The sun is shining once again here in West Sussex and I’ve been a busy chap creating my first border in our walled barn garden. It actually isn’t the bed I wanted to design and plant first, I have much more exciting planting plans afoot, where I’m going to release myself from the shackles of gardens past and allow plants to whimsically tumble and billow. But, I already had all the main plants for this bed and they were more than ready, screaming in fact, for their twisted roots to be set free from the confines of their plastic nursery straight jackets.
Believe it or not ( do watch the full video), I know it’s going to be the easiest one I’ll create in this garden. Today I’ll be showing you what I did step by step and explaining my reasons for each decision. I’m no professional garden designer, this is just how I do things. I like what I like and use my many years of trial and error to make things pretty.
In my last garden I had a Hydrangea Paniculata Limelight bed. Nothing but dreamy conical cotton-white blooms, like giant Mr Whippy ice creams, which gradually drip into shades of pink, as if they’ve been doused with strawberry sauce. All they need is a chocolate flake and they’re almost good enough to eat.
I underplanted with spring bulbs and surrounded the stars of the show with Hidcote Lavender, which looked rather lovely, particularly when the panicles were in their early summer acid green phase. But, I found the straight lines of the borders a little rigid and far too formal for the fifty something soul that I’d become. I didn’t have time to be constantly trimming edges like I was a strict school master telling his pupils to behave.
I knew though that when we moved house I’d miss those hydrangeas. They are so incredibly easy to look after (see my guide here), so much easier than Annabelle and look just as good, if not better. Plus, they’re strong and can cope with almost anything, unlike their frothy Pom-pom cousins.
I knew I had to have another Paniculata border, but this time much more free with underplanting allowed to trail and soften the edges. Last year at the end of the summer season, when everything looked a little worse for wear, as if it may not survive a cold British winter, I made my way to one of my favourite plant nurseries….
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