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GARDEN 3 |
House Borders: North & East, 2.
For early colour, these borders are under-planted with spring bulbs such as snowdrops, dwarf daffodils, crocus, wood anemones and yellow, winter aconites. These are followed by king cups, double celandine and "gold laced" primroses. The borders are generally at their peak in late spring and early summer with self sown aquilegias mixing with blue aconitum napellus and early flowering self-sown annuals like Love-in-a-mist. White Honesty and pink campion also provide height between clumps of geraniums and plants that are still to come. Geranium pheum, the curiously named "mourning widow", is used extensively here. Self seeding to a fault, it comes in a variety of colours, both in flower and leaf and is ideal for this dry, shady, border. Indeed, it would quickly take over if it wasn't divided every year. Another indispensable foliage plant throughout these borders is the aniseed flavoured, Sweet Cicely. It copes well in the dry and its ferny leaves soften coarser subjects such as echinops and hides the remains of Oriental poppies that have passed their best. Lovage is also used as a foliage plant towards the back of the borders. It can look rather frightful towards the end of the season but its early leaves are a lovely mixture of reds, purples and greens.
(L) The widely grown foliage plant, Pulmonaria, or "Lungwort". A medieval cure for respiratory ailments due to its likeness to that organ. I know it as "Soldiers and Sailors" because it carries both the red flowers (of the army) and the blue flowers (of the navy) at the same time. (C) Two more indispensable foliage plants: ferny leaved, Sweet Cicely and the more robust Lovage are used throughout the borders to frame other plants. (R) Campanula alliarifolia may be an ungainly plant but it is a useful, drought resistant, space filler, for later in the season.
(L) Summer flowering, Aconitum napellus, with its "monk's hood", is often mistaken for a delphinium. (C) A rare flurry of snow fails to prevent these winter aconites blooming during February. (R) Aconitum Carmichaelii only starts coming into flower in October.
(L) Valerian grows out of the wall in the front border. (C) Not for nothing is it called the "Wall breaker" (R) The much maligned Golden Rod is greatly enhanced by its cornflower partner.
Chicory can now be found growing wild on roadside verges. In earlier times it was valued as an evergreen salad plant.