Fuss-free flowers
Bulbs are the ultimate in easy care: once they’re in, they look after themselves. Start with snowdrops, crocus, scillas and narcissi for Spring, followed by tulips, alliums and camassias, then (from a Spring planting) elegant Galtonia candicans to fill any gaps in the border, and easy Schizostylis for a last splash of colour before Winter.
Trees flower, too! Don’t forget the charms of cherry blossom, crab apples, long-flowering Cornus kousa or the lovely waxy blooms of magnolias.
Abandon labour-intensive Summer bedding in favour of easy-going perennials that come up year after year. The key to success is Right Plant, Right Place – you’ll never do well with a moisture-loving plant on a dry, rocky site or a shade lover in full sun, so always check the labels, or the RHS website, before you buy. There are plenty of good-natured plants that are unfussy about soil type, resistant to pest and disease, and can cope without staking or dead-heading.
Grass partners. Late-season perennials look fabulous growing with grasses. Scatter Verbena bonariensis, silvery sea hollies, sedums, rudbeckias or Helenium ‘Sahin’s Early Flowerer’ among clouds of Stipa (now Nassella) tenuissima, fluffy pennisetums or the shorter varieties of purple moor grass (Molinia), with punctuation points of tall Stipa gigantea where it will catch the light.
Matrix planting. A recent trend has been to grow plants in ways that mimic the wild – randomly and close together, rather than in drifts. This doesn’t work for ever – there are some plants that grow more strongly than their neighbours, but it looks beautiful, and is a lot less trouble than a conventional border. Stick with informal meadowy plants for the best effect – the pincushion flowers of red scabious (Knautia macedonica) or astrantias, loose spikes of persicaria or veronicastrum, frothy fennels or soft pink candelabras of Verbena hastata.
Cottage garden classics. These plants have been favourites for generations for good reason. Mix the fresh scalloped leaves of Alchemilla mollis with a strong hardy geranium like ‘Orion’. The lime alchemilla flowers will look great with the blue, especially with a backdrop of lime Euphorbia cornigera. Add in a bright orange geum for zing from April to October, and catmint or lavender to spill over the path for a perfect cottagey effect.