Creating an easy care
garden
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Selecting the right plants is only part of
the secret. How you arrange them, and where you grow them will also have
considerable influence, not only on how easy your garden is to care for, but on
how good it looks. The key principles of planting design apply as strongly in
an easy care garden as they do anywhere else.
Create a
strong outline
• In borders or planted
areas, give your planting some permanent background with shrubs or small
trees.
• Barberry (Berberis
darwinii), for example, will create handsome mounds of foliage, especially if
teamed with dogwood (Cornus alba) for winter interest, or with
Escallonia.
• On a smaller scale,
try Mexican orange blossom (Choisya ternata), or its elegant cousin Choisya
'Aztec Pearl', and contrast those dark evergreen leaves with lavender
(Lavandula), or with the richly fragrant Skimmia japonica.
• Dwarf conifers -
though some are more dwarf than others - come in a variety of interesting
shapes and will create a charming miniature landscape. Don't overdo them.
Instead, blend them with other small shrubs for seasonal interest: Gaultheria
mucronata (formerly Pernettya) is a delightful low-growing evergreen with
colourful berries even in shade.
• In sun, especially in
dry conditions, grow dwarf, dome-shaped Hebe, all of which are evergreen, with
pretty summer flowers. These will make a dark leaf contrast with lavenders
(Lavandula) and with shrubby cinquefoil (Potentilla).
Be creative
with your in-fill plants
• Once your outline is
assembled, begin to fill up the spaces between shrubs with ground cover plants.
There's scope for some glorious effects here, so think about how you will blend
foliage with flower.
• Use mid-height
perennials at the border back and allow these to run right up to the outline
shrubs. Evergreen perennials are especially good here, so go for elephant's
ears (Bergenia), and contrast their big leathery foliage with lungwort
(Pulmonaria), whose large, oblong leaves are richly stippled or blotched with
silver.
• Mix seasonal plants
among your evergreens: Plantain lily (Hosta) and spurge (Euphorbia griffithii),
for lush summer leaves - in moist or rich soil - or, in drier ground, try
catmint (Nepeta) and lamb's ears (Stachys 'Silver Carpet'). Hardy crane's-bill
(Geranium) are gorgeous, when allowed to spread among other plants, so include
Geranium 'Johnson's Blue' and G. macrorrhizum, which has a delicious apple
fragrance.
• Bring borders to a
finish with low, mat-forming plants along their fronts. In rich soil, go for
creeping bugle (Ajuga reptans) which comes in several varieties with dark,
variegated or plain green foliage. Aubrieta, too, though often considered a
rock plant, will form useful mats of colour in dry soil and sun.
• For good summer
foliage, there are creeping thymes - all charming, whether in flower or not,
and all deliciously aromatic - which can be blended with low growing alpine
Phloxes. In more shady ground, try creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia).
Evaluate every 'easy care' plant you select. Is it easy to grow?
Will it give pleasure out of season? Does it have secondary attributes, other
than merely flowers? Do you actually like it? If the answer to any of these
questions is 'no', select an alternative.
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Include a dramatic flourish
• Bulbs such as tulips
(Tulipa), narcissus, lilies (Lilium) or garlics (Allium) can be planted among
ground cover, and will pop up year after year.
• A vivid Rhododendron,
perhaps, for early summer, or a big mophead Hydrangea to carry some colour from
late summer to autumn.
• A statue,
sundial, birdbath or even a simple seat, can create a delightful effect,
especially if positioned as a focal point, or an object at the end of a
vista.
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