I purchased two blue lavender plants for the front of this square bed, it will save me having to get bedding plants each year for the front. I have a white lavender in the middle and in each front corner there is a bleeding heat and hellebore.
The back corners have a Chinese witch hazel and a Forsythia, in the middle is a variegated evergreen shrub, which I can't remember the name, I have gaura and astrantia plants on both sides and an aster daisy in the middle space, I aim to fill this middle section with perennials. This bed does get sun from mid-afternoon onwards.
I popped a plastic liner in hubbies old biker boots, the plants did not survive this summer, but this pansy, which I did not plant did, very pretty.
The ground is still very dry, digging the hole for the lavenders I quickly came to dry soil, they are planted in hope the rain due again in a few days will help them settle. For many years I mainly used bedding plants to bring colour into the gardens, I always said my flower beds were too small for all year interest. Since the garden refit 3 years ago, I have changed my planting, I still love to see blooms, I now enjoy the texture and form of plants as well, I have shrubs and perennials to ensure I have something to look at all year round.
My three flower beds are almost sorted, the heatwave has killed off a few plants, most things have survived, I'm sad I'm unable to keep the huge daisies I love alive, I have purchased many and been gifted many which have come from local gardens, none have survived.




I like your plant supports - they are a work of art in their own right.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it the case that you can cosset plants and they die, whereas things you haven't planted, or plants you neglect, go from strength to strength and bloom their socks off.
ReplyDeleteWhen we planted into dust dry soil in Africa, we always filled the hole first with water before putting in the plant, back filled then watered again
ReplyDeleteI never thought I would be doing that here, but for the last two - three years - that is how I have been planting during the summer months
The climate has definitely changed.
We've never been able to keep Rudbeckia (sort of like a huge daisy) alive. They're supposed to be perennial but they always die after a year. None of our expected rain has materialized except that brief shower that I videoed.
ReplyDeleteI love the little pansy in the boot. So pretty.
ReplyDeleteI too like the pansy in the boot.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
Although the ground has been so parched with excessive heat this Summer most things will survive I'm hoping. Your pansy boot is very pretty and a nice surprise if it arrived by chance.
ReplyDeleteDespite this year's intense heat, your garden still looks amazing. This afternoon, I've begun cutting back and tidying, ready for the cooler months. X
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