Time is precious

Article by: Gareth Salter
Publish date: 5th November 2009

After renovating the house of your dreams, it would be a shame to neglect the garden. However, not all of us have the time, energy or money to create the type of garden our house deserves. While most of the gardens that inspire us as a nation are labour intensive (think Wisley, Nymans and Leonardslee), I believe it’s possible to create a spectacular garden that requires much less attention that its appearance suggests.

Easy-care plants
If you don’t have much spare time, it’s important that your plants can look after themselves. Naturally, some tidying will be required but you can reduce how long you spend gardening by choosing the right plants. And low maintenance plants do exist - many have been given Awards of Garden Merit by the Royal Horticultural Society in this
regard. This organisation recognises garden-worthy plants by giving them its seal of approval.

The simplest way of creating a border that looks great all-year round is to start with a structural framework of trees and shrubs, then fill any gaps with ground-covering perennials. Plants including Alchemilla mollis, ajuga, hardy geraniums, heuchera, hellebores, bergenia and anemones will add welcome splashes of colour while giving your borders an authentic cottage garden feel. And most of them thrive on neglect. I like to create extra drama by mixing evergreen shrubs of different colours.

The lime-green leaves of Choisya ternata ‘Sundance’, look great beside the purple leaves of coprosma and the variegated leaves of a holly like‘Madame Briot’, which is a real favourite of mine.

Remember, choose plants that enjoy the conditions in your garden as these are more likely to succeed. Prepare the ground well by digging it over and removing any weeds, especially perennial types, and add plenty of compost. If firmed in well and watered, these ground-cover plants will quickly spread to produce a tapestry of colour.

The groundwork
Since a well-tended lawn takes a fair amount of work, it can be tempting to rip it up completely and, if you’re a barbarian, replace it with concrete or tarmac, but these are harsh in appearance and will detract from the overall scheme. Removing the grass may reduce your workload, but it’s only worthwhile if you replace it with the right materials – those that complement a period property.

Texture is important, and I believe gravel and bark chippings enhance most planting schemes. And, while natural Yorkstone paving is prohibitively expensive, there are numerous copies on the market that look similar when weathered and don’t cost the earth.

Pea gravel is cheap and, being quite neutral in colour, makes a great backdrop for vibrant planting schemes. I enjoy the scrunch of gravel beneath my feet and think it should be used more widely as a mulch. Many plants, especially those of Mediterranean origin, thrive in gravel gardens and, with a mulch, weeds are rarely a problem.

Another material worth considering is reclaimed bricks, especially those that were handmade. Usually at least 150 years old, their weather-beaten texture is irresistible. Prices start at around £70 per hundred, with around 5 needed per square foot. Cobbles are becoming popular again and, available in a wide range of colours, they complement properties both old and new.

Flesh pots
Some of the easiest plants to look after are succulents. With glaucous leaves, they require very little attention. Simply plant them in containers of gritty compost and place these in a sunny position. Use terracotta pots, as these weather beautifully. Let lichen, moss and algae spread across their surface and group them to create extra impact. You’ll find succulents such as sempervivums, aeoniums, saxifrages, lewisias and sedums in the alpine section of your garden centre.

Patchwork effect
A sunny border may sound ideal, but it can be hard to plant successfully if the soil remains dry. And no-one wants to spend their evenings watering. One colourful solution is to plant low-growing succulents, especially those of the sedum family. These thrive in arid conditions and will store the water they receive, ensuring they survive even quite
long spells of drought. So successful are they in poor soil, they’re grown on roofs as insulation where they keep the house below warm in winter and cool in summer. You can even buy them on a roll - simply dig over and rake the site thoroughly, then lay the roll across the soil and water the plants until they’re established.

Contrast
Visual contrasts are one of the best ways of creating interest. Grasses, with arching leaves that rustle prettily in the breeze are a popular choice. Planted individually they have structural impact. Planted in swathes, they add fluidity to a scheme and they’re often used to link one part of a garden with the next. I find them useful in low maintenance gardens where they soften large areas of hard landscaping. Use a mixture of different materials but avoid using too many in a small area as you may ruin the overall effect.

Rainbow of colour
A low-maintenance garden needn’t lack interest. Although decking’s declined in popularity, it weathers well and only needs treating once a year. If your lawn’s looking tired, you could replace it with decking and, instead of planting your containers with bedding that lasts only one season, use evergreen grasses and sedges instead. These will add colour all year round. One of the best is Carex oshimensis ‘Evergold’ with variegated yellow and green leaves and an attractively rounded habit, but Carex buchananii and Carex ‘Silver Sceptre’ are also excellent. The black-leaved sedge Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’ is worth including in any planting scheme as is Uncinia rubra and the grasses Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Hameln’, Stipa tenuissima and Miscanthus ‘Zebrinus’.

A modern approach
Modern gardens often rely on hard landscaping rather than plants for impact. Although the plants appear an afterthought, they’re an essential element, with structural grasses, palms and evergreens all popular choices. One way of adding extra interest is by mulching with coloured gravels and bark chippings, especially if these contrast with the surrounding elements. Glass beads are just as effective but are best used on a smaller scale when mulching containers.