A gravel Garden

The Gravel Garden, was brought to public notice, by the wonderful gravel garden that Beth Chatto created out of the car park, of her garden in Essex. It has developed into a particular garden style, not only defined, by free draining soils and in full sun. But the radio plants to decorative mulch and rocks and stones. The plants tend to be more spaced and in small groups, so the individual habit can be enjoyed. The choose of mulching chippings is important, to frame the plants and large Peebles, rocks and stones can also be used, begging the question when is a gravel garden not a rock garden? Most gravel gardens tend to be flat or on slight slopes, with generous irregular shaped beds and winding paths, allowing self seeding to create the informality that is a hall-mark of a gravel garden. Here are some plants to consider.

Cistus dansereaui ‘Decumbens’

Cistus dansercaui ‘Decumbens’:  A good compact small cistus, with aromatic evergreen foliage. Wide flat open papery flowers, which are white with a big splash of red at the centre and golden stamens. Flowering June into July. Full sun.

Ceratostigma willmottianum

Ceratostigma ‘Willmottianum’: A small open twiggy shrub, with stems that are red  with small leaves that turn a rich red in autumn. Clusters of sky  blue flowers with white centres are produced freely from late summer up to the first frost. Full sun

Ulex europaeus ‘Flore Pleno’

Ulex europaeus ‘Flore pleno’: A mound forming compact shrub with prickly evergreen foliage. Sweetly scented double flowers produced from April-May and into June. Full sun.

Hebe ‘Red Edge’

Hebe’ Red Edge’: A lovely densely mounding low hebe with dramatic evergreen sliver foliage which has winter tints of red and purple. The flowers are pretty insignificant and are small and white, if produced in mid summer. It is all about the foliage.

Euphorbia myrsinites

Euphorbia myrsinites: This is a very unusual looking plant, it creeps and crawls its way across the ground. It is evergreen, with pea-green stems with sparsely produced green glorious leaves and clusters of pea-green flowers in April. A must for the edge of the gravel  garden. Full sun.

Heleanthemum ‘Wisley Primrose’

Helianthemum ‘Wisley Primrose’: No gravel garden would be complete  with out a mound forming and spreading rock rose. This is a lovely sliver leaved variety with soft yellow flowers from mid to late summer. Full sun.

A very colourful gravel garden

Top Tips: Gravel gardens require very good drainage and are best in a sunny spot on poor free drainage soil. You can help the drainage of your gravel garden, by adding pea-beach and horticultural grit. Also by mounding the planting beds with crushed stone or even crushed brick, before adding a layer or top soil mixed with gravel. Choose gravel and chippings for mulching that are local to your area, are you going to vary the sizes, so the paths are different? Decide if you are going to have groups of  larger stones as focal points in the planting or around specimen shrubs. Are there going to be large rocks at path junctions or as seats. There is a lot to consider when designing your gravel garden.

If you would  like help designing a gravel garden, then I know just the person to give you a hand. Give me Emily a ring on 01273 470753 to discuss your garden project. I would be delighted to help.

A small front garden

Sadly front gardens tend to get over looked, or just seen as a way to the front door or a car park. But a well designed and planted front garden can give both you and your neighbours joy as well as passers- by. It can also be a rich habitat for wildlife.

Most front gardens need privacy, either from neighbours or the road, so boundaries are all important. Move beyond the obvious fencing and add hedging as a living boundary which will change through the seasons and  be a home to birds and help to reduce, noise, car lights and pollution. Here are a couple of suggestions.

Hebe hedges

Hebe ‘Mrs Winder’: This is a lovely hebe with a good compost habit up to 1/1.3m in height, with dense evergreen foliage of mid green, which has winter tints of purple and red in the older weather. It has purple flower spikes produced in late summer July-August. Most soils, with good drainage. Quit hardy for a Hebe. Full sun.

Berberis hedge

Berberis: x frikartii ‘Amstelveen’: This Berber’s makes a compact dense prickly hedge ideal of a street boundary. Growing up to 1.5m or more it has small glossy green leaves with a glaucous underside. A mass of small bright yellow flowers in spring followed by blue-purple berries. Soil with good drainage, sun to part-shade.

A tree is a must in a front garden, even if a small space, it gives height and scale to the garden particularly to balance a high house facade.

