Pricey but posh!

Over the last few weeks I've been doing a little bit of design work for a client. A 100ft border where the planting needed to obscure the neighbours' greenhouses, sheds and provide the clients with immediate privacy by their patio area. It's fair to say that gardens take time to mature and I very much buy into that viewpoint but on this occasion the need for mature specimens was necessary.

I had already sourced some plants online but with the costs involved I felt a trip to the nursery was essential. So, at the beginning of the week the sun was shining and I had a lovely journey across the south downs to a fabulous nursery called Architectural Plants, where numerous plants, trees and shrubs were all lined out and awaiting inspection. A pandoras box!

After nearly 3 hours I had 3 choices but one stuck out from the rest  - Prunus caroliniana; just in from Italy. Evergreen with deep ovate leaves, fragrant flowers in late spring followed by berries in the Autumn. It's hardy and will surely clip nicely.

To top the day off, I was offered a lovely coffee and that too was dead posh. Thanks Cindy!

Time for a health check

It's surprising what a few years can do to a garden.  When I first started this client's garden it was one muddled mess and to be fair, very poorly maintained and no thought whatsoever regarding successional planting. This was a picture during the first year. The roses and leaucanthemums had just finished flowering and that was it for the rest of the year. I should also add, there was nothing prior to the rose display either.

As each year passed I was slowly but surely getting more colour introduced and a greater succession of interest; tulips were one of the first introductions that bridged the gap.

Even in mid-October, the border is still providing a colourful display. Ornamental grasses playing a huge part for autumnal interest, lasting well into the winter months. The tall, bleached erect stems of Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster' is a really fab plant and one I would use more often if the conditions allowed. 

Brown, assumed dead...and great

Brown is still viewed as a pretty dirty colour to the masses but having introduced ornamental grasses to many gardens along with perennials that give strong structure after their flowering period, brown can still play a significant part in the diversity of a border.

In this picture the silky feathers of Miscanthus 'Abundance,' the tired domes of Phlomis russeliana and the flat heads of Sedum 'Herbstfreude,' provide a perfect trio and will go on feasting the eyes for weeks to come