The garden team have been working to renew an area of planting below Beth’s house in the Water Garden.
This process, which has taken several months, began in autumn when we cleared the area of all existing plants except for a few shrubs. We then dug over the area methodically to ensure we had removed any residual roots or bulbs. Council compost waste was added to the bed and dug in to improve the soil. The area was then left fallow to see if anything came up over winter and early spring.
The new plants have been chosen to suit the varying conditions of the site; drier at the top of the bed around the patio and damper conditions towards the lawn. We included potted plants from the nursery that have been propagated from stock grown in the garden and also bareroot plants dug up from our stock beds.
The plants were laid out in groups on the bed to decide the layout before planting and watering in. Luckily, we have had a lot of rainfall following the planting and this has settled the plants in. They are already growing away in the warmth of the sunshine. It will be interesting to see how the planting develops over the coming months as the plants grow. We will be adding additional plants in the autumn.
Plants used in the new area:
Amicia zygomeris- existing plant
Argyrocytisus battandieri- existing plant
An unnamed aster to trial
Caryopteris x clandonensis 'Arthur Simmonds'
Erigeron karvinskianus 'Lavender Lady'
Fuchsia 'Riccartonii' (aff.)- existing plant
Fuchsia sp1- existing plant
Kalimeris incisa 'Blue Star' (aff.)
Molinia caerulea subsp. arundinacea 'Les Ponts de Ce'
Molinia caerulea subsp. arundinacea 'Mostenveld'
Monarda didyma x fistulosa 'Oneida'
Nepeta tall form from Wildgoose Nursery
Vernonia lettemannii 'Iron Butterflies'
Read on: Planting in Autumn
Written by Gardener Cathy
Can’t wait to come and see it in a couple of years