“Increasing the amount of space for growing
has made it easier to look after. The plants work
together: they’re happy in each other’s company”
ThinklikeafloristConsider f lower
shapeasmuchascolour.
Buy smaller plantsIt’s thriftier and they
establish more quickly in unfamiliar soil.
Don’t improve scratchy soilTough love
createsstrongerplantsthatwillshrugoff
pests and withstand the wind.
Be confidentAll you need are a few good
ideas and the alchemy of nature.My advice...
What I’ve learnt
The biggest challenge is limiting the
palette of plants to just a few favourites. It
was tempting to include one of everything
I liked, but it’s much better to take a sharp
pencil and a critical eye to the initial list of
plants, refining it to six or seven and
planting several of each. You wouldn’t fill
your house with every knick-knack you
like, and nor should you your garden.Spring
MARCH—MAY
Spring can be a mixture of cold, wintry
days and warm sunny ones. In early
spring, shoots will appear around the
crowns of plants marking their spots in
the soil. Below ground, as the soil
temperature increases, plants will start
to spread their roots. The first bulbs
push up followed by the earliest
perennial flowers. At the end of spring
the whole garden soars.Summer
JUNE—AUGUST
In summer, the garden is full of shapes,
with plants in flower and jostling for
space, weaving together and reachingfor the skies. Bumblebees, hoverflies
and ladybirds fly from bloom to bloom.
The first grasses appear with pinprick
flowers while others are leafing up.Autumn
SEPTEMBER—NOVEMBER
As the weather cools, the colours in
the garden become more muted.
Petals drop and the flowers transform
to sharply defined seedheads.Winter
DECEMBER—JANUARY
Grasses bleach, seedheads blacken
in a garden turned monochrome. Frosty
weather makes everything sparkle.
Despite the short dark days and
freezing temperatures, winter is the
season of renewal with the chilly
weather preparing the garden for a new
cycle of growth. As the first green
shoots appear at the end of winter,
it’s time to cut every plant back to
soil level to grow again.Month by month
in the garden
Start a brilliant and wild garden at any
time of year (when the ground’s not
frozen). Here’s what to expect...Above: the yellow
flowers of Turkish
sage whorl up and
down its straight
stems, which
provide a support
for other plants.
Right: wild
and brilliant
gardens are at
their happiest,
left unwatered
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