Experienced gardener and thoroughly good egg, Louise Sims shares some of her favourite plants as they come into their own through the year
liquorice plant As the temperature dropped close to zero last night, I am reminded that we don’t have long to enjoy the last few weeks of our tender summer plants in containers; they are of course at their peak right now, and I’ll be looking long and hard at the most successful combinations, maybe even…
Himalayan fairy grass This morning there was a definite chill in the air. Summer has surely given way to autumn, and this is the time of year when the ornamental grasses come into their own. In the average sized garden, it’s a mistake to grow too many different ones together, as they then lose their individual impact; so autumn is the perfect season to visit a few…
hybrid strawberry tree I first saw this beautiful tree at Kew Gardens a very long time ago, but the impression made by its peeling cinnamon-brown bark was a lasting one, and when Rob and I were making important choices about trees for our new garden, it was one of the first to go on the list!…
cone flower ‘Henry Eilers’ These drought-dry days, it is with some trepidation that I wander out into the garden. It is in some respects a sorry sight, but I am heartened by the tenacity of certain survivors. They are not just surviving, some of them look quite unaffected by the lack of rain, and my subject today is just…
Clematis ‘Huldine’ has been around for a while; it was raised in France in the 1900s and then apparently was given to William Robinson at Gravetye Manor, where Ernest Markham was head gardener for a time. Hardy, robust and strong growing (it can attain 4 metres), it’s a good choice to grow through a small…
Prairie mallow ‘Elsie Heugh’ – A cool customer this one, and that’s quite something to be able to say after the week we’ve had! Yet how often have I read that sidalceas prefer moist but well drained soil in full sun – surely this is wishful thinking for most of us? As gardeners we just do what we can, and I put its fresh and happy demeanour down to a good layer…
Miller abutilon We are now in full blown summer, and anything grows! Abutilons have a habit of grabbing your attention because the flowers are so exotic and so copiously produced; some of them also have the ability to flower well into October and even November. You may not be familiar with the many different colours they come in; from pure white through pale mauve, bluey purple, pink, peachy, to many shades…
false mallow syn. Malvastrum lateritium In 1987, when I attended a course in garden design at the Chelsea Physic Garden, James Compton was the head gardener, and in the same year he published a book called ‘Success with Unusual Plants’. I love this book: it’s full of interesting and unfamiliar plants, amongst which is Modiolastrum…
Also known as rose ‘Madame Boll’ I’m sure we’d all agree that the month of June is synonymous with roses. So many to choose from, but in our garden at least, seriously few places left to grow new ones; so a few years ago we did our research and even went to the Royal National Rose Society Gardens, near St Alban’s, to help us make our choice. (Sadly, the gardens went into administration in 2017…
I have to confess that I was never a big fan of geums until I came across ‘Totally Tangerine’ growing in a friend’s garden. That year I visited her a few times during the spring and summer and each time I went I was more and more impressed by it: it was always in flower, upright, taller than most (80-90 cms), healthy, and just glowed! This beautiful orange cultivar is sterile, which means…
Shinyleaf yellowhorn, Chinese flowering chestnut What wouldn’t I do for The3Growbags? Last week we had scaffolding against the house and normally I wouldn’t be seen anywhere near a ladder above six feet, let alone stand on six-metre-high scaffolding, but one morning I glanced up and there was the captivating sight of Xanthoceras sorbifolium in full flower. And it was spectacular! I realised that here was an opportunity that rarely occurs. So I crawled out of our…
Cut-leaf crabapple Sometimes, quite unexpectedly you come across a plant that is so stunning, it becomes etched into your memory, and this exceptional tree is just one of those. I first saw it at RHS Wisley; it was autumn, and we were wandering through the model gardens (possibly they no longer feature there now?), when I turned a corner and saw this perfect picture of glowing autumn colour in the late afternoon sunshine. Its golden yellow leaves…
snake’s head fritillary Our snake’s head fritillaries have been in flower for weeks and it’s been a bumper year. In early spring as the narrow grass-like leaves emerge in long grass, they can be hard to spot, but these bulbous perennials are tough and reliable,despite their fragile looking appearance. Opinions vary as to whether it’s a British native or not, but there are sites…
Arrowwood ‘Diana’ I can forgive a plant almost anything if it has a good scent, and this gorgeous shrub reminds me that we are in full spring mode, it’s no longer late winter even if the weather is trying to tell us otherwise at the moment! The waxy flowers of Viburnam carlesii ‘Diana’ are rosy red in bud, opening to pink, and then fading to white as they age; they are exceptionally fragrant, and therefore worth planting…
Sibthorp primrose This little beauty can be ignored no longer. It started coming into flower in early February, and every time I pass it, I think to myself what an absolute joy it is; not shouty but quite unmissable. Despite its diminutive size – a scant ten centimetres high – it has proven robust, tolerant, and long lived, and over the summer months it disappears from…
Three decades ago, when our so-called lawn was little more than a rectangle of rough grass and before we planted our walnut tree, in between doing battle with bindweed, changing nappies and keeping rabbits at bay, I would sometimes try to introduce some sort of coherence into my plans for spring bulbs. But I rarely got beyond grabbing a few random crocus at the local…
Gold-edged winter daphne This year our lovely daphne is coming into flower at least two weeks later than usual which is hardly surprising given the number of frosts we’ve had so far this winter. ‘Aureomarginata’ is a neat evergreen shrub with shiny, gold-edged leaves, and is probably best grown in dappled shade. It will reach 1-1.5 metres but let no one tell you that this Daphne is slow growing, for when I referred to my trusty garden diary, I saw that I…
Sweet box Also known as Christmas box, these are not shrubs to consign to any old corner of your garden just because they will tolerate deep shade. On the contrary, they are a great choice to plant against the north side of your home, or next to a path, or by the front or back door (whichever…
