Well, our garden is now open to visitors for the summer season and it’s been a very busy few months getting everything tidied up and ready.
Some jobs take us a bit longer with each new season because of our ageing bodies. There is a realisation that what was managed this year may not be possible next year or in years to come.
Thankfully, we are still relatively fit and able, but the time has come for planning ahead and we have begun thinking about how we can adapt our garden to make its upkeep less demanding and intensive. We want to ensure we can continue to enjoy gardening without becoming overwhelmed.
Weed-suppressing cover
One solution that we have started to implement in some parts of the garden is reducing the extensive plantings of herbaceous perennials and replacing them with shrubs underplanted with groundcover plants to suppress weed growth. The objective is to eliminate areas of exposed soil in borders where weeds can take hold. In borders where we will continue to grow perennials, the ground is already covered with dense perennial planting. The denser the ground cover, the more effective it is at blocking light from reaching the soil and preventing weed seed germination.
Ground-covering plants also effectively compete with weeds for nutrients, water and space and once established, they form a barrier against weed growth, significantly reducing the need for constant weeding.
There is a perception that ground-cover planting is boring, but when a palette of plants is carefully chosen for variety and texture of foliage, these plants can be massed and woven together to create a highly attractive and colourful mosaic.
Some of the best plants for providing swathes of cover beneath shrubs are hardy geraniums. They are incredibly versatile plants, as they thrive in sun or shade and in most soil types. In my garden, Geranium macrorrhizum ‘Bevan’s Variety’ has proven particularly good at establishing in areas of dry shade – the toughest of conditions. It forms a slowly spreading carpet of aromatic, light green leaves that take on attractive purple tints in autumn. Clusters of deep, purplish pink blooms emerge in early summer. I also like Geranium renardii ‘Philippe Vapelle’. Its sage green leaves have attractively scalloped edges and are soft to the touch, developing into a dense mound of foliage. Purple-veined, lavender blue flowers open above the leaves in late spring.
Epimedium are very much in vogue at the moment with an ever-increasing range of excellent varieties being developed. All feature heart-shaped leaves and delicate, nodding flowers in spring. For a good, dense ground cover, opt for Epimedium × perralchicum ‘Fröhnleiten’, a really robust variety and useful in dry shade. It offers leathery, evergreen foliage topped with sprays of yellow flowers in spring and the young growth is beautifully marbled with warm reds.
Combine it with-low-growing ferns for textural contrast. One of my favourites is the Japanese painted fern, Athyrium niponicum ‘Pictum’, featuring deeply cut fronds in subtle shades of pink and grey-green with a plum-coloured mid-rib. Low-growing grasses are another possibility, and shade-tolerant
Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola makes a handsome choice. It forms attractive mounds of gracefully arching, vivid yellow and green-striped foliage. Black, strap-like leaves are the main feature of the evergreen, grass-like perennial Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’. It also looks very striking when massed together as an understorey beneath trees and shrubs. For a stark contrast, combine it with the heart-shaped, silvery foliage of Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’ or the spotted foliage of pulmonarias.
Other plants that can be massed together for their ground covering benefits are bergenias, hostas, Beesia calthifolia and hellebores. For a perennial groundcover of a taller stature, around 60cm high, I love Rodgersia podophylla. Creating a touch of tropical drama, its large, palmate leaves are divided into jaggedly toothed leaflets that emerge dark bronze, turning to deep green over the summer, and tinting copper in autumn.
Wedding cake shrub
When it comes to choosing shrubs, one of the most outstanding shrubs in our garden during May is Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum ‘Mariesii’, prized for its stunning display of tiered horizontal branches adorned with pure white, lacecap-like flower clusters.
Sometimes referred to as the wedding cake shrub, it forms an elegant deciduous shrub and the flowers bloom profusely, creating a beautiful contrast against the green, deeply veined foliage. It is wide-spreading, extending up to 2m wide, so it covers a lot of ground itself. In autumn, the leaves turn shades of red and purple contributing to its multi-seasonal appeal.
Thinning out: Thin out direct sowings of hardy annuals, such as nigella and calendula. Final spacing should be between 10cm and 20cm.
Trim back: Trim back spreading and trailing plants, such as aubretia, alyssum and candytuft, after they’ve flowered to encourage fresh, new growth and new blooms.
Supports: Put supports in place for clumps of perennials that are prone to flopping, such as top-heavy peonies, tall campanulas or phlox.
Cuttings: Take softwood cuttings of fuchsias and pelargoniums to increase. The new shoots of hardy perennials can also be used for cuttings.
Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’ is one of the most reliable dark blue lavenders.
Q&A: my lavender is not thriving
I love planting lavender in my garden, but they rarely survive. Usually, they thrive in the first summer and then deteriorate over winter. What am I doing wrong? - Ettie, Co Carlow
Excessive wet causing root rot, over-pruning, and inadequate sun are the most common reasons for lavender dying.
Lavender is a Mediterranean shrub requiring an open site, in full sun, and fast-draining soil. It will not thrive in shady, damp, waterlogged or extremely cold conditions. If you have heavy, damp soil, improve drainage by incorporating horticultural grit into the backfill mix when planting and mulch the surface with coarse grit. Planting on a mound can help prevent waterlogging. As soon as the flowers start to fade in late summer, trim the plants back to just below the bottom of the flower stalk. Varieties of English lavender, Lavandula angustifolia, are hardier and longer-lived than the French lavenders, Lavandula stoechas.
Mary Keenan and Ross Doyle run Gash Gardens, Co Laois which is open to the public. See gashgardens.ie
Well, our garden is now open to visitors for the summer season and it’s been a very busy few months getting everything tidied up and ready.
