Wildflowers rock – and they roll too
bright meadows we see. If you’re in the countryside I’d suggest you stick to natives so there’s no chance of colonising your area with species that may take over.
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A herbaceous border is generally made up exclusively of herbaceous plants that die down from late autumn to spring. What you’re looking for is a mixed border which is a very sensible solution especially for smaller gardens.
The current trend is topiary cut into pin cushion or spherical shapes dotted through the length of the border which allow the flowers, bulbs and grasses to grow up around them.
But you could also try other evergreen shrubs such as Pittosporum tobira Nanum, some viburnums, or maybe Heavenly bamboo, called Nandina domestica. That will provide a good mix and may also give a structure for some of
What are your top tips for giving a a herbaceous border structure and ensuring it doesn’t spend half the year as a sea of mud?
the taller herbaceous plants that may otherwise need staking. Q A I’d plant it up. The issue with sheds and other structures is that by trying too hard you can end up drawing more attention to it.
Treat it as a host structure for climbing plants, for example Hydrangea petiolaris which is self-clinging and won’t need any framework.
If it’s in a sunny position, you could coat a face of the shed with chicken wire and plant sweet pea to ramble through it. The scent will be wonderful.
With a heavier trellis on it, you could use it as the base for a small climbing rose such as ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ which also has great scent. Or if you want a fast solution, consider a Clematis montana which will ramble over the structure in no time at all.
What would you suggest as a good way to hide an ugly shed in a smallish garden?
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Pruning is a dark art. You prune for shape (think topiary), for productivity of flower or fruit (think apple trees or roses), for health (it’s important to take out any dead and diseased wood) and for convenience ( for example, espalier pears pinned to the boundary of a walled garden when there’s no other space available).
But let me tell you a secret… piles of plants will do just fine not pruned. They might not maximise their potential in terms of flower or produce and may look untidy but they’re growing as nature intended. So don’t feel you always have to prune. A couple of rules of thumb: conifers don’t regenerate if cut back hard, with the exception of yew; don’t chop back spring flowering shrubs like forsythia until after they have flowered otherwise you will miss all the blossoms.
Is there anything in the garden that you shouldn’t prune? Chopping stuff back scares me.
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Got an ugly shed? Then try treating is as a host structure for climbers