October 2009 - Reassessing the Border

The herbaceous border does not look after itself … by the end of the summer it is a profusion of weeds. The coarse field grass is particularly difficult to eradicate, as its spreading roots are extensive and often entangled with tree roots and those of other plants. The weeding of a small section took several days alone. Early on in the year this border looked quite successful but now apart from the tall verbenas and the towering penstemon ‘Sour Grapes’, which has a sumptuous late summer colour, the main section of the border holds little interest at present. On the other hand, having moved the ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ roses from the south wall of the farmhouse into the deeper, richer clay soil at the corner of the border they are now thriving, as are the cottage garden cerise peonies P. lactiflora ‘Felix Crousse’ , which I also moved for the same reason. The soil was not deep or rich enough for them in their previous location by the house and they were looking parched. I also had to move my precious ‘Molly the Witch’ peony from the raised bed in the courtyard to the front border for the opposite reason - it was much too wet for it and looked like it could rot.

In this corner the shrubs are mainly blue and yellow: there are several Californian Lilac: Ceonothus thyrsiflorus ‘Skylark’; Squaw Carpet Ceanothus prostrates and Creeping Blue Blossom, Ceanothus thyrsiflorus. Other shrubs include Beauty Berry, Callicarpa bodinieri var. giraldii ‘Profusion’; Himalayan Honeysuckle, Leycesteria Formosa; Viburnum, V. davidii ; thyrsiflorus ; Buddleja; B. davidii ‘Black Knight’and the unusual Buddleja, B. globosa with its spectacular yellow balls. I realize that the main border will actually take a lot of time to look really established. Apart from the shrubs, the clumps of day lilies, ornamental grasses and irises which dominate the planting around the silver birch will take a few years to mature fully.