and fine and dandy they look too. They have multiplied tremendously in the two and a half years since I planted them. Fine by me – I shall lift some and use elsewhere.But the long borders are in need of a major planting makeover. Or at least some heavy, relentless tweaking. Of all the beds at the Priory, I think these are the least successful – certainly for much of the year. Were the garden mine, I would strip everything out and start again from scratch.However, it is not. So I need to take into account the plants and shrubs that are already in situ. These include a mahonia (groan), a shaggy, misshapen berberis (groan), a huge dogwood the size of a small sovereign country (groan), two yuccas (two groans) – which are constantly trying to spear me in the eye whilst weeding – and the one trick pony, Viburnum bodnantense
(though a trick that is greatly appreciated when it flowers in the bleak midwinter, (“frosty wind made moan, earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone” – you get the picture). On the positive, the long borders do have two large clumps of persicaria which I have really come to appreciate. They flower and flower and flower all summer long and bees (and oddly, wasps) adore them.There are various singular plants plonked throughout and they do look like they’ve been plonked. Last year I attended a brilliant one day course at my favorite (probably) garden, Great Dixter. Under the tutelage of Fergus Garrett we (30 or 40 madly-scribbling-down-everything students) learnt “Succession Planting in the Mixed Border”. And I nicked loads of ideas for the Priory.
One recommendation was this: Aquilegia chrysantha ‘Yellow Queen’.Fergus told us to resist impulse purchases at the nursery – yeah, I know. Difficult. But try and do your research beforehand and buy varieties of plants that have a good, long flowering season. Like the above aquiliegia. Just wish I’d bought five or seven rather than one! Now I will just have to wait for it to self seed before I can spread it through these borders. In the meantime it’s a great example of David’s Plonked Gardening Style.
Repeat planting of certain plants is so important in trying to achieve a coherent and harmonious border and it is what I’m slowly trying to achieve in all the borders. Though the building up of stock in order to achieve this is a slow process. A work in progress then.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the garden…On a south wall of the house, one of two honeysuckles is in full “Look at Me” mode. The scent first thing in the morning is truly and wonderfully heady. Rather like standing next to someone who’s wearing way too much perfume or aftershave. Only this is a nice experience. Very beautiful.
Over in the kidney beds, Centaurea montana is off to a flying start and won’t finish for months now. A fine beautiful blue.
A survivor from the-years-of-neglect, also in the kidney beds, are some self-sown lupins. Sadly (for me) they are all pinky pastel shades. Now don’t get me wrong all you pinky pastel fans; pinky pastel has its place (though at the moment I struggle to remember where that might be – the compost heap?). But personally, I much prefer a rich, dark color to a pale washed-out one; so what did I get?
Lupin Bland Mediocrity and
My favorite bed (at the moment that is) is the Rock Border. It’s turned out pretty much as I’d hoped, though some of the shrubs will take another year or two to reduce to the size I’d like.
But others like the forget-me-not and Alchemilla mollis, I’ve added.
There are also self-sown Aquilegias; here again, just to wind me up, is a pale pinky pastel
And this one.
Now. If you wouldn’t mind getting down onto your knees (but only if you’re sure you can get back up again) and sticking your nose into the undergrowth, you will see, here in amongst the forget-me-nots, one of the newest additions to the garden.
