Resist the temptation to snip and tidy every last wayward stem, says plantsman John Hoyland. Many plants come into their own when the winter sun is low in the sky and frost rimes their almost alien seedheads
The garden designer Piet Oudolf wrote that a plant is only worth growing if it looks good when it’s dead. Behind his hyperbole is the truth that what remains of many herbaceous plants, particularly their seedheads, can be captivating and will bring beauty into the garden on the most desolate of winter days.
Few of us want to spend much time in the garden right now, but it’s cheering to stare out of the window to admire a scene created from the framework of stems and seedheads—a scene that will be enlivened when hungry birds arrive to feed on the seeds.
In the absence of flowers and colour, it’s the shape and structure of plants that become important in the winter. What has the most impact are tight groups of tall spires from plants such as verbascum, agastache, liatris, lythrum and the perennial forms of digitalis. As a contrast to these strong vertical lines, there are many plants with rounded or flat-topped seedheads.
Achilleas and sedums tend to have very dark, umbel-shaped seedheads, which are striking when seen against russet and golden grasses; many other plants have globe-shaped seedheads that vary in scale from tennis-ball-sized agapanthus and alliums to tiny Pointillist flecks of sanguisorbas. However, whether you prefer strong lines or softer shapes, the effect of a winter planting is always more impressive when plants are grown in large groups.
The most imposing seedheads are the plumes of grasses such as miscanthus, calamagrostis and pennisetum. Sometimes a silvery-grey, but, more often, a bright straw colour, they act as foils to darker plants. The movement of their supple stems can animate what is, otherwise, a very static scene. Grasses such as panicum and deschampsia have open, airy panicles, with seeds hanging from them like tiny droplets of dew.
Bu hikaye Country Life UK dergisinin November 21, 2018 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Country Life UK dergisinin November 21, 2018 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery