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Tips for Flowering Shrubs in Your Border

Tips for Flowering Shrubs in Your Border

Tips for Designing Shrub Borders

  • Create a tiered effect in your border by using shrubs of different heights.
  • Plant low growing types at the base and later flowering ground cover.
  • Select flowering shrubs who’s colour will lead the eye from one plant to the next.
  • Only bother to prune to take out dead wood or if the shrubs become unruly or too high.
  • Grow flowering shrubs to make a partially shaded plot for delicate flowers.
  • Plant larger trees or shrubs off-center to avoid a too formal appearance.

Plant selection for an Acid Soil Border

  • Camellia japonica can be planted at the back as it will grow 6-12 feet tall but only spread 3-5 feet. Red, white and pink are the most common colours to buy and the thick leathery leaves are evergreen.
  • Azalea Knap Hill hybrids or Mollis are very floriferous decidious plants that flower in spring before the leaves grow. Mine are now 4 feet tall after 5 years. Depending on the size of you border I would use 3, 5 or 7 of these great plants in various colours.
  • Callicarpa bodinieri produces stunning purple berries in Autumn 3-6 feet tall and wide.
  • At the front you may need some shade loving plants like Epimedium with copper tinted leaves. Trillium sessile has ivy like leaves and white, red or brown springtime flowers.
  • For shape it may be appropriate to add some Box (Boxus Sempervirens) near the front. 12-36″ tall.

Other Selections

  • The scheme above is strongly spring flowering and Mahonia x media ‘ Charity’ or Pieris japonica could also be incorporated into the planting.
  • For summer interest you may substitute or add Escallonia ‘Apple Blossom’, Hydrangea macrophylla or a hardy Fuchsia magellancia.
  • Ceanothus ‘Autumn Blue’ will fit in a sunny spot and a variegated Ilex aquifolium at up to 12 feet adds berry interest late in the year.
  • For general all year round cover the Elaegnus pungens Maculata has good colour in the leaves, Euonymus can grow to 10 feet and Skimmia has cream flowers in spring followed by red berries.

Small is Beautiful in Gardening with Conifers

Small is Beautiful in Gardening with Conifers

‘Do not forget to pause and smell the flowers’ is an injunction oft repeated but it could also apply to pausing to inspect the flowers. It is easy to see the brash flowers of Dahlias, Peonies of Delphiniums for instance but close inspection of the petal-pattern or the individual florets can open up a new view of gardening.

One flower that fascinates me is the Cyclamen with the nodding head that straightens to a twist of petals what slowly untwist to reflex the petals back towards the stem. A fascinating natural process to observe. Look out for other dwarf bulbs including Crocus chrysanthus, Eranthis hyemalis (yellow aconite), Oxalis and Grape Hyacinth.

For structure in a miniature garden you can do a lot worse than Dwarf Conifers but be wary of slow growers that will eventually dominate like Juniper horizontalis and Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Ellwoods Gold’.

Dwarf Conifers under 18″

  • Juniper communis Compressa is recognised as one of the best conifers for creating a miniature landscape with its slender spire of tightly packed grey-green foliage.
  • Abies balsamea Hudsonia grows to 12″
  • Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Minima Aurea’ has wonderful golden foliage in a dense conical bush. Chamaecyparis lawsoniana Pygmaea Argenta also tops out at a similar 24″ but is blueish green with creamy white tipped shoots.
  • Juniper squamata Blue Star is a spreading 10″ high contrast to yellow leaved conifers.
  • Thuja occidentalis Danica is a neat bush with bronzed winter tints.

It pays to think small and to look closely. If you are limited for space it may pay to create a garden in miniature selecting all the small species you would like to see in Acres of space.

Cottage Garden for Edible Crops

Cottage Garden for Edible Crops

The traditional Cottage Garden was a working garden for the growing ornamental and edible crops. Planting included fruit, vegetables and herbs mixed with flowers such as Peonies, Delphiniums and Aquilegia to produce a haven for insects, an eye opener for gardeners and crops for the house.

