100 years of Girl Guiding is being celebrated in September 2009 by Girl Guides around the country with a range of appropriate events.

This floral tribute is in the grounds of Carlisle Cathedral and has been created from just 4 types of carefully chosen ‘carpet bedding plants’. Contrasting shades of leaf and low, slow growing, uniform habit are more important than flowers. In fact flowers can distort such a display.

Carpet Bedding Plants

• For leaf colour and regular form Alternanthera lehmannii varieties take some beating like ‘Dark Purple Black’ Alternanthera lehmannii ‘Rosy Glow’ and Alternanthera lehmannii ‘Yellow Green Betty’
• For grey foliage Lavender or Cerastium species with compact silver foliage and a white flower in summer.
• Sempervivum arach’ ‘Rubin’ or Sedum spathulifolium ‘Purpureum’ for reds
• Echeveria elegans for grey or the Glauca for a blue tinge
• Sedums are probably the easiest for your first efforts with the wide selection available

Carpet bedding is the use of dwarf slow-growing compact colorful flowering and foliage plants in a geometrical arrangement. If you like the idea of trying a floral clock or your own design of carpet bedding I recommend you buy your plants in bulk already grown in cells. You can grow from seed but aim for uniformity.
Carpet bedding may be planted up in early June based on a coloured in plan already prepared. If 1-inch squared paper can be used this is ideal for the gardener to plant in accordance with the scaled design, a 1 inch square on the plan corresponding to a 1 foot square on the bed.
Many beds look best when you can view them at a slope of about 45 °