Annuals are not always true to their name as many which we grow from seed each year are in fact perennial plants that originate from warmer climates than our own. True annuals are often more delicate, etherial and ephemeral elements in our gardens and I would encourage everyone to grow at least some every year …
Can you grow Annuals in a Perennial Flower Border? Read More »
How do we select the theme plants that together make up the dominant look of our perennial meadows? Well, I shall try and set out my thoughts in the order I should logically develop a planting scheme, but in reality personal preferences can often be a starting point. That said, if a plant cannot grow where I …
This series of posts has been quite theoretical up till now so perhaps it is time to look at an example of a perennial meadow planting scheme in order to understand just how plants are selected and used. The scheme I am going to illustrate was created for a wide open situation amidst farmland in …
Meadow Planting Scheme for Dry Steppe Growing Conditions Read More »
In my previous post about the difference between flower borders and naturaltistic perennial meadows, the first was described as a picture to be view and admired from outside while the other, the naturalistic planting scheme, was designed to be entered and experienced from within. How then can we place a perennial meadow within a garden’s …
Size and Shape of a Perennial Meadow within a garden’s design. Read More »
The traditional herbaceous border uses perennials to create a show-stopping picture with plants organised to complement and contrast with one another; colours, textures and leaf patterns all play an important part in creating a display that draws our attention. Typically such flower borders are placed in front of a wall or hedge and we look …
Flower Borders verses Naturalistic Perennial Meadows Read More »
In February snowdrops and hellebores are indispensable, but we must know how to use them and avoid the hype that surrounds them. It is not the plants, but the people who promote and sell them that I have a problem with. Snowdrops at their best create sheets of white nodding flowers around the dark stems …
February is the season for snowdrops and hellebores. Read More »
Perennial meadows fill our gardens with drifts of colour and texture replacing labour intensive lawns and dull areas of gravel and ground cover. However, this new trend in planting design has one big downside – the cost of the large number of plants needed! At between six to eight plants per square meter/yard we are …
Naturalistic is a term being used to describe a modern trend in garden planting design, but what does it mean? You would think it meant “like nature”, but none of these so-called schemes resemble anything I have ever seen in the wild. The use of this awkward word is an attempt to set such planting …
Naturalistic Planting Schemes for Garden Landscapes Read More »
This category will build into a series of articles that explain how the concept of perennial meadows has developed, where and how they should be used within gardens as well as the practical aspects of designing, planting and maintaining them. To avoid misleading anyone it should be understood that we are not primarily concerned with …
Let me make a start with a simple example of a perennial meadow. This is one of the planting areas created last year for a garden within the courtyard of an old people’s home in the centre of Amsterdam. The large irregular pond was already there and it would have cost far too much to …