Planting lessons

I learned some planting and border tips from Stephen that work in any size of garden. Firstly, the well-known issue of “right plant, right place”.

We all know that choosing plants that thrive in your soil and climate is the key to a successful border, but it really came home to me at Tieve Tara, where the previous owners planted rose borders.

Stephen says that roses don’t grow well in the area – it’s a little too high, the soil is acidic and there are too many pests and diseases.

The new head gardener worked out how much time and money it therefore takes to maintain the rose border, only to get very variable results. It would take much less time and money to get better results with more appropriate plants.

I also learned a lot from looking at the perennial herbaceous borders. These were once complex and glorious, but over the years the dominant plants, such as fennel, have taken over.

They’re still beautiful in themselves, but the blocks of colour, texture and contrast are no longer there. There are just a few different varieties in huge clumps. It looked flat.

“Perennial borders need renewing every five to ten years,” Stephen said.

You can either do it in sections or revise the whole border at once. I think this happens naturally in some gardens, but it made me think I should review my own main border soon.

The climbers at Tieve Tara have swamped the arches and the Monet bridge. Stephen says that “Climbers are like puppies. They’re not just for Christmas. They need constant attention.”

When someone says they don’t like ivy “because it goes everywhere”, I have to stop myself from saying, “Not if you prune it once a year!”

It’s valuable, but every plant needs something from you.