A laden branch of Crab-Apples

If you have room to plant only one tree, then a Malus is the one to plant. There are many shapes and sizes, to suit most positions. All like a site in full sun to only dappled shade and will grow on most soils except water logged soils. These wonderful trees give interest through out the year. With spring blossom, some with colour foliage, nearly all have good autumn leaf tints and all have fruit in vary sizes and some even hold onto their fruit through out the winter months. Here are just a very few to wet your appetite.

Malus ‘Rudolph’

M. ‘Rudoph’: A small upright tree with ascending branches, makes a good street tree and is perfect for a small space. Leaves are a rich purple when young, fading to green latter in summer. Dark buds open to a rich dark pink flowers in clusters in the spring. Followed by bunches of orange-yellow fruit, held through the winter.

Malus ‘tschonocskii’

M. tschonoskii: this is a hansom medium sized tree, with an attractive shape. Blush white flowers, followed by yellow fruits. But the star turn is the rust orange autumn

Malus ‘John Downie’ the best fruits for cooking.

M.’John Downie’: This is a classic crab-apple of the old school, a medium to larger tree, with assenting branches. White to pink flowers and mid green foliage. With large conical fruit yellow blushed red. Perfect for jams, preserves and jelly making.

Malus zumi var. calocarpa ‘Goldern Hornet’

M. zumi var. calocarpa ‘Golden Hornet’: An eye catching small upright tree. Which packs a big visual punch. White flowers, great buttery yellow autumn colour and large round golden fruit held well into the winter. Perfect for a tiny courtyard garden.

Malus x robusta ‘Red Sentinel’

M. x robusta ‘Red Sentinel’: This is a wonderful crab-apple, A small mop-headed tree which produces a mass of branches in a dence crown. Masses of blush pink flowers produced in spring. Lovely yellow rust autumn tints. But the fruit are the show stopper. Clusters of large round red fruit held through the winter into early spring.

Malus scheideckerii ‘Red Jade’

M. x scheideckerii ‘Red Jade’: A lovely variety, A small tree with weeping habit, makes a great specimen tree. Blush pink and white flowers, mid green foliage and bunches of red cherry sized fruit, lasting into the winter.

Crab-apple trees planted on mass.

Often when I am asked to advise about designing small spaces, one of the first things clients will say is, I don’t have room for a tree. Yes you do, and Crab-Apples should be near the top of your list.

Geraniums are a great cover.

Geraniums are wonderful herbaceous perennials, not to be confused, with the Polygonums beloved for their striking flowers in summer bedding. They scramble, they form well ordered clumps and they carpet. They cope with very dry to slightly damp conditions, to full sun to dry shade. The variety and number to choose from is staggering. There surely must be a geranium to suit every situation in the garden as well as every gardeners taste.

Geranium cinareum ‘Ballerina’

G. cinareum ‘Ballerina’ : A good geranium for a sunny spot, it is has a compact habit and only grows to 10cm tall, it is idea for Rockies. It is free flowering from may to September with soft lilac pink flowers with distinctive red veining.

Geranium ‘Johnston’s Blue’

G. ‘Johnston’s Blue: An old favourite, large clumps of mid green foliage with deeply palamate leaves up to 35cm tall with clear blue flowers on mass from May to August, will grow in full sun to semi-shade.

Geranium macrorrhizum ‘Album’

G. macrorrhizum ‘Album’: A superb semi-evergreen geranium for semi-shade in a dry spot. Forming dense carpets of mid green foliage, which colours an attractive red bronze in colder winter weather. Delicate papery white flowers are produced from June to July.

Geranium phaeum

Geranium ‘Phaeum’: This is a hansom tall geranium reaching 60 -80cm in height. It will cope well with dense dry shade. Its leaves have maroon blotches in the centre. Flowers of dark purple/maroon are held on tall stems. Flowering from May -July.

Geranium pratense ‘Mrs Kendall Clark’

Geranium pratense ‘Mrs Kendall Clark’:This is a lovely geranium for a heavier soil in full sun. Up to 75cm tall with a clump habit. Lilac-blue flowers with white/pink veining, produced on mass from June to August.

