With many excellent summer-flowering border plants at his fingertips, Tom chooses some specimens that also work well in meadows, and showcases a stunning, historic water lily<\/p>\n\n
WORDS TOM COWARD | PHOTOGRAPHS JASON INGRAM<\/p>\n\n
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PONTECHIUM MACULATUM<\/em><\/h4>\n\n
Height and spread <\/strong>30cm x 30cm. Origin <\/strong>Central Europe to the Balkans. Conditions <\/strong>Free-draining soil; full sun. Hardiness <\/strong>RHS H4, USDA 6a-8b\u2020<\/sup>. Season of interest <\/strong>May to July.<\/p>\n\n
This lovely echium relative behaves as a short-lived perennial or biennial and is extremely hardy. With handsome, pointed, greyish-green leaves and tall, striking, burgundy-red flower spikes, it makes an especially good contrast with circular allium flowers and with the arching and soft-textured grass Stipa tenuissima. <\/em>Seed germination can be erratic, so be patient and prick the seedlings out as soon as they are big enough to handle, but don\u2019t throw the seed tray away as there may be more to follow. Seed is best sown in midsummer for flowering the following year.<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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LUPINUS <\/em>\u2018NOBLE MAIDEN\u2019<\/h4>\n\n
Height and spread <\/strong>90cm x 50cm. Origin <\/strong>L. polyphyllus <\/em>is native to North America; the Russell hybrids were developed in Yorkshire. Conditions <\/strong>Neutral to acid soil; full sun or part shade. Hardiness <\/strong>RHS H5, USDA 4a-8b. Season of interest <\/strong>May to July (deadhead to prolong flowering).<\/p>\n\n
Lupins are a wonderful group of plants. So many are worth growing, but the best performers in our garden are those developed by horticulturist George Russell on his Yorkshire allotment. This lovely selection has tall spikes of cream buds that open to pure white, its upright inflorescences of pea-like flowers mirroring the white racemes of wisteria. <\/span>We sow seed in July for flowering plants the following year and replace plants every three to four years when they get tired.<\/p>\n\n
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NYMPHAEA <\/em>\u2018ROBINSONII\u2019<\/h4>\n\n
Height and spread <\/strong>30cm x 1.5m. Origin <\/strong>Marliac Nursery, France. Conditions <\/strong>40-60cm below the surface of the water; full sun. Hardiness <\/strong>RHS H5, USDA 4a-11. Season of interest <\/strong>June to August.<\/p>\n\n
One of a collection bred by Joseph Bory Latour-Marliac, who crossed the native European white-flowered Nymphaea alba <\/em>with colourful North American species. His hybrids were exhibited by the Seine under the newly unveiled Eiffel Tower in 1889 and inspired Monet\u2019s love of water lilies, as told in Caroline Holmes\u2019s book <\/span>Water Lilies and Bory Latour-Marliac. <\/em>The semi-vigorous N. <\/em>\u2018Robinsonii\u2019 has fuchsia-pink flowers, a yellow anther and maroon-blotched pads. It was named in 1895 to honour Marliac\u2019s friendship with William Robinson, who created the garden at Gravetye.<\/p>\n\n
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ROSA <\/em>X ODORATA \u2018<\/em>MUTABILIS\u2019<\/em><\/h4>\n\n
Height and spread <\/strong>1.5m x 1.5m. Origin <\/strong>Hybrid of R. chinensis <\/em>x R. gigantea. <\/em> Conditions <\/strong>Moist but well-drained soil; full sun. Best in a sheltered spot to maximise its long flowering season. Hardiness <\/strong>RHS H5, USDA 6a-9b. Season of interest <\/strong>June to November.<\/p>\n\n
This has one of the longest flowering seasons of any rose, with single, lightly scented blooms produced almost continually from the start of summer until the hardest winter frosts arrive. \u2018Mutablis\u2019 means changing and refers to the way the flowers open honey yellow and mature to a cerise pink. They make quite a show, especially when underplanted with the pink and yellow lupins \u2018The Chatelaine\u2019 and \u2018Chandelier\u2019. <\/span>It will tolerate poor soils better than most roses and is quite disease resistant. AGM*.<\/p>\n\n
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CYNOGLOSSUM AMABILE <\/em><\/h4>\n\n
Height and spread <\/strong>60cm x 60cm. Origin <\/strong>Bhutan, China and Nepal. Conditions <\/strong>Moist but well-drained loam or sand; full sun or part shade. Hardiness <\/strong>RHS H5, USDA 6a-9b. Season of interest <\/strong>May to July.<\/p>\n\n
The Chinese forget-me-not, closely related to the common forget-me-not, is a wonderful annual with abundant, showy sprays of small, intense azure-blue flowers that stand out against its slightly grey-blue foliage. We get best results from an autumn germination, with plants overwintered in the cold frame and planted out in spring. Subsequent successional spring sowings also make good plants that will flower a little later. Very effective tucked into gaps within the mixed border as well as being stunning in large drifts. Its lovely blue always looks best in dappled shade. AGM.<\/span><\/p>\n\n
Height and spread <\/strong>1m x 75cm. Origin <\/strong>P. officinalis <\/em>x P. lactiflora, <\/em>first produced in the USA in 1956. Conditions <\/strong>Moist but well-drained loam or sand; full sun or part shade. Hardiness <\/strong>RHS H6, USDA 4a-8b. Season of interest <\/strong>June. <\/p>\n\n
In his 1870 book The Wild Garden, <\/em>William Robinson discussed the use of exotic perennials naturalised in long grass, and used the example of a group of scarlet peonies in a meadow. Reintroducing such naturalised plantings to Gravetye\u2019s meadows has been fun and some of the species peonies, such as P. mascula <\/em>and P. officinalis, <\/em>are showing promise, but \u2018Scarlet O\u2019Hara\u2019 has worked best, with its brilliant-red, single flowers that stand out so well in the grass. It has the vigour to compete in the meadow habitat and continues to flower over the years. AGM.<\/p>\n\n
