Mid-Summer Drama in the Garden
Creating a sense of amazement and awe and discovery is a fun thing to do in the garden, whether you are five or sixty-five. Using individual plants for dramatic effect can create tension and intrigue and demand closer inspection.
Some plants inspire awe by their size alone. Consider that damp-loving colossus, the Gunnera, with its prehistoric flowers and six-foot gnarled leaves on the edge of a pool. Cardoons add silvery height and spiky interest to a large herbaceous border - you need to allow a good metre for their spread. Verbascums tower in a dry spot, happily self-seeding while their woolly leaves add a softening texture to a dry and sunny planting scheme. Planting the odd giant amongst your usual plants immediately changes the character from the normal to the unexpected. Or let some grass grow long and mow a path through it to create a tunnel that can easily be redirected when it suits.
Vibrant colours can be awe-inspiring. We love our blues, purples and pinks, which weave a subtle tapestry that suits our landscape and light levels so well. But by adding some electricity, odd dashes of the bluest blue of Anchusa, cornflowers or the later-season Ceratostigma, the vibrant oranges of Crocosmia, marigolds, and the spikes of red-hot pokers, the reds and pinks of Salvias, Nerines, Dahlias or Poppies, or the varying yellows of Rudbeckias and Coreopsis, our garden is transformed into a visual jewellery box. A combination of brilliant colours planted amongst some longish grass catches the eye immediately.
Some plants add incredible texture to a planting scheme, giving variety to the mound-shaped clumps and structural backdrop of many of our shrubs and perennials. Silvery, strap-leaved Astelia chathamica creates a lovely arching shape and tolerates some shade too. Spiky, metallic-leaved Eryngiums add a huge amount of structure and a glint of silver-blue steel. The large, felty leaves of that most tactile of plants, the Stachys, demand to be stroked, as do some of the grasses such as Stipa tenuissima or Pennisetum as you brush past them.
Finishing with the most nostalgic of senses, smell. The oily scents of rosemary, thyme and lavender can transport us immediately to Mediterranean holidays, while roses, honeysuckle and wet earth provide an unmistakably British smell.
Introducing some drama to your garden is a stimulating experience, so why not indulge yourself with planting some stars this summer!
Article written for Summer 2009 issue by Annabel Foster of Good Earth Gardens 01580 201440 or 07828 574935
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