Geranium wallchianum ‘Buxton’s Variety’

Geranium wallchiannum ‘Buxton’s’: This is a truly wonderful geranium it is a Scambler, that will do well in full sun to semi-shade. It can be allowed to crawl through the bottom of shrubs. It has light green leaves with pink stems and open purple/blue flowers with a white centre and black stamens, making a striking impression where ever it pops up in the planting. It flowers from June to September.

Geraniums are a superb garden plant and a must for all gardens.

Top Tip: To get repeat flowering from your geraniums, shear off the spent flower heads after the main flowering, to get a later flush towards the end of the summer and into the start of autumn.

I hope I have inspired you to add to your geranium collection. These herbaceous perennials are very easy to grow and extremely good natured about most planting positions, they can get a bit carried away and perhaps need keeping in check particular in newly planted boarders where the shrubs are small and establishing as it it doesn’t take long for a geranium to get settled in and make it’s presence felt. Happy planting!

If you would like help planning and designing your garden, I Know a woman who can help you 1 Do give me Emily a ring to discuss your garden project. Tel;01273 470753.

Tulips-Orange, Purple, striking pink, all Jewel colours.

The Jewel Garden – through pastels out the window and think intense retina popping colour! Regal purples, claret rich reds, imperial orange, if the plants were materials for the richest clothes then they would be velvet, satin and  silk. The jewel garden should be a vassal over load of contracting colours vying for your attention. Here are some to wet your appetite

Tulipa ‘May Time’

Tulipa ‘Maytime’; A beautiful mid-height lily type tulip. Flowering mid to late April. A vivid mid-purple, with the top of the petals slightly reflexed. Free draining soli in full sun

Tulipa ‘Ballerina’

Tulipa ‘Ballerina’: A stunning eye popping bright orange Tulip, with a narrow vase shaped flower. This is a mid-season lily type tulip of 40/50cm in height. Free draining soil in full sun.

Iris ‘Black Swan’

Iris ‘Black Swan’: A tall breaded iris of 90cm/1m tall. With swords of glorious grey foliage. Rich velvety dark purple almost black flowers are produced in May. Poor well draining soil in full sun.

Agapanthus ‘Purple Cloud’

Agapanthus ‘Purple Cloud’: A dramatic dark purple flowered Agapanthus. Clumps of dark green foliage with flower spikes produced late Summer August into September, with large round flower heads made up of dark blue/purple bells. A good rich soil moisture retentive in full sun.

Crococosmia ‘Lucifer’

Crococosmia ‘Lucifer’: A vivid deep scarlet red, this crococosmia is a must for any jewel garden. A tall stand of mid-green leaves up to 1m in high. With flower stems ridding above the foliage. A succession of rich red flowers open along the top of the stems. Full sun to semi-shade. Good to poor soil.

Penstemon andenken ‘Friedrich Hahn’

Penstemon andenken ‘Friedrich Hahn’: A wonderful penstomon, flowering from July through to the end of September, making a large sprawling clump with flower spikes up to 70cm. Rich dark garnet coloured bell shaped flowers borne in clusters along the flowering stems. Make it a wonderful addition to the jewel garden. Good humus rich soil in full sun. They can be short lived and a bit tender, but are easy to take cuttings from.

The joys of the Jewel garden

Top Tip: Your jewel garden or flower boarder dose not all have to be about flower colour, think of berries and fruits and dramatic contracting purple and golden foliage, get experimental. Also there are a wide range of new Silvia varieties to  try, not all are fully hardy but with their long flowering season, they can be a major ingredient of your new jewel garden. I hope I have inspired you to get creative.

If you need help creating your Jewel Garden I know just the woman to give you a hand, contact Emily at Arcadia Garden Design on 01273 470753.

tumbling plants over a wall

Most people think of climbers when it comes to walls, but a wall can be packed with planting possibilities including, a range of creeping and scrambling plants that are just made for the dry and harsh conditions of growing on or over a wall.  Here are some to consider

Arabis ferdinardii-cobungii ‘Variegata’

Arabis ferdinandii cobungii ‘ Variegata’: This hardy vigorous alpine is a must for any wall, it makes dense carpets of low growing foliage and is smothered in tiny white flowers in late spring early summer that pack a visual punch.