Height and spread <\/strong>1.5m x 1m. Origin <\/strong>R. acris <\/em>is native to Britain and Ireland, as well as most of northern and central Europe. Conditions <\/strong>Most borders or meadows, prefers damp soil; full sun or part shade. Hardiness <\/strong>RHS H7, USDA 4a-8b. Season of interest <\/strong>May to July.<\/p>\n\n
This is a tall, semi-double version of our native field buttercup that works as an excellent border plant. It can reach 1.5m, so we grow ours through a pea-stick cage for support, making an impressive plant. After flowering, it is cut down to the ground, allowing space for late-summer planting. A vigorous perennial, forming dense clumps of rhizomes that should be divided every three to four years. It also works well planted in coarse, long grass or in hedge margins.<\/span><\/p>\n\n
Height and spread <\/strong>50cm x 1m. Origin <\/strong>Europe and West Asia. Conditions <\/strong>Adaptable and easy to grow in any moist soil; full sun or part shade. Hardiness <\/strong>RHS H7. Season of interest <\/strong>June to August.<\/p>\n\n
The common bistort deserves its popularity as an excellent border perennial. It flowers in flushes from late spring to autumn, and is best cut back hard as soon as its first f lush has finished. It works well naturalised in our meadows as part of our wild garden plantings. We often have a surplus of plants when the clumps in the borders need dividing, so we plant in drifts through the orchard. <\/span>Over the years they\u2019ve competed with turf and look stunning in the long grass flowering among dark-blue Camassia quamash. <\/em>AGM.<\/p>\n\n
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WISTERIA FLORIBUNDA <\/em>F. ALBA <\/em>\u2018SHIRO-NODA\u2019<\/h4>\n\n
Height and spread <\/strong>4m x 4m. Origin <\/strong>Japan. Conditions <\/strong>Moist but well-drained loam or sand; full sun or part shade. Hardiness <\/strong>RHS H6, USDA 5a-9b. Season of interest <\/strong>Flowers May to June; foliage has good autumn colour.<\/p>\n\n
A superb wisteria with some of the longest racemes of any white-flowered cultivar. It will form magnificent curtains of flowers humming with bees, and fill the garden with the most magical scent. At Gravetye we have it on a pergola along the edge of the flower garden, creating a wonderful backdrop at this time of year. <\/span>I especially like it with the opposing spikes of lupins, like stalagmites to the wisteria\u2019s stalactites. Being one of the later-flowering wisterias, it has the advantage of rarely being damaged by late frosts. AGM.<\/p>\n\n
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HESPERIS MATRONALIS<\/em><\/h4>\n\n
Height and spread <\/strong>1m x 1m. Origin <\/strong>Native to Eurasia. Conditions <\/strong>Moist but well-drained loam or sand; full sun or part shade. Hardiness <\/strong>RHS H6, USDA 3a-8b. Season of interest <\/strong>May to June.<\/p>\n\n
Our first sweet rocket was grown from a free seed packet on Gardens Illustrated, <\/em>and it has gone on to become one of our best-loved performers. Its clouds of mauve flowers work well with the vertical lines of wisteria and lupins and truly come into their own in the evening light. The Greek god Hesperus was known as the Evening Star, and evening is when the perfume of sweet rocket is at its best, filling the garden with its scent just in time for drinks. We sow in July and grow on in pots for autumn, placing plants where they will flower the following year. Chef also likes to use it as an edible flower.<\/p>\n\n
*Holds an Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society. \u2020<\/sup>Hardiness ratings given where available.<\/p>\n\n
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Places to visit<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Tom\u2019s recommendations for places to see seasonal plants at their best<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Be sure to check opening times. Some garden visits may need to be pre-booked<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ventnor Botanic Garden <\/strong>is one of the first gardens I worked in, and remains one of my favourite places to visit. Situated on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, with an enviable Gulf Stream climate and sheltered from the wind, this garden rarely gets a frost and the plant collections are superb. Storm damage in 1987 provided an opportunity for replanting, which the then curator, Simon Goodenough, set about with energy and vision. <\/span>Some of the subsequent plantings from around the world are now beginning to reach maturity. Much of the garden has a Mediterranean \u2018wild garden\u2019 feel and highlights include some of the oldest Trachycarpus fortunei <\/em>in the country and forests of Echium wildpretii <\/em>and E. pininana, <\/em>all hybridising and naturalising in a wild garden setting. This spectacle is at its best from the end of June into July.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The garden has been curated by Chris Kidd since 2011, who previously worked under Simon, and with the new appointment of head gardener Michelle Cain this charming garden has an exiting period ahead of it. Undercliff Drive, Ventnor, Isle of Wight PO38 1UL. Tel 01983 855397, <\/span>botanic.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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