Cottage Fruit Garden

  • Rhubarb would be one of my key plants in any cottage garden. In addition to the fruit pies from the pink and red stalks I would allow some plants to throw up the striking flower stalk. The Sutton or Victoria from Thompson Morgan would be appropriate varieties.
  • Gooseberries remind me of grandparents garden and Lancer is a green mid season fruit that crops well. Whinham’s Industry is a neat red.
  • Raspberries like Malling Jewel with some wire support near a wall or strung from two stout posts would also go into the cottage fruit patch.
  • Currants smell so good when the leaves are slightly crushed and redcurrant  Red Lake and the blackcurrant Wellington XXX would fill up the patch.
  • An old Apple tree in the corner may be supplemented by new ballerina columnar trained small trees.
  • If there is space for a Plum tree it will be an eating variety like Czar fan trained against a wall.

Cottage Vegetable Garden

  • Runner beans can hold there own amongst many flowers and I am growing Painted Lady variety this year.
  • French beans and broad beans are popular in my household so I will grow more of these than the brassicas which do not get eaten.
  • For colourful vegetables I will plant some Swiss Chard ‘ Bright Lights’.
  • I grow a mix of mangetout and garden peas that need regular picking.
  • You can also get away with a Tumbler tomato or two in a front garden.
  • Leeks look flamboyant when grown with  large flags and a good leafy marrow will provide lush green growth.

It is hard to agree on a range of flowers for a cottage garden so I have ducked the issue a bit. Nasturtiums are edible and cottagy and where would a garden be without Sweet Peas.

Swiss Chard
Red Matching Gardens

Red Matching Gardens

The fiery red Dahlias complement the brick work of the house in this open garden.
The colour is repeated at the end of the formal lake and the planting in the side borders also has some colour symmetry. (A shame about the scaffolding but what a place to grow a climber).

Talking of climbers, again the colour of the brick and the red roses lift the photograph. I like the very interesting grey gate tied up with garden string. If I try achieve this effect with old gates in my garden the results are woeful. (Must try harder)

Even the old light coloured stone at this Oxford college is set off a treat by the red  foreground. The green plays a significant part however as it is strongly complementary to the red and the leaves have scale and texture.

Gardeners Tips on Red in Gardening

  • Keep the design simple and use repetition to make a point.
  • Red tends to bring the foreground towards you.
  • Do not mix with pink or insipid colours as neither will benefit.
  • In a small garden use red plants for emphasis and with care or they overpower.
  • I prefer the hot reds of Crocosmia, Dahlia, Lobelia, Heliathemum ‘Supreme’ some Tulips and Peonies.
Roses Masquerade as Resolutions

Roses Masquerade as Resolutions

Masquarade

It is a bit late to be setting New Years Resolutions for 2010 but I intend taking more interest in Roses and more care of Rose trees this year. Normally the one thing I give up for lent is my new years resolutions but since I am a late starter this year I will stick to the Rose this time.
This month I will be ordering some new bare rooted roses of ‘Ruby Wedding’ and will leave you to guess why.


Masquarade Rose
Masquerade’ (above) is a floribunda rose with dark green foliage and semi-double flowers of mixed yellow turning red as they age.
As a climber the Masquerade will grow upto 6 feet tall and repeat flower through the season. It has fine colouring, negligible scent but is OK for a north facing position.
Baby Masquerade is a cross with tom thumb but retains all the Masquarade charecteristics on a 10″ high plant.

The velvety, deep red rose (below) was established in my garden when I moved in almost 30 years ago and I have never known its name. Perhaps I should do some digging through rose catalogues to find out.

Rose

Top Ten Snowdrop Gardens

Top Ten Snowdrop Gardens

Kew Snowdrops

  1. Waterperry Gardens Oxfordshire
  2. Chelsea Physic Garden London   Snowdrops have always provided one of the great delights of these openings 6th, 7th, 13th & 14th February 2010, 10am-4pm.
  3. RHS Wisley Surrey
  4. Hopton Hall Derbyshire
  5. Weeping Ash Garden Cheshire
  6. East Lambrook Garden Somerset
  7. Sherborne Garden Somerset Local gardens open for the National gardens Scheme
  8. Brandy Mount House Garden Hampshire National collection of snowdrops
  9. Easton Walled Garden & Little Ponton Hall Lincolnshire
  10. Bennington Lordship Hertfordshire

This is our selection unless you know better – if so let us know.
Snowdrop soldiers8

Check for open days in February and March for a day out to enjoy. You may also find snowdrops in unexpected locations. I snapped these pictures in Haworth church Bronte land.