Aubrieta ‘purple cascuade’

Aubrieta ‘Purple Cascade’: This is the classic wall tumbler and is very vigorous. It will spill over walls creating dense mats of semi-evergreen leaves, with vibrant open purple flowers  from late spring to early summer. A must for any sunny wall.

Campanular arvatica

Campanula arvatica: An attractive low growing campanula, that seeds readily and will happily put it’s self in lots of niches and crannies of any wall. Low clumps that spill and crawl over any wall surface, with small soft mauve flowers early summer. It will also do well in part or denser shade.

Dianthus freynii

Dianthus freynii: a delightful, low growing alpine pink with mats of evergreen grey foliage, that will creep over walls. Small pink single flowers are borne , mid summer.

Geranium saguineum lancastriense

Geranium sanguineum lancastriense: A lovely delicate small leaved geranium that crawls along the surface, perfect to flop over the edge of the wall. Clear pink flowers produced intermittently from spring to late summer, as long as it is dead headed.

Hellianthemum nummularium ‘Whisley Primrose’

Hellianthemum nummularium ‘Wisley Primrose’: This is a lovely rock rose, that produces a carpet of sliver evergreen foliage, that will cascade over any wall. Soft yellow flowers are produces in a splash of intense colour in mid summer.

Wall timbering plants add an extra splash of spring colour!

Top tips: Most the plants I have suggested, will need full sun. They will do very well in thin, free draining soil. After flowering gently shear off the dead flower heads. This is also a good time, to keep the shape of the plant in trim, particularity if there are dead or bare areas, in the mats the plants form.

I hope I have inspired you to look again, at the walls in your garden, and consider adding a splash of planting colour.

Mixed ground cover

Ground cover, is the unsung hero of all planting schemes, whether scrambling over the base of trees in a densely shady area, or hiding unsightly man hole covers in the middle of the flower bed. Crawling under shrubs and other plants from it’s most basic being a weed suppressant to a highly decorative added element to the planting scheme. Ground cover planting deserves as much thought as the main stars of the planting show. Here are a few to consider.

Vinca minor ‘Illumination’

Vinca minor ‘Ilumination’: This is a superb ‘periwinkle’ like all of the minor variates it dose not have the same thug like qualities as the major and this is a real star. A low creeping habit with dark glossy green leaves, and a striking central splash of golden variegation. With purple open flowers in early spring. Witch tolerate quite dense shade, will cope with almost all soil conditions except waterlogging.

Geranium macrorrhizum ‘Album’

Geranium macrorrhizum ‘Album’ : A wonderful, low growing geranium with a spreading habit and easily seeds. The soft light green foliage, takes on red autumn hints when it gets cold. Soft pink buds open to white delicate flowers from mid summer, dead head to prolong flowering. Will do well in quite dark shade and dry conditions.

Euphorbia myrsinites

Euphorbia myrsinits: A lovely crawling ground cover plant for a sunny position on poor soil. Whirls of glaucous grey foliage spread low across the ground. Clusters of sulphur green flowers are borne at the end of the creeping stems. A striking plant.

Lamium maculatum ‘Sliver Beacon’

Lamium maculatatum ‘Sliver Beacon’: This is a vigorous spreading plant, growing low to the groud , it can be a thug, so only plant where it can get up a head of steam. Mid green foliage with central sliver/white variegation.. With soft pink small flowers in early spring. Will cope with dense dry shade. Most soils, accept very thin and water logged soils.

Bergenia ‘Baby Doll’

Berginia ‘Baby Doll’: A valuable ground cover plant that makes crowed dense groups up to 20cm high. Of glossy dark green leaves and flower spikes of vivid pink flowers in early spring, sun to dappled shade. Grow in a humus rich soil.

Hedra cancariensis ‘Sulphur Heart’

Hedra cancariensis ‘Sulphur heart’ ( paddy’s pride): This ivy is the “Big daddy” of  ground cover planting. Ives are not just for large walls, they do very well scrambling across the ground. With large shinning leathery leaves of mid to dark green with a strong central yellow splash and cream leaf edges, this is a dramatic ground cover to brighten any dark corner. Will tolerate even dense dry shade and most soil types accept  water logged soil.

I hope I have inspired you to look again at ground cover planting and the many plants that fill this all important niche.

