So I did feel a slight tinge of guilt to be presented with a beautifully wrapped present and card.
It contained a book that's been on my wish list for a while.
And it doesn't disappoint. I spent all breakfast "Oohing" and 'Aahing"...
Piet Oudolf is a very challenging designer. I don't automatically love everything he does but some of his plant combinations and ideas show such vivid imagination and understanding of plants as part of the wider landscape that I'm overawed by it.
But it did make me think. Instead of my scrappy, "drawn-on-the-back-of-an-envelope" plan, I should do it on the computer and post it here so you could all see it (and my lack of computer app skills).
So here it is. My first attempt...
A Miscanthus
B Phormium Alison Blackman
C Eremurus Robustus
D Miscanthus sinsensis "Morning Light"
E Eryngium agavifolium (may get swapped for E giganteum)
F Achillea "Terracotta"
G Crocosmia "Emily MacKenzie"
H Mecanopsis chelidonifolia
I Euphorbia Rubra
J Crocosmia "citronella"
K Euphorbia Griffithi "Dixter" or perhaps some more E rubra
L Ophiopogon planiscapus
M Clematis "Petit Faucon"
N Melianthus Major
And just in case you were wondering, What looks like Fred Astaire's walking stick is my representation of a part of an old iron bedstead that we bought at Steptoes.
This is the planting so far. It looks a bit thin and sad but I can imagine how it might look next year.
A view across the border with the Crocosmia "Citronella" in the foreground and miscanthus behind
Crocosmia "Emily Mackenzie", achillea behind and miscanthus and melianthus major in the background.
Crocosmia "Citronella" to the fore.
Crocosmia "Emily MacKenzie and Clematis "Petit Faucon" flopping over the iron bedstead.
And last but not least is the "Freya Fence" made out of bamboo to keep the dog out of the newly planted border. And so far it's worked....
I like two things especially about your garden. The bed headboard and the board walk. Very nice and original touches.
ReplyDeleteLooks great! I think I have to add that book to my wish list as well.
ReplyDeleteDonna, I'm so glad you called the path "boardwalk". That sounds much classier than calling it "deck"!
ReplyDeleteCollege Gardener. Christmas is coming and the book is full of ideas...
You can't beat an old bedstead in the garden. I had three in my old one that I found in the hedge.
ReplyDeleteYour soil looks brilliant - by the way.
We found an old radiator and a bike under the ivy...
ReplyDeleteThe soil has had a lot of home made compost added but go a spit down and that sandy soil re-appears, I think it may take some time....
Your planting list reminds me how different our climates are. About one-third of the plants are not hardy here in the mid-Atlantic US. I admire your new found organization. The book must have inspirational.
ReplyDeleteCarolyn some of them aren't hardy here either such as the melianthus but they will all survive here with a good old mulch. I'm glad I look organized...
ReplyDeleteI laughed about your back of the envelope plans. That's how I plan my garden out too! :) Your garden looks great, and I can imagine how wonderful it will be when it has filled out in another year or so. I need that freya fence!
ReplyDeleteBack of an envelope (or rather a scruffy old notebook) works for me. Putting it on computer formalises it too much. You can't scribble 'That won't work you idiot!' in the margin.
ReplyDeleteKininvie, I think you're probably right and back of the envelope is fine but it doesn't look very good on a post. And I am trying to embrace new technology and learn new skills, or something like that... did your finger get stuck on the button?!
ReplyDeleteSorry Janet, yes. Feel free to delete!
ReplyDeleteOh, to have the necessary skills to do plans on the computer, I will have to continue with old envelopes I'm afraid!
ReplyDeleteYour planting is going to look wonderful in a couple of years time, your bedstead is a novel & inspiring idea, it must look lovely when your clematis is in flower.
Pauline the plans on the computer were a bit of a hit or a miss and I gave up trying to put colour on it.
ReplyDeleteThe planting certainly needs to fill out a bit.. and fortunately we've been given a present which will be spent on plants - what else?
Impressively organised! I sometimes get as far as using one of those plastic things with lots of different size holes in to draw around, not tried a computer yet. I like the planned combinations. Do you find the crocosmia over winter successfully for you? Let me guess - heavy mulch?!
ReplyDeleteI usually use the plastic thingy and an architects drawing board.Helps to be married to an architect. All his garden plans are works of art and He's never does it on the computer.
ReplyDeleteCrocosmia "Lucifer"overwinters no bother. Citronella has been sitting in a pot for two years or shamefully maybe three. Emily Mac is new so these two will get a mulch. My philosophy, if in doubt "mulch",
Janet, those warm colors look wonderful--not overwhelmingly bright, just cheering amid the greenery. I think grasses and warmer colors suit one another well.
ReplyDeleteI really have to read some Piet Oudolf... I have a book by Lauren and Scott Ogden called "Plant Driven Design" that was influenced by his work (I think)--I often find their designs too fussy, but I like their ideas. Maybe it's time to work backward to the source.
I like the Freya fence..
ReplyDelete