How beautiful. I wouldn't know where to start with grasses, it's too ovewhelming for me, a beginner gardener. Verdun your garden is indeed a work of art, so creatively put together. And Fairygirl I wonder what is the clematis, and what it's growing through, along with a beautiful grass...I have no clue but you're right I need to ditch the dahlias..
Hi wakeshine - the Blakadder Phormium has clematis Niobe growing through it and up the screen. The other grass - the golden one with the little white flowers is actually a Libertia. There are some Chrysographes Iris in there too - on the left of the phormium, behind the clematis, as this area is next to my little pond.
That pic was taken in about May/June. There are loads of Cupani sweet peas in the raised bed to the right of all of that just now .
If you like the look of phormiums, try getting one you like (there are loads of varieties) put it in a pot, and then pick a few plants to go with it, depending on the look you prefer. Same foliage colour but different shape for instance.
The dark ones work really well with bright colours - so you might fancy a few plants with bright red or pink flowers. Dianthus look good, or Geums, or even pots of annuals like pelargoniums or nasturtiums. If you like a softer look, pick pale blues or creams, or even simply foliage. Just build on that once you have the colours or style you like. Start small and then add to it
And keep your Dahlias - one or two of those behind a Phormium would be terrific!
Last edited: 09 September 2016 21:29:07
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Phormiums don't survive the winter in my part of Dordogne. Tried three so far, all dead. Amazing to think of them surviving in Scotland! But it can be bitterly cold here and horribly wet in winter.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
I keep toying with the idea of getting a calamagrostis karl foerster I am thinking of planting it with a eupatorium purple bush with aster monch and rudbeckia Gstrum in front of it, dont know if I can bring myself to plant a grass though my instinct might try to mow it down.
That red phormium on the other hand is lovely, where did you get it from ? cant find it on the web and is it fully hardy?
Thanks for all the kind comments. The Libertia was a new one for me, but it fitted with the look I wanted, and Niobe is my favourite clematis and works well with dark foliage. The two 'grasses' provide structure all winter too.
I think it's about getting the drainage right BL. Our soil is clay here, and cold and wet for months on end, so I add lots of grit and compost when I plant. The raised bed is virtually all compost. We get a lot of rain right through the spring and summer as well, so it's important for me to get the medium right. The leaves get shredded over winter, so some of them can look pretty rough in spring, but I remove them and let the new foliage come through.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I have a lovely selection of grasses given to us by a special gardening friend, (he knows who he is) in my new bed. If I've got it right they are Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster', Molinia caerulea arundinacea 'Transparent', Miscanthus Nepalensis, and in another area, Milium effusum 'Aureum'.
I'm also growing on some Phlaris arundinacea var. picta 'Gardeners Garters' given by another kind gardening friend. These will be planted out next spring around a tree stump.
I think quite a few of us have grasses now
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Posts
How beautiful. I wouldn't know where to start with grasses, it's too ovewhelming for me, a beginner gardener. Verdun your garden is indeed a work of art, so creatively put together. And Fairygirl I wonder what is the clematis, and what it's growing through, along with a beautiful grass...I have no clue but you're right I need to ditch the dahlias..
Hi wakeshine - the Blakadder Phormium has clematis Niobe growing through it and up the screen. The other grass - the golden one with the little white flowers is actually a Libertia. There are some Chrysographes Iris in there too - on the left of the phormium, behind the clematis, as this area is next to my little pond.
That pic was taken in about May/June. There are loads of Cupani sweet peas in the raised bed to the right of all of that just now .
If you like the look of phormiums, try getting one you like (there are loads of varieties) put it in a pot, and then pick a few plants to go with it, depending on the look you prefer. Same foliage colour but different shape for instance.
The dark ones work really well with bright colours - so you might fancy a few plants with bright red or pink flowers. Dianthus look good, or Geums, or even pots of annuals like pelargoniums or nasturtiums. If you like a softer look, pick pale blues or creams, or even simply foliage. Just build on that once you have the colours or style you like. Start small and then add to it
And keep your Dahlias - one or two of those behind a Phormium would be terrific!
Last edited: 09 September 2016 21:29:07
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Thanks Fairygirl .... good to hear that the phormiums will cope with the winter here .... I've an idea where I might try out one or two.
Your garden is lovely ... really like your plant combinations.
A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
Phormiums don't survive the winter in my part of Dordogne. Tried three so far, all dead. Amazing to think of them surviving in Scotland! But it can be bitterly cold here and horribly wet in winter.
I keep toying with the idea of getting a calamagrostis karl foerster
I am thinking of planting it with a eupatorium purple bush with aster monch and rudbeckia Gstrum in front of it, dont know if I can bring myself to plant a grass though my instinct might try to mow it down.
That red phormium on the other hand is lovely, where did you get it from ? cant find it on the web and is it fully hardy?
Thanks for all the kind comments. The Libertia was a new one for me, but it fitted with the look I wanted, and Niobe is my favourite clematis and works well with dark foliage. The two 'grasses' provide structure all winter too.
I think it's about getting the drainage right BL. Our soil is clay here, and cold and wet for months on end, so I add lots of grit and compost when I plant. The raised bed is virtually all compost. We get a lot of rain right through the spring and summer as well, so it's important for me to get the medium right. The leaves get shredded over winter, so some of them can look pretty rough in spring, but I remove them and let the new foliage come through.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I have a lovely selection of grasses given to us by a special gardening friend, (he knows who he is) in my new bed. If I've got it right they are Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster', Molinia caerulea arundinacea 'Transparent', Miscanthus Nepalensis, and in another area, Milium effusum 'Aureum'.
I'm also growing on some Phlaris arundinacea var. picta 'Gardeners Garters' given by another kind gardening friend. These will be planted out next spring around a tree stump.
I think quite a few of us have grasses now
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I think you'll find it's Molinia Karl Foerster, not Calamagrostis.
I hope they're all happy.
Karl was quite prolific. He has Calamagrostis and Molinia named after him.