Surrey Homes | SH55 | May 2019 | Extensions & Outdoor Living supplement inside

Garden
The plants
Planting up the border can feel like the most daunting part
of the process; there are so many plants and they all grow
slightly differently – and take up varying amounts of space
in the border. Spacing is important when you are planting
trees and shrubs, because they are going to be in position
for a long time and are difficult (but not impossible) to
move once established. Do not worry too much about
the positioning of perennials; these will positively enjoy
being lifted, divided and repositioned every few years.
Border design takes time to master, but understanding a little
about the conditions that your plants need in order to thrive
will help you to position them in the right place. The style of
border is entirely down to personal taste and it is a broad canvas,
but suiting the plants to their environment needs to come above
just ‘wanting’ the plant. I have wasted a lot of time and money
trying to get plants to grow in the wrong places just because I
like their colour or habit, or just, well having to have them.
I tend to start with the framework plants and then work
around them. I try – and this is not easy – to choose plants
for their shape and how they will play their part in the border
as a whole through the seasons. It might help to think of it
like a production. There are the stars – you only need one
or two of these (too much drama otherwise dahling) – then
the other actors, the chorus and the dancing girls. Don’t
forget the props, costumes and backdrops departments;
these often go unsung, but the whole show would fall apart
if you left it to the stars and the dancing girls. Think about
the overall impact, rather than the individual plants and how
it will change over the year, as the flowers come and go.
You can rush out and plant the whole border up at once, or
you can take your time and add in plants every now and then,
depending on the budget and the time available. Planning and
planting a border is very rewarding, sometimes frustrating,
but I like to think it’s completely achievable and comfort
myself with the thought that even the Hanging Gardens
of Babylon might have started off as a hanging basket.
Contact Jo for details of 2019 gardening courses
01233 861149 hornbrookmanor.co.uk
Clockwise: A lovely combination of spring flowering
plants beneath a canopy of trees and shrubs; Annual
Cosmos ‘Purity’ is a great border filler
Plants for places
Dry shade
Heleborus argutifolius – a tough evergreen
with leathery, architectural leaves and pale limeygreen
flowers from February to April.
Buxus (box) – puts up with shade and
inhospitable soil, but may succumb to box
blight if grown in damp, enclosed spaces.
Mahonia ‘Charity’- another candidate with
spiky leathery leaves with scented yellow
flowers in the depths of winter.
Euonymus fortunii ‘Emerald Gaiety’ – a tough little
stalwart, this variety has pretty variegated leaves.
Choisya ternata (Mexican orange) – glossy, dark
green leaves and scented blossom in May.
Damp soil
Hosta ‘Sum and Substance’– great big lush
looking leaves. Hostas are slug-prone, but
apparently this one is slightly resistant…
Cornus ‘Midwinter Fire’ – amazing winter
bark in fiery shades on the mound stems.
Rheum palmatum – ornamental
rhubarb with giant leaves.
Astilbe – dainty frothy plumes of flower in summer,
likes damp soil, but not too much shade.
Iris pseudoacorus – an iris that likes to get its feet wet.
Hot, dry conditons
Sedum spectabile ‘Autumn Joy’ has succulenttype
leaves, loved by butterflies and bees, this plant
will patiently put up with most conditions.
Phlomis russelliana – grey sage type leaves with whorls of
pale yellow flowers that fade into architectural seed heads.
Iris (bearded) – good strappy leaves,
likes to bake in the sun.
Stachys – soft felty leaves like ‘lamb’s ears’
- this plant will spread if you let it.
Cistus (Rock Rose) – an evergreen flowering in
June/July, it will put up with poor, dry soil.
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