Malus Everest

Malus Everest: This is a wonderful tree for a small garden reaching 3/4m in time and with a compact habit of acceding branches, giving it a champagne flue like shape. With blush pink clusters of flowers in the spring, giving way to mid-green foliage on the light crown. Followed by rusty autumn leaf tints to its, crowning glory clusters of small red crab-apples which hang on the bare branches through all of winter into early spring. All good soils, not water logged, full sun, will cope with a bit of shade.

In a small garden boundaries are very dominant but they also have the advantage of being another planting space. Scent in a small space, particularly near the front door where you can enjoy it can really lift the sprit.

Rosa ‘Buff Beauty’

Rosa ‘Buff Beauty’: This is a wonderful ‘David Austin’ Rose all the beauty and scent of old fashioned roses but repeat flowering. Roses are wonderful, as they will start flowering in May and will go on even to Christmas depending on the frosts. This is a small climber with healthy dark green growth. With clusters of old gold /Apricot flowers highly scented which fade to a creamy yellow. Followed by deep orange hips. Good fertile soil which holds moister, not water logged. Full Sun.

Pyracatha ‘Golden Charmer’

Pyrcantha ‘Golden Charmer’: This wonderful wall shrub can be clipped into a dense shrub to clothe a side wall or fence or cut to shape round house windows. A great nesting spot for birds. Also growing climbers on house walls has been shown to keep your home at a more balanced temperature throughout the year, reducing heat in Summer and heating bills in winter. A spiny evergreen shrub with glossy dark green leaves. Clusters of slightly scented white flowers in spring. In the late summer and autumn great bunches of golden yellow berries. Good fertile soil to poorer soils. Sun to part-shade.

In a small space every plant has to work hard, with long flowering seasons and or evergreen foliage so there are no blank and dead spaces in the winter months.

Daphne x altantica ‘Eternal Fragrance’

Daphne x alantica’Eternal Fragrance: This is a wonderful small compact evergreen shrub with dark green leaves and a neat habit. Its main flowering season in June, but it will flower on and off throughout the growing season. Small clusters of waxy blush flowers are produced which are highly scented. Humus rich soils with good water retention. Full sun.

Lavendula x intermedia ‘Grosso’

Lavendula x intermedia ‘Grosso’: This is a lovely Dutch Lavender with large sliver grey foliage on a mounding shrub. The attractive aromatic foliage is evergreen, making it perfect for edging the front path or drive. Long stems hold the large elongated light mauve flowers well above the foliage. Flowering in July and into August. The scented flowers are a magnet for a great variety of insects. Poorer soils in full sun.

Hellaborus orientallis

Hellaborus orientallis: This is a wonderful long flowering plant. Mounds of large evergreen palmate dark green  leaves make a compact herbaceous perennial The flower stems rise from the base in late December to flower, December to the middle of March or latter. The colours vary from, clear white, cream with purple spots, dusky pink, dark purple and to light green. The Flowers are followed by very attractive seed pods which last till May. Good humus rich soils sun to deep shade.

Geranium ‘Rozanne’

Geranium ‘rozanne’: One of the best and free flowering of the hardy perennial geraniums a clump of mid green leaves are produce in early spring. A mass of clear blue/purple flowers with a white centre are produced from mid spring right through the summer up to the autumn. After each flowering shear of the dead flowers, to encourage latter flowering. Sunny spot on most soils.

Small front garden

I hope I have inspired you to look again at your front garden and to make the very most of it.

A stunning example of a sloping garden.

Although lots of people feel a steeply sloping garden or area is a hindrance and a problem area, they do have their advantages. It allows you to see a cascade of planting with different textures and colours, also most banks can be viewed from many angles giving alternative views. But there is no doubt they do have their planting and maintenance challenges. Here are some plants to consider.

Cotonester dammari: This is a must for all steep and sloping sites, this plant will grow almost any where, although it will not like water logging. a very low growing shrub that hugs the ground. With evergreen foliage of neat dark green leaves and small white flowers in spring, followed by blood red berries in the autumn.

Ceanothus griseus var. horizontallis ‘Yankee point’

Ceanothus griseus var.horizontallis ‘Yankee point’: This is a prostrate form of ceanothus with dark evergreen foliage and small mid blue puffy flowers in May-June. Grows on most well drained soils. It reaches heights of 1-1.3m or higher on good soils, and has a very wide spread. It will add a good splash of colour to a planted bank and may even have the odd repeat flower in the early autumn.

Rosa ‘Snow Carpet’

Rosa ‘Snow Carpet’: This delightful rose, literally crawls along the ground with neat leaves and small clusters of mini white roses, repeat flowering through the summer into early autumn.

