Purple foliage plants making a splash in a mixed planting scheme.

Foliage doesn’t have to all be about the many shades of green. There are other foliage colours that  can pack a punch and baring in mind that plant leaves are what we all spend most of our time looking at, it needs to be fabulous. Bring on the deep purple and burgundy. Here are some star turns to consider.

Acer palmatum ‘Atropurpureum’

Acer palmatum ‘Atropurpureum’: This slow growing Acer is worth the wait. With a wide spreading habit and delicate small palmate leaves of a deep purple,  which turn dark red in autumn. It makes a  great choice for a lawn specimen tree. Height 4m spread 2.5 to 3m. Semi-shade and on humus rich acidic to neutral soil that dose not water log. Not full sun.

Fagus sylvatica ‘Riversii’

Fagus syvatica ‘Atropurpureum’: This is the big daddy of  purple foliage plants, the copper beach is a large and majestic tree.  This variety is probably the deepest purple of then all. It should be planted as a specimen tree and focal point. It can also be grown as a hedge, either as a complete copper beech hedge or as a ‘tapestry’  hedge where blocks of copper beech are mixed in with a normal green beech hedge. Grows on all free draining soils to even quite thin chalk soils, in full sun.

Phormium ‘Thumbellina’

Phormium tenex ‘Thumbelina’ : This is a wonderful small variety growing to less than a meter.  With soft arching foliage of thin leaves in a deep dark purple, almost black.  This evergreen shrub adds a  dramatic focal plant for any planting. Full sun and most soils, dose not like wet soils.

Pottosporum tenuifolium ‘Tom Thumb’

Pittosporum tenifolium ‘Tom Thumb’: This is a versatile shrub, marvellous as a full stop to the corner of planting beds and as a low evergreen hedge. A dense rounded habit growing to about 70cm tall, higher if allowed. With small very rich purple leaves, which open as lime green and slowly darken to purple over the growing season.

Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’

Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’: Is a large shrub with a slightly straggling habit, which can look untidy, if not kept in check, but its hansom foliage and striking flowers more than make up for this. Rounded leaves of purple, that go a rich red in the autumn. Misty masses of tiny pink flowers are produced June to July, giving the shrub it’s common name of ‘Smoke’ Bush. This really is a fabulous addition to the back of a large planting.

Vitis vinifera ‘Purpurea’

Vitis vinifera ‘Purpurea’: This purple leafed vine is a show stopper. It is less vigorous than it’s green cousin and to be honest the grapes are not anything to write home about. But the colour is fabulous and planted with a climbing partner like Clematis montana, it makes a striking statement. Grow on free draining soil in full sun.

Heuchera ‘Chocolate Ruffles’

Hechera ‘Chocolate Ruffles’: There are many different varieties of heuchera and most are purple or burgundy, but this one has  particularly  dark foliage. A taller variety with a more upright habit. At about 35/40cm tall. With  evergreen palmate leaves with crinkly edges. Small dark purple flowers are produced on thin purple stems in mid -spring.  A must for the edge of a boarder.

combining different purple leaf shades can create a dramatic planting.

Top Tips: Don’t go mad, and have every plant with purple foliage otherwise they will merge together and loose their impact. For real drama consider sliver and purple foliage combinations, but think about the growing conditions. Purple/burgundy foliage and magenta pink is a very good combination. As is apricot and golden yellow with burgundy/purple foliage.

I hope you are feeling inspired to lift the foliage pallet of you garden with some splashes of purple foliage.

Mowing a lawn

The Royal Horticultural  Society have started a campaign in recent years, to encourage people not to mow their lawns in May. Doing away with the weekly cut for one month in spring and letting the grass grow to create a better grass habitat for invertebrates, insects. This is a lordable campaign to get us all to think about our gardens more as wildlife habitats and less as ornamental outdoor spaces for just our needs,

A traditional striped cut lawn

One of the best wildlife habitats our gardens have to offer is grass and we can all do our bit to help create a variety of lawn habitats in very simple ways even in the smallest garden. Lots of people seem to assume the default best and  only thing to do is to either not cut your lawn at all or to rip it all out to create a wild flower meadow. The latter being really quite difficult to achieve.

A flowering meadow

But this is not so, the best way to create as many different grass habits to suit as wider range of different insects as possible; is to have areas of grass, cut to different heights throughout the mowing season and going  into the autumn and winter months.

Spring bulbs planted in a lawn

From your neat family lawn, cut every 1 to 2 weeks, ready for ball games and family picnics, to areas of grass that have spring bulbs and grow long till June. To fuzzy fringes of grass that are cut every 4 to 6 weeks to the knee high meadow you strim in August. Creating different mowing regimes and different habitats.

