I see the end of September as a time of reflection in the garden. I know it’s not the end of the calendar year but for me it feels like the end of the gardening one. I know there’s still lots to do, but it’s when I think about my top garden successes and failures.
As part of this process I look at all the notes I have jotted down; plants I thought needed moving, those that didn’t look happy, colour combinations that didn’t quite live up to expectations – or the ideas I tried. I sift through these ramblings to decide what I need to do in the year ahead.
It’s one of the most pleasureable processes, as it’s a chance to reimagine your garden, and make plans. And I love planning – as it invariably involves spending my evenings pouring over articles, plant guides and pictures, with a gin and tonic in hand of course!
So I thought in this week’s blog I’d share some of the conclusions I’ve reached about my garden this year.
My Top Garden Successes
Erigeron on the Patio
Let’s first start with the top garden successes. One has to be Erigeron. As those who have read my blog for a while will know, this is one of my favourite plants. I’ve tested Erigeron on my patio for the past two years. In year one of the experiment I planted this daisy-type plant in the flowerbed adjacent to my patio. I know it’s a great spreader and wanted to see if it would start to spread to the cracks between my patio stones. My logic was that if it did, it would save me the task of weeding between the slabs.
So did it continue to spread this year? Absolutely – and it looked stunning.
This was a real highlight for me. It has created a magical, ethereal, fairy-like effect.
#1. Idea for next year
To accelerate the process across other parts of the patio I’m going to plant up some Erigeron in low pots and put them in the far corners of the patio.
Hot Corner
Another success has been what I now call my ‘hot corner’. My garden is predominantly a cottage garden. Its colour pallette doesn’t tend to have lots of oranges, yellows and reds. However this year I had the idea to plant a hot colour scheme in a corner of my garden. (You can see how I went about it here) The area features my ivy covered potting shed and wall. I thought hotter colours would look much better against the backdrop of the ivy.
The bed in the area is narrow and dry, so I supplemented it with lots of pots and containers, planted up with grasses and hot coloured salvias, rudbeckia (herbstsonne – an absolute giant at 2 metres tall), fuschias and roses. I’ve also recently added a few pansies and violas just to inject some late season colour.
As part of the conversion I had to move mauve beareded irises (they’ve gone to the front of my house). In their place I’ve planted new red and orange ones – from The English Iris Company. I obviously won’t know if that element has worked for a couple of years. So that will be part of my evaluation process in the coming years.
But even if the irises don’t work out, the area is utterly transformed. It’s now a real feature, whereas before it was tired and drab. It’s definitely another of my top garden successes.
#2. Idea for next year
To further improve this hot area, I plan to get more containers with the rudbeckia, so that there’s a huge drift of them along the pathway against the ivy.
Patio Containers
I have over 80 pots and containers around the garden. It’s ridiculous! One which really came into its own this year is a basket planted up with a tree fern and heucheras all under-planted with hot pink and purple tulips. The basket has looked fantastic in all seasons.
#3 & 4 Ideas for next year
I have two ideas for next year based on this basket. Firstly, the heucheras were planted in the container to ensure it looked full when the free fern was a minnow. Now that it has grown I’m going to move them into their own pots.
I also have another basket on the patio planted with a white gaura and foxgloves. It looks lovely in the summer but very plain in Spring. Inspired by the success, I’m going to refresh the gaura basket’s soil in November and when I do I will under plant it with tulips (possibly baby pink and white).
Some Garden Failures
Roses – black spot!!
Now for confession time! The things which didn’t work this year – and top of the list has to be my roses. To be fair, my roses have been covered with gorgeous blooms this year. I’ve assiduously deadheaded them and have lovingly fed them. The plants have rewarded me with stunning flowers.
However, they have also had terrible black spot. I’ve followed the advice, removing the affected leaves; completely clearing them away and disposing of them rather than composting them. But the blackspot has thrived. It’s the worse it’s ever been.
#5. Ideas for next year
So next year’s activity has to include some rose recuperation! I’ve read that if you have a rose with blackspot you should start treating the plant as soon as new leaves start appearing. So I’m going to remember to do this next year (using natural remedies I mentioned in my last blog rather than chemicals). I’m also going to take extra care with their feeding, and I’m going to clear out some of the plants around them to ensure they have good air flow.
Five New Clematis
Time for another failure. This was one of my big ideas for 2020 and it hasn’t worked. I had a vision of five large pots, each planted up with a different clematis, and underplanted with Nemesia Wisley Vanilla. Genius I thought but…only one of the pots has looked anything like my vision!
My vision of an arc of clematis in pots But only one clematis – Zara – has thrived Zara does look lovely But in four of the pots it’s a case of all nemesia and not much clematis!
The Nemesia has been lovely but the clematis have performed poorly in four of the five pots. I don’t know whether it’s a problem with the compost (I got it during lockdown and it wasn’t my usual supply), the location, the clematis or me!
#6. Ideas for next year
I appreciate that it’s very early days. So I’m going to change the compost in all of the pots and give them another year to buck their ideas up. If they don’t show signs of improvement I’ll scrap the concept – keeping the plants of course but relocating them to somewhere more sheltered …and where they aren’t meant to be such a feature!
Areas for Improvement
Obviously gardening isn’t all about success or failure. It’s mostly a gradual process of improving things. So I thought I’d finish with one area which I think needs improving.
Arc of Trees and Hydrangeas
I have a line of five catalpa bignonioides nana in an arc. They are designed to screen an ugly cricket net in our garden. To do this they are under-planted with 10 annabelle hydrangeas. If I say so myself, the effect is lovely and I’m very happy with it. It’s definitely one of my top garden successes of all time.
However, there’s always room for improvment isn’t there? In early Spring the line-up looks very stark. The hydrangeas and trees are bare and there’s no other interest in the area. So I’m thinking …bulbs…lots of them!
#7. Ideas for next year
My idea is to plant a huge swathe of bulbs – when I say huge I really mean it. A massive, 1.5 metre deep swathe of bulbs in front of and behind the trees and running the entire length of the arc.
With a big idea like that you’ve obviously got to be careful. After all if it doesn’t work it will be very visibly dreadful and it will involve an immense amount of bulbs. That’s a lot of work and money! I don’t want to rush it and regret my choices.
So I may not get the combination of plants and the colour scheme sorted in my head, the bulbs purchased and planted this year. I will have to see how I get on! If I do, I’ll let you know and you can be the first to see the results in the spring.
Summing up…
So that’s a snapshot of some of the highs and lows in my garden this year. My top garden successes and my absolute failures.
There are obviously oodles of other tweaks I’m going to make. But that’s the joy of gardening isn’t it? There’s always more to do, lots of room for improvement and things to try. However, there are also areas where you can sit back, smile and think to yourself – ‘wow look at how that’s turned out!’