Juniperus horizontalis ‘Bar Harbour’

Juniperus horizontalis ‘Bar Harbor’: This is a wonderful low growing conifer, it may be a bit slow but it is worth planting. It has attractive blue green foliage which turns a dusky purple in cold winter months.

Helianthemum ‘Wisley Primrose’

Helianthemum ‘Wisley Primrose’: This is a wonderful rock rose, low growing it will spread well. With sliver evergreen foliage and a clear yellow open flower from May to June.

Rosmarinus officinallis ‘Prostratus Group’

Rosmarinus officinallis ‘Prostratus Group’: This lovely shrub has evergreen sliver foliage which is low growing and spreading. With rich mauve flowers in late spring to early summer. With the added advantage that it is a good cooking herb.

A planted bank with dram from top to bottom

Top Tips: When considering planting a bank, do look at how steep it is, will you be able to comfortably stand to weed and prune? Also think about the depth of the boarders on a slope, if possible you want to be able to stand on a path or step and lean into the planting to weed.. Particularly as most of the shrubs I have suggested, have a dense habit of growth and standing in amongst the planting would be difficult and may well ruin the shape of your shrubs.  So if it is a very wide slope, or very steep it may be advisable to break the slope up with a flight of steps with wide landings and possibly the odd path, so you can maintain your planted slopes better.

I hope I have given you some ideas and inspiration to get started on tackling your own planting bank. If you need help with your planting project or with any aspects of garden design, then I know just the woman to give you a hand. Do give me Emily a ring on 01273 470753.

Sissinghurst famous white garden

The concept of the white garden was created when at the turn of the 20C  Vita Sackville-West designed her famous white garden at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent. No doubt many before her had hit a upon this winning formula, but as a prolific garden writer her creation hit the fashionable gardening titles and garden supplements of her day. The fashion for the white garden or just white border for those with humbler gardens was born.

Here are a few plants to consider adding to your sliver and white border.

Pyrus salicifolia var. orientalis pendula

Pyrus salicifolia var.Orientallis ‘Pendula’: A beautiful small weeping tree, with delicate thin foliage held on graceful dipping branches. This tree will give height and elegance to a white garden.

Philadelphus coronarinus varigatus

Philadelphus coronarinus varigatus: This medium sized shrub is a must for the white garden, with an upright habit and almost sliver variegation, and strongly scented white flowers in  mid-summer.

Hebe albicans

Hebe albicans: A wonderful small compact shrub with a domed habit, this evergreen hebe is a must for the front of the border . With tight sliver foliage and small white flowers in late summer

Artemisia absinthium ‘Lambrokk Mist’

Artemisia absinthium ‘Lambrook Mist’:  Has  fine feathery  aromatic foliage with a colour of soft grey. With clusters of small white flowers in mid-summer. It is a  small sized sub-shrub which can be a  bit tender, but it’s dramatic foliage means it is a worth while addition to the garden.

Convolvulus cneorum

Convolvulus cneorum: A delicate small mound forming shrub. With soft sliver foliage. Small white blushed trumpet flowers are produced from mid to late summer. This evergreen, is a valuable shrub for the front of the boarder.

Helianthemum ‘The Bride’

Helianthemum  ‘The Bride’: For a sunny spot at the edge of a path, or tumbling over a wall, this rock rose, has small grey evergreen leaves and a mass of semi-double white flowers produced in mid -summer. A good addition to the white garden.

White and sliver planting

Top Tip: White is a recessive colour so it makes things seem further away, which is a good illusion to use in garden planting, It enables the designer of the planting to use white to give a stretchered and false prospective. Also white as a colour ‘leaps out’ of darker surroundings so is wonderful in shady spots. A Sliver and white border will particularly come into its  own  in the lower light levels of twilight and into dusk.  As wonderful as a solid white and sliver border may be, consider using splashes of soft mauve and light blue, intermittently through the planting, to help to add visual lift the planting palette.

white and sliver , make for a dramatic cut flower display

I hope I have inspired you to get creative, if you need help to design your white and sliver garden, I know just the woman to give you a hand. Do give me Emily a ring on 01273 470753, I would be delighted to design your garden  project with you.

Mixed shrub planting with Hebes

Hebes, are a wonderful shrub with a good growing habit adding structure and form to mixed planting and dense evergreen foliage acting as a main stay of the winter garden. With the added advantage of a long flowering season and coping with tough growing conditions including exposed coastal sites. There is much to commend this shrub and it’s many varieties. Here are some to consider.

