After our initial consultation with them in their garden, we drew up a planting plan for them to look through. This is was a great project to work on, as it was a completely bare canvas. Upon arrival we removed the membrane that had been sunk underneath the soil in all of the borders.
The borders were raked, with any weed roots removed. A peony that was in situ was cut back, dug up and moved. We have also included another peony on the opposite border.
We started laying out the plants, according to the plan. We opted for two different Pittosporum, once ‘Tom Thumb’ at the end closest to the house, with a slightly larger, bright green one at the far end. Within this border we also included a chocolate leaved Ceanothus ‘Tuexedo,’ Euphorbia mellifera, pink Salvias, Cranesbill geraniums in pale pink and purple, Nepeta, Oregano, and mixed Thyme.
On the opposite border we included the wulfenii variety of Euphorbia, a mature Rosemary, Salvia ‘hot lips,’ Verbena bonariensis, purple Salvias as well as the above mentioned lower level plants. This selection of plants will give cohesion to the planting in the garden.
Once the main borders had been planted, we turned our attention to a shorter border that runs along the patio. The membrane in this border had been sunk very low, so we had to dig it out. Once this was done, we planted groups of white dafodils along the house edge of this border. These will look beautiful when they come up in the spring.
Our customer is going to plant Lavender ‘hidcote,’ in this border and the square planter on the opposite side of the steps in the spring. We also planted large white and purple pom pom head alliums towards the back of these borders, zig zagging throughout. These will look great coming up through the lavender.
The last task was to top off all of the borders with mulch. This is really essential part of planting. It helps to retains moisture in the soil during dry periods, suppresses weeds and degrades into the soil, improving the texture and structure of the soil. We were lucky to have good weather for this day of planting, heavy, October rain is on the way!
It’s a shame we can’t see the final planting plan with the Lavender, but we know that it will look fantastic next year when it is included. Plus, when our customer’s landscaping company lays the new lawn, and rest of paved pathway, this garden is going to be perfect. Contact us if you are keen to discuss planting for your garden.
