The English Garden – September 2019

42 THE ENGLISH GARDEN SEPTEMBER 2019

together make a statement from early summer to late
winter. In between there are varieties of sanguisorba,
big long-flowering clumps of Persicaria amplexicaulis,
the striking dark-purple foliage of Cotinus coggygria
‘Royal Purple’ and, at ground level, creeping Persicaria
anis and feathery Stipa
tenuissima, the latter short-lived
but reliably self-seeding. Amid
this planting, a strikingly pink
chair creates a structural focal
point. Sanguisorba tenuifolia var.
alba also makes an impact. “It’s
a wonderful plant,” enthuses Jo.
“We have a whole ribbon of it,
curving through two beds, and it produceslovelyferny
foliage from quite early on with tallclustersofwhite
catkin-like flowers in mid-summer.”Inspringthere
are plenty of daodils (mostly Narcissus‘Thalia’),and
clumps of acid-green Euphorbia characias.
“I tend to use the same thing in dierentways,either
singly or in groups,” notes Jo. It is thisrepetitionthat
is one of the most eective aspects ofthegarden,subtly
outlining where the garden is in thelandscape,while
giving it a sense of rhythm. The repetitionalsoreflects
how Jo and Roy created the gardenonsomethingof
a shoestring. “We didn’t have moneyformassesof
plants,” says Jo, “so we propagatedthemourselves.I
started o with one plant of Calamagrostisxacutiflora
‘Karl Foerster’ bought from Knoll GardensinDorset,
and all the others have been divisionsfromthatinitial
plant. We’ve divided a lot of our perennialclumpstoo,
and we’ve taken winter hardwood cuttingsfromsomeof
our shrubs, like the dogwoods.”

Jo is delighted by the

increased birdlife in

the garden, observing

that its habitat has

constantly changed as

the trees and shrubs

planted just eight years

ago have grown up.

Indeed, research from

theUniversityofSheeld’sBUGS project has shown

that diversity of habitat, the presence of trees in

particular, is the most important factor in making

a garden attractive to wildlife.

This is an ambitious garden that has turned

its back on the traditional romantic notion of an

English country garden to embrace a contemporary

spirit. It is still young and rapidly developing, and is

sure to mature to become a classic of its time. ■

Poole Cottage, Coppett Hill, Goodrich, Ross-

on-Wye, Herefordshire HR9 6JH. Open by

arrangement for the National Garden Scheme until

30 September. Tel: 01600 890148; ngs.org.uk

“If it doesn’t spread or compete

with other plants I leave it,” says

Jo. This is particularly important

when managing mare’s tail (or

horsetail, equisetum species),

generally reckoned to be one of

the trickiest weeds. “You’ll never

get rid of it, so we just grow other

large plants around it – it has

actually got nice foliage.”

“I always say to people ‘know

what your weeds look like’, so that

way you can distinguish between

HOW TO Manage weeds

Jo and Roy on how tocopewithweedproblemsin

the fertile soil of themildandwetwestofBritain

themandyourownplantsthat

areself-seeding,”suggestsJo.

Manage your time e€ectively

and if you just don’t have time to

completely dig out and remove

weeds, you can at least keep

them in check and stop them

from setting seed.

Concentrate on easy targets. Jo

says she has spent years focusing

on pulling out ragwort, with the

result that it has now mostly

disappeared from the garden.

Repetition subtly outlines

where the garden is in the

landscape, while giving

it a sense of rhythm

Top left Structural allium

seedheads are left intact.

Top right Shaggy flowers

of leucanthemum make

a good contrast with the

whippy bottlebrush

blooms of persicaria.

Above Jo has matched

her planting to the wide

sweeping landscape.