Haworth snowdrops

Snowdrops in an alpine house at Harlow Carr.

Snowdrop

Galanthophiles see beauty many varieties.
snowdrop

Send Your Us Favourite Gardener

Send Your Us Favourite Gardener

Harlo 121

Use the comments section below to send us the name of your favourite gardener (not the gardener themselves).
We will add it to our list of 100+ Top Gardeners

Your nomination may be a gardener who inspired you or has left a legacy in the form of an outstanding garden. Both are true for me with Geoffrey Smith and his Rhododendron garden at the Royal Horticultural Garden Harlow Carr where this memorial stone is displayed.

Celebrity gardeners are well represented in our list but you may know of one we have forgotten. As we admit the plant hunter/gatherers are not well represented and we would appreciate nominations is this category.

Sponsors of gardens are becoming a regular feature at shows like Chelsea but the well-to-do have long financed the gardening exploits to create beautiful surroundings for their homes and estates. Do they deserve more recognition or should that only go to the more earthy recipients of the Victoria medal (VMH).

International gardeners deserve a bigger profile and multiple nominations would be welcome. We would all like to know whose work to look out for when visiting new places.

Gardeners Sowing the Seeds of Success

Gardeners Sowing the Seeds of Success

Rose Hip

Sowing the Seeds of Success – Rose Hips containing Seeds

All good gardeners know that seeds are on your side they want to grow and thrive. Apart for some weedy exceptions that I will save until the end of this article seeds can be coaxed into blooming excess with only a little know how.

Help From the Seeds.
Every seed tells a story and you can learn to read that story by considering the parent plant and the seed itself. To set seed most plants need to be pollinated male to female and many plants are self-fertile. Having taken a deal of trouble to attract pollinators or pollination most plants package up the seeds and plan how to distribute them.

Berries and fruit have a soft or pithy outer case to help. Birds ingest elderberries and deposit the seed where they will.
Poppies have a pepperpot shaker type seed head that allows some ripe seed to be sprinkled each day over several days or weeks.
Aquilegia seed pods contort and twist to ping out seeds in a squirting motion so they travel a distance.
Dandelion seeds have feathery tufts to allow the wind to blow them where you don’t want them (but I said I would save these comments to the end)

So from these examples you can see seed pods protect and help distribution of the seed.

Seed Size and Features
Seeds vary in size and shape and many will become familiar to the regular gardener. A conker, pea or a grain sized Mesembryanthemum all have the same function to reproduce plants and maintain the survival of the species.

A good big one beats a good small one is a modern quote and in the vegetable garden leek and runner bean seeds are saved from good parent plants. Note it is the plant not necessarily the seed where size counts. Flower seeds should all be sown to get a choice of seedlings to plant out.

Some seeds have hard coats to protect them and legumes like Lupins or Sweetpeas may need the coat soaking in water or chipping or sanding the outer coat to allow moisture to start the germination phase.

Seeds from Alpines or bulbs generally need a period of cold so are sown in autumn or stratified in the fridge and brought into gentle heat in spring.

Special Treatment
Seeds are programmed to germinate when they expect conditions to suit. You can help provide the growing conditions they need.
Moisture or water is the first key ( so do not save seeds in damp conditions for later sowing they may have germinated and died before you get to sow them).    Temperature is the second issue as seeds are programmed to germinate when the seedling has a chance of survival. So tropical plants will need more warmth than say native Cornflowers.
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Colour Temperature in the Garden

Colour Temperature in the Garden

The quality of light can have a strange impact on the way flowers and plants look in both the garden and photographs. Light levels may change with the seasons, weather or surroundings and a cloudy sky will produce a different effect to a clear blue, early morning sky. The greatest single effect is caused by colour temperature as the photographs reveal.

Colour Temperature
Light’s colour depends on the temperature, if you heat an iron bar, it will eventually start to glow dark red . Continue to heat it and it turns yellow and eventually blue-white. We say that red is a “warmer” colour than blue! Colour temperature is measured only on the relative intensity of blue to red. Early morning light has more blue whilst early evening has more red. (see below for a small graphic, measuring temperature of light in degrees kelvin, from Ephotozine)

Tips
Oranges and red-yellow flowers look even better in early evening. Blue purple and some green looks best in the morning.
Quality of colour is in the eye of the beholder so experiment.

Light temperature