Rose ‘Scharlachglut’ When we first moved into our house, over 30 years ago, there was very little in the way of garden. There were very few trees, except those in the boundaries, and the rest was rough grass with a few ageing and neglected shrubs. However, one shrub rose caught our attention that first summer, its glowing, single red…
primrose Never underestimate the power of the primrose to lift the spirits! A couple of days ago, having forced myself out into the grey and drizzle, I rounded the corner of a path in our garden and there it was, a self-sown specimen I need hardly say, perfectly placed to give hope and cheer just in time…
My thanks to those of you who have read my column over the past year, it’s been so much fun to write, and I have learnt quite a lot of new details about some of the plants myself! Thank you also if you’ve bought my little book, I do hope that you are enjoying dipping into it from time to time.…
Yellow-fruited guelder rose – I’ve been admiring this guelder rose for weeks. It all starts when the shrub is still in leaf; then, as the season progresses, the gorgeous, amber coloured, translucent berries stand out more and more on their winter bare stems. And I’m not the only one who appreciates it; the little robin in my photo is unusually shy but she sits very happily among the berries, does she feel safer being so…
‘ There are less than two weeks to go before winter officially begins, but what an extraordinarily mild autumn it has been. Many borderline hardy plants are still flowering their socks off in containers and I am reluctant to dismantle them because they still look so happy, despite a few frosts at the beginning of the month. However, I need to free up the pots for my tulip bulbs so I must harden my…
Aster ‘Monte Cassino’ No photograph can do this plant justice because it’s so difficult to capture the airy essence of ‘Monte Cassino’. It has a very open habit, with well-spaced stems that hold generous sprays of tiny, delicate, pure white flowers. The foliage is neat and does not interfere with the overall effect. Not only is this exceptionally beautiful aster a breath of fresh air at…
common medlar I cannot resist the compulsion to make jams and jellies when various fruits present themselves throughout the year, and without a shadow of a doubt, if I had to choose just one of them, then the medlar it would have to be. This is the jelly that my family and friends love above all others; rich and full of flavour, it goes with just about everything. (Nigel Slater’s recipe is a good one…
Last week it felt as if we had been plunged straight into winter, but today is more like a normal October day with the promise of some warm and sunny days ahead, and as I venture out, I am reassured that the garden still has plenty to offer. Since mid-summer, when ‘Whiteknights Pearl’ started into flower, I have been increasingly taken with this beautiful, award-winning fuchsia, and it really comes into its own in the autumn – partly through lack…
Sunflower ‘Carine’ There are some gardeners who try to avoid yellow, and I will admit that there are many less than subtle shades; but it’s almost foolhardy to try and manage without any in September, so when it comes to Helianthus, take a bit of time, and choose carefully from the many different cultivars that exist. Helianthus ‘Carine’ is very like H ‘Lemon Queen’, but more refined; it is slightly shorter, has the palest yellow flowers, and noticeably dark…
Golden Oats Sourcing and buying Stipa gigantea is not a problem, for this magnificent grass is a tried and tested old favourite but do please take a bit of time to position it. This is not the occasion to walk round the garden, pot in hand, desperately looking for a gap. To enjoy it at its best, bear in mind that it needs sun…
American pokeweed Is this a ‘Marmite’ plant? I mention it, because as a child I remember my parents having heated discussions about its contribution to the garden scene. My mother was not a fan, and after my father died, I did notice that the American pokeweed mysteriously disappeared one day: but it came back in the form of a self-sown ghost, to…
Hungarian sea-lavender I am on the north Cornish coast this week, and walking along the cliff tops this morning, my eye was caught by a tiny rock sea-lavender growing in the most inhospitable location imaginable: facing the wild Atlantic Ocean with all its accompanying salt winds and spray, it was growing in a crevice in the slate. Then I thought of our own sea lavenders at home. Unlike Monty…
Earlier this week, dodging the unrelenting rain showers, an intrepid group of plant and garden enthusiasts from the Sussex Hardy Plant Society came to visit: first to Laura’s garden and then ours in the afternoon. I had already been impressed by this beautiful mullein, so taking a cue from the exclamations of delight from our visitors, decided to make it my plant of the moment, the people’s choice! I raised…
opium poppy The profusion of flowers and abundance of lush foliage in our midsummer garden has never been greater than this year. It could be something to do with its maturity, but I’m sure that weeks of rain have been the main factor. So, as I wandered round, marvelling at the floral bounty, and wondering which plant I might choose to write…
Red-hot poker ‘Sunningdale Yellow’ It seems to me that June has never been as floriferous and exuberant as this one just past, and although we could probably all have done with a little more sun, the recent rainfall has just added to the lushness of it all. Gentle constant rain, not plant flattening torrents! And in amongst the wild…
I have often thought that if I was only allowed a single rose on my desert island, this is the one that I would choose above all others: its ethereal beauty simply cannot be matched. This slender China rose blends seamlessly with perennials in a mixed border, it is perfectly hardy but probably gives of its best in a sheltered…
Clematis ‘Vyvyan Pennell’ was raised by Walter Pennell of Pennell and Sons nursery in the mid-fifties and was named after his wife. Pennells was founded in 1780 and is still in the ownership of the same family – quite a record! So, Walter Pennell not only raised one of my favourite clematis, (which incidentally is probably the best known of all the…
New Zealand lilac: I’m sure I’m not the only gardener who tries to stick to the rule of three: a plant that you so desperately want to grow in your own garden but that after three unsuccessful attempts, you have to admit defeat. Well, this hebe is one of those plants that I really had to have, and thankfully on my third go, it worked!…