Daisies and dandelions in a lawn

So even if you only have one lawn, can you decide on a sweeping shape at one end that you will only cut every 4 to 6 weeks on high, so it is always ‘daisy’ length. Allowing what traditionally were considered lawn ‘weeds’ to flower  makes valuable insect food and your sterile green lawn will now have a sweep of colour that will be buzzing with life,

Bee on a dandelion

A round the edges of the lawn, or under the canopies of less dense trees, consider adding spring flowering bulbs, the same space can take you though from January with crocus and snowdrops, with Daffodils and Narcissi, from early to late spring. See the September 2018 blog about nationalising bulbs. Not only will this give you a slash of colour, it will be a valuable food source for insects, but the longer grass will also act as a different habitat. Either you can cut the grass at the end of June once the bulbs have died down and then continue with a 4 to 6 week cutting or you can let the area grow long and cut down in early autumn.

Crocus late winter in a lawn

If  you have grass garden paths, then cut them about every 3 weeks and on a higher cut than the     main lawn, as the wear will be intensified over the narrower area, making for a greener path and yet another different grass habitat.

A long grass lawn

If you do have space in the more wild and woolly edges of your garden to let a strip of grass  grow up to meadow height, this will be an invaluable habitat. You don’t need to go to the effort and expense of making a ‘wildflower meadow’. Just allow your existing grass sword to grow. Other plants from cowpalsy to docks and nettles will appear, all are valuable food souses for a range of insects. The trick is to manage things, particularly if it is a small space as some of these plants can be very invasive and over 2 or 3 years you may find you have a monoculture. So weed out by pulling as needed. For larger areas mown paths will lead the way though your meadow so you can get up close to the insect life. At the end of August, beginning of September, Strim down the meadow, you may want to leave some woodier plants up like docks through the winter. Gather the grass into stripes for about 3 weeks. Remove most of the grass piles so the grass dose not die under nether, but leave the odd pile of grass staked through the winter months till mid February as an over wintering habitat for various insects. Remove late February to make way for the new season grass growth.

Mown paths through a meadow.

I hope I have inspired you to look again at your lawn and gassy spaces in your garden and that you will decide to create different grass habitats, after all it means less mowing, so it is win win for you and the insects.

A Potager Garden

The Potager garden was originally designed by medieval French monks, but its hay day was in the 16Cth. When no french garden would be complete with out one. A potager is an ornamental vegetable, fruit and herb garden. With symmetrical and geometric patterned flower beds, intersected by narrow paths. The fruit and vegetables are as ornamental as possible but also edible and planted in groups and in decretive patterns.

Here are some varieties to get you started on the design of your potager.

Laurus nobilis as a clipped hedge.

Laurus nobilis- bay, in fact a large evergreen tree. But it can be chipped and trained into many topiary shapes from, cones, squares and lolly-pops. These trimmed trees will add structure to your Potager garden even in the winter months. You can add an extra dimension by training your lolly-pop standards to have twisted trunks. The leaves are used to flavour sauces and meat dishes particularly in Italian cookery. A must to define the axis’s of your design.

Rosmarinus officinallis ‘Miss Jessopp’s Upright’

Rosmarinus officinallis ‘Miss Jessopp’s Upright’: although Rosemary has in fact been re-classified as a Salvia, I think it is still best known as Rosmarinus and all nurseries will know what you are asking for. This is a lovely variety of the evergreen shrub with a small compact habit and upright stems, making it perfect as a low hedge to edge the vegetable beds of the Potager. The aromatic leaves are used in both savory and sweet dishes and to scent clothes draws. The flowers are also edible.

Thymus serphyllum ‘Russetings’

Thymus serphllum ‘Russetings’ : A wonderful evergreen low creeping thyme, which will grow in the cracks of the paths or run around under standards like gooseberries and bay trees. With a mass of pretty small purple flowers much loved by insects from mid summer. It has the added advantage of being a mainstay of the culinary herbs being just widely in the recipes of many cuisines.

Apple saturn ‘Stepover’

Apple Saturn ‘Stepover’ : grown on the most dwarfing stock, M27, these apples have been developed to grow low to the ground almost like a horizontal cordon, so you can step over them as the name suggests. A wonderful talking point to edge the main path. This variety is self-fertile, has good disease resistance and is a superb apple, with a strong flavour and a crisp flesh which is very juicy. Pick October and keeps to January. Surely a must for you Potager.

Rainbow chard cut & come again

Rainbow Chard: This is a wonderful vegetable which can be harvested for many months and particularly comes into it’s own in the autumn and winter when it has it’s main cropping season, just cut the stems and remove the tougher leaves but eat both stem and leaf. But it’s ornamental merit is what is attractive for the potager. It has vivid stems in white, cream, pink, red, orange and yellow. A stunning vegetable, that tastes good to.

