I have 4 Vanessa Bell plants and 1 Olivia Rose Austin — random! — in the border (1.5m by 3m). I think 3 Desdemonas will be lovely for you.
Starting late November, the nepeta is pretty much all straggly brown stems but I leave it until, say, late February when I cut everything down to the ground (once I can see tiny leaves starting to grow in the centre of the plant). The nepeta is then pretty much invisible until the new foliage starts to develop into a neat mound — photo taken today:
With lavender you would have some rounded cushions all year round, but mine — ‘Hidcote’, planted elsewhere, now nearly 7 years old — are pretty much a collection of brown sticks (but neater and more structured than the dead nepeta stems) with tiny grey green foliage after I prune them in August. They do slowly start to grow leaves again, and this is what mine look like today:
I have some small evergreens in the background of the rose border (bamboo, sarcoccoca, Hinoki false cypress, Blue Star creeping juniper), so it’s fine for me that the border is bare in winter — the sun pretty much stops shining on it anyway from October to March due to shadows from houses close by and the angle of the sun.
Some extra photos: hellebore Ice ‘n’ Roses Red, now no longer so red
@agnasia, I put old metal hanging baskets upside down over nepeta plants to keep the cats off the crowns - they love rolling/eating them. The metal is soon covered once the nepeta starts to grow.
@agnasia, @Lizzie27 advised me last year to put metal hanging baskets over my two. Next door's cat had almost killed one. I had to buy the baskets though as I hadn't any. It has worked well. I saw the cat tapping on the basket and walking away. They need anchoring with metal hooks.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
@agnasia I had 2 varieties, 'Walker's Low' and 'Weinheim Summer Blues'.. this last one I got from Beth Chatto and it was quite invasive at the roots, like mint. Cats started rolling in it too so I got rid of it..- good idea about the hanging basket, hadn't thought of that one.
I also found 'Walker's Low' a little invasive but not so much.
You might like to consider 'Junior Walker' if you go down this route.. it's quite a dwarf type.. or those Athelas has..
Lovely pink Hellebore @Athelas great to see Peony shoots..
Thanks everyone, so helpful! @Athelas thank you for the photos, perhaps the lavender offers more structure? I wish I had room for hellebores, they are so pretty.
@Lizzie27@Busy-Lizzie that's such a clever idea, I would never have thought to do that!
Thanks @Marlorena for the advice, I will have a look at Junior Walker. I am wondering whether something taller so it can be seen behind the wall, it’s about 60cm high I think?
Marlorena, the only lavender that survived beyond a season for me was an unnamed intermedia type, but they grew massive, like 2x2m, so not as suitable for pairing with roses. I keep trying other types and they keep dying. Nepeta, salvia and agastache do much better in my amended clay soil.
I’m just back from the garden centre and they had a really good selection of healthy-looking Austins for €29.99, all fully leafed out and some already in bud. Such a rare sight here, I would’ve bitten their hands off a few years ago!
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
'Julia Child' was a magnificent floribunda rose in my garden for a few years before I let it get too big. I'm not one for cutting back too much. About 5' x 6' wide after 3 years. Aniseed scent, large quite healthy foliage most of the time. Almost continuous flowering.. Undoubtedly the best of its class in this colour.
..however, 'The Poet's Wife' beat it for continuity of bloom and perhaps a better scent.. ..you might also like 'Golden Beauty', one of the healthiest roses I've ever grown, just about disease free..
.. 'Scented Garden' is one of my favourites in a light colour.. and the only one of these that remains here, due only to space reasons..
You should also consider 'Molineux'.. and 'Arthur Bell'.. amongst many others..
Thanks.... So many choices. All your roses look gorgeous!
Indeed @Marlorena...I think I'm going to have a right old battle with the 'em this year. I believe the larvae bury themselves under the soil at the base of the plant they've attacked, pupate, then emerge during the Spring...so I've been scraping away an inch or so of compost from the base of each plant I've pruned hoping to gather up a good number of pupa that way.
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I have 4 Vanessa Bell plants and 1 Olivia Rose Austin — random! — in the border (1.5m by 3m). I think 3 Desdemonas will be lovely for you.
Starting late November, the nepeta is pretty much all straggly brown stems but I leave it until, say, late February when I cut everything down to the ground (once I can see tiny leaves starting to grow in the centre of the plant). The nepeta is then pretty much invisible until the new foliage starts to develop into a neat mound — photo taken today:
With lavender you would have some rounded cushions all year round, but mine — ‘Hidcote’, planted elsewhere, now nearly 7 years old — are pretty much a collection of brown sticks (but neater and more structured than the dead nepeta stems) with tiny grey green foliage after I prune them in August. They do slowly start to grow leaves again, and this is what mine look like today:
I had 2 varieties, 'Walker's Low' and 'Weinheim Summer Blues'.. this last one I got from Beth Chatto and it was quite invasive at the roots, like mint. Cats started rolling in it too so I got rid of it..- good idea about the hanging basket, hadn't thought of that one.
I also found 'Walker's Low' a little invasive but not so much.
You might like to consider 'Junior Walker' if you go down this route.. it's quite a dwarf type.. or those Athelas has..
Lovely pink Hellebore @Athelas great to see Peony shoots..
@Lizzie27 @Busy-Lizzie that's such a clever idea, I would never have thought to do that!
Thanks @Marlorena for the advice, I will have a look at Junior Walker. I am wondering whether something taller so it can be seen behind the wall, it’s about 60cm high I think?
I’m just back from the garden centre and they had a really good selection of healthy-looking Austins for €29.99, all fully leafed out and some already in bud. Such a rare sight here, I would’ve bitten their hands off a few years ago!
They send out nice big bare roots from previous experience.. I've just ordered 2..
I believe the larvae bury themselves under the soil at the base of the plant they've attacked, pupate, then emerge during the Spring...so I've been scraping away an inch or so of compost from the base of each plant I've pruned hoping to gather up a good number of pupa that way.