Some jobs take us a bit longer with each new season because of our ageing bodies. There is a realisation that what was managed this year may not be possible next year or in years to come.
Thankfully, we are still relatively fit and able, but the time has come for planning ahead and we have begun thinking about how we can adapt our garden to make its upkeep less demanding and intensive. We want to ensure we can continue to enjoy gardening without becoming overwhelmed.
Weed-suppressing cover
One solution that we have started to implement in some parts of the garden is reducing the extensive plantings of herbaceous perennials and replacing them with shrubs underplanted with groundcover plants to suppress weed growth. The objective is to eliminate areas of exposed soil in borders where weeds can take hold. In borders where we will continue to grow perennials, the ground is already covered with dense perennial planting. The denser the ground cover, the more effective it is at blocking light from reaching the soil and preventing weed seed germination.
Ground-covering plants also effectively compete with weeds for nutrients, water and space and once established, they form a barrier against weed growth, significantly reducing the need for constant weeding.
There is a perception that ground-cover planting is boring, but when a palette of plants is carefully chosen for variety and texture of foliage, these plants can be massed and woven together to create a highly attractive and colourful mosaic.
Some of the best plants for providing swathes of cover beneath shrubs are hardy geraniums. They are incredibly versatile plants, as they thrive in sun or shade and in most soil types. In my garden, Geranium macrorrhizum ‘Bevan’s Variety’ has proven particularly good at establishing in areas of dry shade – the toughest of conditions. It forms a slowly spreading carpet of aromatic, light green leaves that take on attractive purple tints in autumn. Clusters of deep, purplish pink blooms emerge in early summer. I also like Geranium renardii ‘Philippe Vapelle’. Its sage green leaves have attractively scalloped edges and are soft to the touch, developing into a dense mound of foliage. Purple-veined, lavender blue flowers open above the leaves in late spring.
Epimedium are very much in vogue at the moment with an ever-increasing range of excellent varieties being developed. All feature heart-shaped leaves and delicate, nodding flowers in spring. For a good, dense ground cover, opt for Epimedium × perralchicum ‘Fröhnleiten’, a really robust variety and useful in dry shade. It offers leathery, evergreen foliage topped with sprays of yellow flowers in spring and the young growth is beautifully marbled with warm reds.
Combine it with-low-growing ferns for textural contrast. One of my favourites is the Japanese painted fern, Athyrium niponicum ‘Pictum’, featuring deeply cut fronds in subtle shades of pink and grey-green with a plum-coloured mid-rib. Low-growing grasses are another possibility, and shade-tolerant
Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola makes a handsome choice. It forms attractive mounds of gracefully arching, vivid yellow and green-striped foliage. Black, strap-like leaves are the main feature of the evergreen, grass-like perennial Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’. It also looks very striking when massed together as an understorey beneath trees and shrubs. For a stark contrast, combine it with the heart-shaped, silvery foliage of Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’ or the spotted foliage of pulmonarias.
Other plants that can be massed together for their ground covering benefits are bergenias, hostas, Beesia calthifolia and hellebores. For a perennial groundcover of a taller stature, around 60cm high, I love Rodgersia podophylla. Creating a touch of tropical drama, its large, palmate leaves are divided into jaggedly toothed leaflets that emerge dark bronze, turning to deep green over the summer, and tinting copper in autumn.
Wedding cake shrub
When it comes to choosing shrubs, one of the most outstanding shrubs in our garden during May is Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum ‘Mariesii’, prized for its stunning display of tiered horizontal branches adorned with pure white, lacecap-like flower clusters.
Sometimes referred to as the wedding cake shrub, it forms an elegant deciduous shrub and the flowers bloom profusely, creating a beautiful contrast against the green, deeply veined foliage. It is wide-spreading, extending up to 2m wide, so it covers a lot of ground itself. In autumn, the leaves turn shades of red and purple contributing to its multi-seasonal appeal.
Thinning out: Thin out direct sowings of hardy annuals, such as nigella and calendula. Final spacing should be between 10cm and 20cm.
Trim back: Trim back spreading and trailing plants, such as aubretia, alyssum and candytuft, after they’ve flowered to encourage fresh, new growth and new blooms.
Supports: Put supports in place for clumps of perennials that are prone to flopping, such as top-heavy peonies, tall campanulas or phlox.
Cuttings: Take softwood cuttings of fuchsias and pelargoniums to increase. The new shoots of hardy perennials can also be used for cuttings.
Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’ is one of the most reliable dark blue lavenders.
Q&A: my lavender is not thriving
I love planting lavender in my garden, but they rarely survive. Usually, they thrive in the first summer and then deteriorate over winter. What am I doing wrong? - Ettie, Co Carlow
Excessive wet causing root rot, over-pruning, and inadequate sun are the most common reasons for lavender dying.
Lavender is a Mediterranean shrub requiring an open site, in full sun, and fast-draining soil. It will not thrive in shady, damp, waterlogged or extremely cold conditions. If you have heavy, damp soil, improve drainage by incorporating horticultural grit into the backfill mix when planting and mulch the surface with coarse grit. Planting on a mound can help prevent waterlogging. As soon as the flowers start to fade in late summer, trim the plants back to just below the bottom of the flower stalk. Varieties of English lavender, Lavandula angustifolia, are hardier and longer-lived than the French lavenders, Lavandula stoechas.
Mary Keenan and Ross Doyle run Gash Gardens, Co Laois which is open to the public. See gashgardens.ie
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