Valiant Viburnums

Viburnums are wonderful shrubs, forming the evergreen back ground of the boarder, to specimen shrubs and much more in between, With varieties giving interest through out the seasons, there is much to recommend these fine garden plants.

Viburnum x bodnantenes ‘Charles Lament’

V. x bodnantense ‘Charles Lamont’: An elegant medium to large up right With mid green foliage and clusters of waxy blush pink highly scented flowers, borne on bare stems in December to January. Full sun to semi -shade.

Viburnum Carlesii

V. Carlesii: A medium sized compacted domed shrub with soft green foliage, with good crimson autumn colour. Round clusters of pure white flowers with a heady scent in April – May. Full sun.

Viburnum davidii

V. davidii: A small dense low mound forming evergreen shrub. With distinctive broad pointed oval leaves with well defined veins. White flat headed flowers in June followed by blue/black berries held well into the winter months. Full sun to shade

Viburnum opulus Aureum

V. opulus ‘Aureum’: A more zooped up version of the native ‘Guelder Rose’ Medium shrub with less vigorous growth and lime yellow leaves splendid autumn colour. Flat heads of white flowers May-June followed by rich red berries, thrives on thin soils. Semi-shade to full sun.

Viburnum Plicatum f. tomentosum

V. plicatum f. tomentosum ‘Mariesii’: This is a real statement shrub and can be planted as a solo specimen. A medium sized shrub with wide tiered spreading branches, giving it a striking habit even in the winter. Mid green leaves with dark red autumn tints. Showy wide flat headed white flowers, are borne raised above the branches in mid summer. Full sun.

Viburnum tinus ‘Eve Price’

V. tinus ‘Eve Price: A medium to large evergreen shrub with dark glossy leaves that will cope well in semi-shade. Small pink white flowers are feely borne in mid winter.

scented Viburnum flowers

Viburnums are versatile shrubs which are easy to grow and very hardy, They will grow in most soil conditions apart from water logging. Some will even cope with thin chalk soils.

I hope I have inspired you to look again at the shear range of plants and find a spot for some viburnums in your own garden.

A bunch of scented roses

Scent, is one of the great pleasures of the garden, whether, you turn a corner on a damp winters day and a get a waft from a scented shrub or plant your nose deep in a rose. Or sit on a summer evening and scent fills the air. It is something we all enjoy.

Winter: It may be hard to imagine, but there are many scented flowering shrubs in the winter, just the thing to cheer up the walk from the garage to the back door on a gloomy winters day.

Winter. Sarcococca ruscifolia

Sarcococca ruscifolia: A dwarf slow growing form, with upright habit and dense evergreen shiny foliage. Highly scented clusters of small almost insignificant flowers, that pack a very big scented punch in January to February, followed by small glossy red berries. Sun to quite dense shade. Good humus rich soil.

Winter Lonicera x purpusii ‘Winter Beauty’

Lonicera x purpusii ‘Fragrans’: A medium sized shrub with a shabby mound forming habit. Highly scented creamy yellow flowers are produced on the bare stems in mid-winter. Full sun and a little shade. Most soils.

Spring. Daphne odora ‘Aureomarginata’

Daphne odora ‘Aureomarginata’: A small evergreen shrub with a dense mound forming habit, emerald green leaves with a narrow cream band around the edge. Clusters of blush pink waxy flowers with a powerful scent from April to early May. It is one of the few Daphne’s that will cope with some chalk. But it prefers a good soil. Sun to semi-shade.

Spring. Skimma japonica ‘Fragrans’

Skimmer japonica ‘Fragrans’:  It is the male form of this shrub, that you need. A small compacted mound forming evergreen shrub. Covered in clusters of creamy white highly scented flowers April to May. Sun to semi-shade, humus rich soils, neutral to slightly acidic.

Summer: spoilt for choice from Lavender to roses and beyond, the garden is bathed in perfume in this season.

Summer Philadelphus Beauclerk

Philadelphus ‘Beauclerk’: This has one of the most pungent scents of all of the ‘Mock Oranges’, it can waft over the garden on a mid summer evening. A medium sized upright shrub, mid green foliage. A mass of single white flowers with a deep maroon central splash and a very heady scent. Full sun, most soils.  A must!