Sadly there is no ‘free from copyright’ image to illustrate this plant.

H. ‘Blue Clouds’: This small compact shrub reaches about 1m in height, with dense glossy green foliage with tints of purple in the winter. With long flower spikes of light mauve from August to October.

Hebe Cupressoides

H. cupressoides: This unusual hebe is a one of the ‘whip cord or conifer’ hebes. With very different foliage. It is a dwarf shrub with spreading habit. With grey green conifer like foliage. Soft purple flowers in a small clusters June to July.

Hebe ‘Great Orme’

H. ‘Great Orme’: This is a small to middle sized shrub with a rounded habit and slightly lax growth. Long green purple leaves and long pink fading to white flower spikes in mid summer. Can be tender.

Sadly thee is no ‘Free from Copyright’ image to illustrate this plant.

H. ‘Black Beauty’: A beautiful small neat shrub with bark purple foliage, to 60cm. with small neat purple flowers mid summer. Can be tender.

Hebe ‘Emerald Green’

H. ‘Emerald Green’: This is a small compost shrub with small mid-green foliage and makes a very dense shrub. Would work will as an alternative to a clipped box ball.

Hebe ‘Red Edge’

H. ‘Red Edge’: This shrub with it’s low mound forming habit and striking grey foliage with the leaves edged red in winter, makes a good low hedge.

Hebes can cope well with coastal planting.

Tips: Hebes are fast growing, but not all are hardy, even in the south East of England, if there is a particularly cold spell, it can  kill sections of a mature plant or even kill a small one. But in southern climbs most are hardy, but if in doubt plant with some protection from other shrubs. They do make good low hedges and some of the larger variates informal taller hedges. As they are fast growing, they are not particularly long lived shrubs. They cope well with coastal areas and salt winds, not in the first line of planting by the sea, but in the second planting line.

I hope I have inspired you to add Hebes to your garden planting. If you would like help with designing your garden, then I know just the person to give you a hand. Give me Emily a ring on 01273 470753, to discuss your garden project.

Hemerocallis in mixed planting

These tough as boots grow pretty much any where hard working perennials, need to be ‘shouted’ about much more. They come in small up to 50mm to pretty large up to1m in height and will grow in sun or partial shade in most  moist soils. They come in a wide range of colours from white, pink,  to many different yellows and golds to burning oranges to deep reds. Some are even multi coloured. From robust singles to ruffled doubles and delicate spider trumpets, there surely is a Hemercallis to suite every taste! Here are just a few to sample.

Hemerocallis ‘Corky’

H. ‘Corky’: This is a top favourite of mine, with robust mid green sword like foliage and refined slim trumpet flowers on tall stems in buttery golden yellow with stripes of brown on the back of the petals. Flowering mid summer with a later splash of flowers in late summer.

Hemerocallis ‘Joan Senior’

H.’Joan Senior’: This is an elegant mid height hemercallis, with clear white flowers with a deep light green throat, wonderful for a white planting scheme or dappled shade.

Hemerocallis ‘Luxury Lace’

H. ‘Luxury Lace’: This is a rather blousy soft focus Hemerocallis at 60/70cm tall with mid-green foliage and large ruffled edged flowers in soft apricot/pink with a green throat.

Hemerocallis ‘Stella de Oro’

H.’Stella de Oro’: this is a wonderful small variety up to 40/50cm with clumps of skinny light green leaves and wide open bright yellow flowers. Flowering mid-summer.

Hemerocallis ‘Burning Light’

H. ‘Burning Daylight’: This Hemerocallis creates a large bold clump up to 70cm tall, with eye popping intense fire orange flowers which are scented, one for the hot garden. Flowering June/July.

Hemerocallis ‘Crimson Pirate’

H.’Crimson Pirate: This is a striking Hemerocallis with spidery vivid red flowers a real garden talking point. Flowering mid summer.

Mixed Hemercallis together

This over looked perennials demands more use whether as a splash in mixed planting, or a giant edging sweep along the front of the border. I hope I have inspired you to look again at Hemerocallis.

A mass of blooms

June is all about the mighty rose this is the height of the rose season and if you are lucky enough to have the space then a mighty climber or rambling rose can be a show stopper! From a mass of colour up the façade of a large barn to a romping rambler over a crumbling garage, these roses are goliaths and add drama and romance to the June garden.

