This is Chelsea week and there's been a lot of focus on where we're going with horticulture, particularly rewilding , best show garden this year was a rewilding garden. Apparently the aim is to rewild 10% of Britain, we're at 0.5% at the moment, according to someone on Radio 4s Farming Today this morning. It's important to increase biodiversity and help prevent the worst effects of climate change. With this week in mind, I've tried to rethink my choice of six; my theme is combinations, plant or plant and animal.
We've had some rain over the past couple of weeks and the garden is filling out with fewer gaps between plants, so it's interesting to see how the combinations of plants work together. Christopher Lloyd used to say that all plants went together whatever their colour and form, I tend to agree, although wish I was better at combinations. I was pleased with this combination of plants below, in one of the borders, although it's not necessarily planned, the snapdragons are self seeded, the almost black Violas from Wildegoose Nurseries, perennial white, sweetest smelling stock, an orange Geum, and lots more
I have grown wild flower seeds this year as well as other plants for pollinators. I was inspired after I read Dancing With Bees by Brigit Strawbridge Howard. Re-wilding is so important.
ReplyDeleteI saw crimson clover for the first time last year in a farmer's wild flower meadow, so thought I'd buy some seeds, there were masses in the packet and they have been very easy to grow. I'll photograph them when they flower, the colour is spectacular. I am enjoying the campions, but they are seeding very freely!
DeleteI have considered Persicaria but worried about its thuggishness. It does have a very nice flower, though. I think the campions and geum are a fabulous combination.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't have thought the campions and geums would look good together, but they absolutely zing. That Persicaria superba is particularly thuggish, but the flowers are adored by bees and I just pull lots out regularly.
DeleteI've enjoyed your post about combinations -- always important when we plant. I've been making an effort to plant more orange and purple combos which truly draw the eye as well.
ReplyDeleteCombos are important when we plant, but I don't find that much of a problem if I don't pay attention to them. If I think things don't really go together, I tend to trim them back a bit so there isn't so much of them. I'm pleasantly surprised when things look good together. Orange and purple are wonderful. I find yellow flowered plants hard to combine with everything, but do like a few yellow flowered plants including Sisyrinchium augustifolium and Euryops which grows into fabulous bushes on the Isle of Wight.
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