My borders combine all aspects of gardening — shrubs, bulbs, foliage plants, even little patches of annuals to fill any bare spaces. Quite unorthodox, perhaps, but being a greedy woman I want something of everything, and in this way there is always something in bloom. My husband deplored this habit of mine, and could not understand the real excitement of finding something unexpectedcoming into flower when everything else has gone to sleep.

I am lucky in having little walls that not only hold up the flower beds but give me more places in which to plant enchanting little rock creatures to sprawl or foam or cascade over the stones according to their nature. Then there are crevices and odd chinks between the bottom of the walls and the stone paths for coloured primroses and little daisies, even something a little bigger now and again, such as Teucrium Chamaedrys, Geranium Endressii or even nepeta. Read the rest of this entry »

Owners of very big gardens have infinite scope for segregating different species—if they want to. I shouldn’t, because I like every part of the garden to be interesting at every time of year.

No one can deny that an iris garden in full flower is lovely, but the foliage of irises is so beautiful at all times that a clump here and there among other plants is a great help in creating a harmonious planting. Irises are excellent with other plants in a small stone formal garden and I feel some of their charm is lost when they are planted in a mass. Read the rest of this entry »

Of the other erigerons the best-known Is probably the pinky- mauve Quakeress, and her white counterpart. There is also Pink Pearl which is less exuberant, Mrs Beale, azureus, speciocus, Moerheim Beauty, Beauty of Hale and many others. E. Mesa Grande is a great stand-by as she will bloom till November, getting deeper in colour as the season advances. To keep up a generous succession of bloom it pays to cut off the flower stalks near the ground, instead of just snipping off the dead flowers. E. Darkest of All is a lovely newcomer in deep violet, with a greeny-yellow eye, but not quite so lavish with its second thoughts as some of the others. Nor is the salmon, E. B. Ladhams, a regular second bloomer, although one occasionally finds a late flower or two. The rock erigeron, E. glaucus, shares the long season habit with its sisters, and is a useful plant when a wall or rock garden pocket calls for something bold and substantial.

Of all the flowers I know I think penstemons fulfil my requirements as well as any. For some reason they had the reputation of being not quite hardy, but I think they have outgrown that libel. You may, lose them if you savagely cut them down early in the winter, but if this rite is delayed till all danger of frost is over there is no likelihood of trouble. I agree it is very difficult to restrain one’s itching secateurs when the sun shines and the ragged brown leaves defile the landscape, but it is worth the sacrifice. Read the rest of this entry »

When I first started planting my borders my husband’s insistence on well-grown plants and my own love of flowers all the year round made me look for two qualities in the plants I chose. I knew I could not stake as much and as individually as Walter thought was necessary so I tried to find as many plants as I could that did not need a great deal of support. And as I planted an all-the-year-round garden I looked for things with as long a season of blooming as possible.

Of course, there are exceptions to these essentials. Delphiniums and lupins are seasonal and brittle, but one can’t do without them. A garden couldn’t be contemplated without paeonies, which last only a few short weeks and need strong supports, nor would we exchange the short-lived fragrance of lilies for the longevity of less voluptuous plants. Read the rest of this entry »