Dramatic arches

The difference between Climbing and rambling roses: Rambling roses normally only flower once. They have clusters of blooms in bunches. They produce long lax stems of growth, they are very vigorous and very tough putting up with even dry shade, doing well planted up trees to ramble over. Climbing roses,  normally have single roses, or small groups of flowers, growth is upright and there are climbing roses in most of the rose groups, Noisette, English Roses, Tea Roses, Bourbon and Hybrid-Tea Roses.   Here are some classics to consider.

Rosa Alchymist

R. Alchymist: this stunning climbing rose, with old style rosette-shaped flowers of a warm apricot fading to soft pink, with a strong fragrance. With good vigorous upright growth up to 18ft. One major flowering in June and repeats flowers with less flowers into the autumn.

Rosa Altisimo

R. Altissimo: An eye stooping climbing rose, with large single flowered blood red blooms with a cluster of golden stamens. Repeat flowers but a bit shy, it has huge orange hips that stay on till spring the next year. 12 to 15ft.

Rosa Constant Spry

R. Constance Spry: Named after the famed florist and cook. This is a huge climbing rose up to 20 to 25ft. But what a sight. Cup shaped multi-petalled blooms, in soft pink with a strong old tea scent, this once flowering climber gives an impressive one off show in mid- summer.

Rosa Albertine

R. ‘Alberine’; A traditional rambler with strong growth growing to 20ft. Salmon red buds open to lax semi-double flowers of a coppery pink. Strong scent and free flowering. With one off mass of flowers and the odd one or two produced latter.

Rosa Veichen blau

R. ‘Veilnblau’: This unusual rambler produces clusters of same semi-double flowers, from purple to light mauve and a mass of small orange hips. It is almost thorn less and has a strong orange scent. Vigorous growth up to 20ft.

Rosa Wedding Day

R. ‘Wedding Day’: This is a big daddy of rambling roses getting to 35ft and some with ease. vigorous grower. A one off mass of bloom. With clusters of almost golden buds opening to soft white single flowers. A very healthy rose that is strongly fragranced. For that romantic ruin!

Roses in full bloom add wow factor!

Top tips: traditional climbing and rambling roses, usually only give one off massive displays, more modern varieties of climbers, will repeat flower. It is rare to find a rambling rose repeat flowering. For tips on pruning see January 2017 Blog. If you do not have a large façade or a romantic ruin to grow these big roses over. Then shrub roses can be trained to grow up stranded height fences and smaller arches and pergolas and for most of us this is the best option to enjoy a garden wall or fence with a rose on it. A Rosa ‘kifsgate’ on a bit of trellis next to the sitting room window, will cause nothing but misery. Right rose right place!

The full impacted of the wonderful Rose.

I hope I have inspired you to choose one of these ‘grand-dames’ of the rose world to take centre stage in your garden. If you want help redeveloping a rose garden or a summer mixed boarder or any other garden design needs, then I know just the person to help. Give me Emily a ring on 01273 470753.

Allium hollandicum ‘Purple Sensation’ and Nectaroscorum sisculum

Early morning light on Allium hollandicum ‘purple sensation’ and Nectaroscorum sisculum.

Iris Berkley Gold, Iris Kent Pride and Allium Globe Master

Tall Bearded Irises, Berkley Gold and Kent pride, nestle in the gravel, with splashes of bold purple round heads of Allium ‘Globe Master’.

Iris Jane Phillips and Iris Sable

Soft mauve of Iris ‘Jane Phillips’ and the velvet richness of  Iris Sable.

Iris Jane Phillips

The shades of purple from Alliums and Nectaroscorum give way to a back drop of soft slivers of Stachys byzantine and the fresh lime green of Euphorbia characias ‘Wulfenii’

Nepta x faassenii ‘Six Hills Gaint’, Geum ‘Totally Tangerine and Allium ‘Globe Master’

Spires od sliver and soft mauve flowers of Nepta x faassenii ‘Six Hills Giant’, mingle with the oranges of Geum ‘Totally Tangerine’. The dramatic uprights of the drumsticks of deep purple Allium ‘Globe Master’, rise up through the soft spilling planting.

Nepeta and Iris Kent Pride

There is something really wonderful about the May garden, every thing is fresh and new, the planting is beginning to fill out with fresh spring growth. These photos I took one morning while I wondered round my small garden early in the morning with my early cup of tea, the low sun light lifts the colour along with the morning dew.

Nectaroscorum sisculum ans Allium hollandicum ‘Purple Sensation

I hope you to are enjoying your garden.  If you want help to redesign and plant your garden do give me Emily a ring 01273 470753