Cynara scolymus ‘Gros Vert de Leon’-Globe artichoke

Cynara scolymus ‘Grosvert de Lean’: This is a statuesque hardy variety of Globe Artichoke from France. It produces a great sword of sliver grey leaves and a a tall flower pick up to 2m tall. With tight round green buds which are very succulent and have a knock out taste are produced in late summer. If you miss the odd one or two in your harvest then they will open to reveal their beautiful blue thistle like flowers. Insects will love the flowers and birds the seeds.

A potager garden

Top tips: The site for your Potager should be in full sun if possible a little shade from the odd tree over part of it is probably ok. But don’t forget it is all about symmetry so you want the same key plants to mirror in different parts of the garden then having the same light conditions through out will help. Also don’t forget that some flowers are also edible and this can increase the amount of colour in your potager garden. Marigold, Borage, violas and natstershams to name a few.

The mixed planting of a Potager garden

I hope I have inspired you to have a go at creating your own Potager, if you don’t feel confident having a go your self, then I know just the woman who can help you, just give me Emily a ring on 01273 470753.

Don’t forget, in a Potage Garden the edibles are the stars not ornamental flowers.

Spring and Summer flowering shrubs

Spiraea, Philadelphus and Weigela, could be considered to be the holy trinity of summer flowering shrubs, these are the back bone and structure to any good large boarder planting scheme. Often summer colour is thought of as roses and herbaceous planting and shrubs get over looked. But they have much to add when in and out of flower and no good planting scheme would be with out these three. Here are some varieties to consider.

Philadelphus Belle Etoile

Philadelphus ‘Belle Etoile’: ‘mock orange’, it is all about the scent with Philadelphus, and this variety has to be amongst the best. A medium sized shrub with tall upright, arching growth, gives a statuesque feel to the boarder. Mid green leaves and wide open white flowers flushed with a  maroon centre. Flowering June to July. Sun part shade.

Pheladelphus Manteau d’ Hermine

Phiadelphus ‘Manteau d’ Hermine’: A compact variety producing a neat mound of low growth with fresh green leaves. Long lasting sweetly scented flowers June into July. Will grow in any reasonable soil with good drainage, they do not like being water logged.

Spiraea Arguta

Spiraea aruguta: ‘ Bridal wreath’, this is a truly spectacular late spring early summer shrub, when in full flower. A mound forming medium sized shrub with long arching branches, it really must be given it’s head and allowed to fully develop its habit, which is graceful and eye stopping, but sadly to often is hacked into submission. Small clusters of white flowers produced in profusion line the branches from April to May. Followed by small mid-green leaves. Sun or a little shade.

Spiraea japonica ‘Candle Light’

Spirea japonica ‘Candle Light’: This is a small compact growing Spiraea ideal for the small garden or flower bed. With a compact dense habit and small bushy soft yellow leaves that mature into a strong yellow. Flat heads of soft pink flowers are produced from July to August. Sun or a little shade. These tough  shrubs will put up with a lot of different soil conditions but not water logging.

Weigela florida ‘Foliis Purpureis’

Weigela florida ‘Foliis Purpureis’: A small to medium shrub which is slow growing with a dense compact habit. With grey-purplish leaves which act as a stunning foil for the pink trumpet like flowers produced in clusters from May to June. Grow in full sun although will tolerate a little shade. All good well drained soils.

Weigela florida variegate

Weigela flordia varigata: Medium sized shrub with a dense habit. Leaves have a delicate variegation of creamy white edging to the leaves. Scented pink flowers in June. Best grown in dappled shade, so the variegated leaves do not get scorched.

Spring shrubs can be wonderful in pots and containers

Tips: These three hardy shrubs will grow nearly anywhere. From good rich soil to thin chalk. They like good light levels and a sunny spot, but the yellow leaved and variegated forms of all three shrubs are prone to scorching in very hot sunny potions. Only prune if really needed, to reduce size or remove very old or diseases wood. If you have chosen the right shrub for the space it should not need to be pruned. If you do need to prune, then after flowering is the best time, to allow for regrowth and the development of next years flowers.

All these beautiful shrubs, add a bold splash of colour to the late spring garden.

I hope I have inspired you to take a fresh look at these under used shrubs, with their long flowering season, scent, spectacular flower displays and varied foliage colour. As well as the range of sizes. These shrubs really do deserve to be planted much more widely.

If you need help to revamp a planting area and to redesign a planting scheme, then I know just the woman to help you. Give me Emily a ring on 01273 470753, to discuss all your garden design needs.