Parks & Gardens in London, the UK & abroad
The Suffolk garden is now in its 6th season – I can hardly believe so many years have passed – so much has happened in that time. I have worked at trying to understand the plants and how they grow, and which combinations work and which do not. And along the way I have ‘discovered’ Piet Oudolf. This post is about the blindingly obvious, but for beginners it just takes time to understand what is obvious to the more experienced gardener.
I have planted Carex ‘Evergold’ in one of the small, square beds set into the gravel and I think flowers would be interesting standing up above the grass. This is the ‘hot colours’ part of the garden and so I think quite a dramatic combination could work well: Astrantia, Sanguisorba, or a purple Sedum.
The front garden is looking just as abundant as the back garden – in the evening light it looked more like high summer than autumn!
There are some late roses – William Shakespeare and Graham Thomas
The bed which was replanted in the spring is working! The Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’ are marvellously vibrant – I may plant a few more in the spring – and the Japanese Anemones ‘Honorine Jobert’ are starting to clump in the shade of the hedge.
The sedums are spectacular!
The garden in Suffolk is changing again, with sedums and echinacea looking wonderful.
Another idea for the sloping site would be to use dogwoods – different varieties of Cornus. This would create a leafy bank, with soft greens and whites, and coloured bark in the winter. Growth could and must be controlled by pruning early in the spring. But I wonder if the site is damp enough? And is this the right ‘image’?
The green plants, with different leaf shapes.
Pink flowers in abundance.
And the wonderful Libertia Grandiflora about to burst into flower.
DeakinLock proposals for the beds on either side of steps – love these ideas! This area enjoys a lot of sunshine – one small bed is next to the dining room will be visible from inside the house; and on the other side of the steps the bed is against the fence and ‘stopped’ by the Viburnum Plicatum which I hope will take after being transplanted.
On the other side of the steps, against the fence, is a similar planting.
The garden will be ‘open’ in June, during Cratfield’s Open Weekend, so I am pleased to see the plants are eager! And these plants should be showing themselves now, unlike the rose.
I still can’t believe the garden was only planted in March/April 2011. Despite my long absences in South Africa, and the viciously erratic weather in the UK during 2012, I looked out this morning on plants which have supported me by thriving. In this dreadful year, when I feel at times completely overwhelmed by my mother’s death, the re-emergence of cancer in Jeremy, and the need to sell a beautiful home in London, I find a peace amongst the plants.
It is going to be a very hot day again so I watered the shady parts of the garden. And while standing there I remembered my mother. She loved plants and always urged and cajoled and nurtured them to achieve their best possible efforts! She saw pictures of my garden in Suffolk, but it was too late for her to travel to the UK to actually see it. I would have like to talk to her about it this morning, but of course she isn’t there anymore. And then I thought I can still talk to her, and I am sure she will hear, and so I did. And I will send her some pictures too.
