘Isabel’ Happiest in a sunny position and needs a well-drained soil. 50cm. RHS H5.

5 Panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah’ Prefers full sun or part shade, but can tend to flop in too much shade. 90cm. AGM. RHS H5, USDA 5a-9b.