Summer. Lavandula stoechas

Lavender stoechas: This can be a tender variety and may need protecting in harder winters, so possible plant in a pot that can be moved into a frost free spot over the winter months. But is is well worth the effort for its strongly aromatic feathered foliage which almost smells of eucalyptus as well as lavender. With small ‘eared’  purple flower borne in mid summer. A sunny spot on free draining soil, plant somewhere your hands will naturally brush against it.

Autumn: Scent is getting a little thinner on the ground in this season but there are still a few scented shrubs to delight your smell respecters.

Autumn Rosa ‘Geoff Hamilton’

Rosa ‘Geoff Hamilton’: Roses have a very long flowering season particularly in the South East of England. This delightful, disease resident rose, flowers right up to the first hard frosts. With delicate soft pink flowers and a strong heady scent. Full sun and a rich soil.

Autumn Osmanthus armatus

Osmanthus armatus: A large dense evergreen  shrub with upright habit to 2m and above. Dark green spiny holly like leaves. With clusters of scented white flowers in the autumn. Sun or dappled shade. humus rich moist soil. Full sun to dappled shade.

Winter flowers- Snowdrops

I hope I have inspired you to think about scent when planning your garden and at all times of the year. If you would like help designing a planting scheme or even a whole garden. Then I know the woman to help you, just give me Emily a ring 01273 470753 to discuss your garden project.

Go on Get Heady with the Scent!

Some purists don’t have any truck with variegation, but I think they are wrong. In the dull days of late autumn and in a shady corner, variegation can bring a vibrancy to planting and add an extra dimension  Here are some plants to consider.

Euonymus fortunei ‘Emerald and Gold’

Euonymus fortunei ‘Emerald and’ Gold’:  A wonderful sturdy evergreen shrub. With shiny mid green leaves with a thick band of yellow variegation on the edges. It is a small shrub and will grow in full sun to part shade on most soils, but will not tolerate water logging. It can even be trained as a good dense wall shrub.

Sadly there is no Free from copyright image to illustrate this plant.

Phormium ‘Maori Sunrise’:  A dramatic evergreen shrub with bold sword like foliage, which arches gracefully. The leaves are a mix of bands of colour, from soft pink, to red and cream.  A good statement shrub or for a focal point pot. A Small to medium sized shrub, grows on most free draining soils in full sun or a little shade.

Pittsoporum tenifllium ‘Garnetti’

Pittosorum  tenuifollum ‘Garnettii’:  A hansom medium to large evergreen shrub. With a broad conical habit and beautiful foliage. Small clusters of wavy edged leaves in soft green with white almost sliver variegation, produced on dramatic black stems. Makes a dense shrub or even a small tree. Good to lighten the back of a large border.

Cornus alba ‘Ellantissma’

Cornus alba ‘Elegantissima’:  This is a beautiful medium sized shrub. With all the dramatic winter colour of it’s red stems and the added bonus of soft green and cream variegation. Like all dogwoods, very tough and will grow almost any where as long as it is not to dry. Sun to semi-shade.

Mischanthus sinensis ‘Zebrinus’

Miscanthus sinensis ‘Zebrinus: This is a stunning grass which has the wow facture. Growing to nearly 2m tall. Its upright green leaves have thick horizontal yellow stripes, defiantly one for the jungle garden. Grows well in full sun in water retentive soil.

Iris pallida ‘ Aurea Varegata’

Iris  pallida ‘ Aurea  Variegata’: There is lots to love about this mid height bearded Iris. It’s scented light mauve flowers and its grey leaves with striped cream variegation add a little extra. Grow on well draining soil in full sun.

Vinca minor ‘Illumination’

Vinca minor ‘Ilumination’: This is a wonderful new variety of the lesser ‘periwinkle’ it has been around for a few years now and is a must for a dark and gloomy corner. An evergreen ground cover, that crawls over the ground and will grow in dark shade in most soils. The mid green glossy leaves have a large central splash of gold. Small open purple flowers are produced in spring.

Variegated foliage adds a splash of foliage colour in a display of containers.

Top tip: If you suddenly see sections of your plant reverting to plain green, then get going with the sectors and prune them out. Remember variegated foliage is not as strong growing as normal green foliage, so if you don’t act your plant will quickly loose all its variegation and revert back to plain green.

I hope I have inspired you to look again at variegated foliage, it is not just white variegation, but gold, pink and many other colours. Evergreen variegated plants really have an added bonus in the winter months. Add an extra touch of colour to your garden.

Prairie planting

Prairie planting is often short hand for a more naturalistic style of planting that started to be made popular in Germany in the 1970’s and 1980’s and by great exponents like Piet Oudolf and Nigel Dunnett among others. It tends to concentrate on using grasses and mostly but not always late flowering perennials. Hence the ‘prairie ‘ part of the name, using a lot of North American and Mexican native plants. Using a reduced pallet of plants that thrive on the same soil and climatic conditions and maintenance requirements. The plants are planted in bold groups and sweeps, with the odd accent plant (Piet Oudolf and the early German style) and Nigel Dunnett has taken the principles of the same habitat requirements and planted in a more naturalistic way, where the varieties are ‘scatter’ through the planting either totally mixed or the odd one or two together or a few in larger groups, to give a look that broadly represents planting in nature. So here are a few plants to consider, that work well in Prairie planting.

Panicum virgatum ‘Heavymetal’

Panicum virgatum ‘Heavy Metal’: This is a top favourite of mine, possible because of the name? Stiff metallic grey leaves in good upright clumps up to 90cm tall. Powder blue flowers turn soft yellow in the autumn, up to 1.20m in height. Prefers a richer moisture retentive soil.

Pennisetum aloepearoides

Pennisetum alopecuroides: clumps of mid green arching leaves up to 75cm.With soft feathery brown spikes of flowers produced August to October that turn yellow in winter. Flowers best in full sun. Will cope with dryer soils.

Rudbeckia fulgida var. sulivantii ‘Goldstrum’

Rubeckia fulgida sulllivantii ‘Goldstrum’: The late flowering perennials never fails to gladden the heart, it produced massive of buttercup golden  daisy like flowers with a distinctive black centre from August, right up to the first frost. Above mid green clumps of leaves. Reaching heights of 70cm. It likes a good moisture retentive soil in full sun.

Helianthus Lemon Queen

Helianthus ‘Lemon Queen’: Sunflowers, what a joy in late summer and this is a beautiful soft lemon one, that flowers freely from July to September, up to 150m tall, planted in a clumps, so they have maximum impacted. And plant in full sun.

Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks’

Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks’: this is a twist on common ‘golden rod’ and no ware near as invasive. It produced dense clumps from 1 to 1.5m, with graceful long racemes of golden flowers from late summer well into autumn, it likes a good moist soil, neutral to acid.

Echinops bannaticus ‘Globe Blue’

Echinops bannaticus ‘Blue Globe’: clump forming with large, serrated dark green leaves with white undersides, spiral up the tall 80cm-1m stems. Round thistle like blue flowers, much loved by insects from July to September. Will grow on most soils. Full sun.

Vivid Prairie Planting

Tips:  First decide what soil type you have and how, fertile it is and how moisture retentive it is. A lot of the classic prairie type plants, surprisingly like quite a lot of moister, I have seen Helianthus growing in drainage ditches in Kansas. It is important to choose plants that are going to grow well on your site and grow well together. It is important to decide which are going to be the thugs, and rampant self seeders, to  reduce their number and possible slightly contain them so they will not over whelmed the scheme. Remember the thing about naturalist/prairie planting, once it is established it is meant to look after it’s self to give it that natural look, so your choice of plants needs to grow well together. Watering well and weeding well in the first couple of growing seasons will be needed for the prairie scheme to establish. The joy of the planting is that although it is very heavy on perennials although there is no reason why some sub-shrubs and even shrubs can not be used, the planting is left to stand for the winter, giving invaluable resource to wildlife, but also the grasses looking great in winter winds and the seed heads wonderful in the frost and snow.

Then end of February or early March here in the south east of England, cut all old flowering stems down and most grass varieties to the ground, spread a good thick layer of organic mulch to help keep the moisture in and feed the planting and most importantly to help suppress the weeds.

Prairie planting in the winter

I hope I have inspired you to consider creating a Prairie garden or at least planting up an existing boarder in a more naturalist style. If you would like help creating your Prairie garden, do give me, Emily a ring 01273 470753, I would be delighted to discuss your planting project with you.