Mary Keenan writes that the time has come for planning ahead in your garden. We have begun thinking about how we can adapt our garden to make its upkeep less demanding and intensive. We want to ensure we can continue to enjoy gardening without becoming overwhelmed.
Weed-suppressing cover
One solution that we have started to implement in our garden planning is reducing the extensive plantings of herbaceous perennials and replacing them with shrubs underplanted with groundcover plants to suppress weed growth. The objective is to eliminate areas of exposed soil in borders where weeds can take hold. In borders where we will continue to grow perennials, the ground is already covered with dense perennial planting. The denser the ground cover, the more effective it is at blocking light from reaching the soil and preventing weed seed germination. Ground-covering plants also effectively compete with weeds for nutrients, water and space and once established, they form a barrier against weed growth, significantly reducing the need for constant weeding.
There is a perception that ground-cover planting is boring, but when a palette of plants is carefully chosen for variety and texture of foliage, these plants can be massed and woven together to create a highly attractive and colourful mosaic. Some of the best plants for providing swathes of cover beneath shrubs are hardy geraniums. They are incredibly versatile plants, as they thrive in sun or shade and in most soil types. In my garden, Geranium macrorrhizum ‘Bevan’s Variety’ has proven particularly good at establishing in areas of dry shade – the toughest of conditions.
In vogue
Epimedium are very much in vogue at the moment, with an ever-increasing range of excellent varieties being developed. All feature heart-shaped leaves and delicate, nodding flowers in spring. For a good, dense ground cover, opt for Epimedium ×perralchicum ‘Fröhnleiten’, a really robust variety and useful in dry shade. It offers leathery, evergreen foliage topped with sprays of yellow flowers in spring, and the young growth is beautifully marbled with warm red.
Combine it with-low-growing ferns for textural contrast. One of my favourites is the Japanese painted fern, Athyrium niponicum ‘Pictum’, featuring deeply cut fronds in subtle shades of pink and grey-green with a plum-coloured mid-rib. Low-growing grasses are another possibility, and shade-tolerant Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola makes a handsome choice. It forms attractive mounds of gracefully arching, vivid yellow and green-striped foliage. Black, strap-like leaves are the main feature of the evergreen, grass-like perennial Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’. It also looks very striking when massed together as an understorey beneath trees and shrubs. For a stark contrast, combine it with the heart-shaped, silvery foliage of Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’ or the spotted foliage of pulmonarias.
Wedding cake shrub
When it comes to choosing shrubs when garden planning, one of the most outstanding shrubs in our garden during May is Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum ‘Mariesii’, prized for its stunning display of tiered horizontal branches adorned with pure white, lacecap-like flower clusters. Sometimes referred to as the wedding cake shrub, it forms an elegant deciduous shrub. The flowers bloom profusely, creating a beautiful contrast against the green, deeply veined foliage.
Mary Keenan is the Editor of The Irish Garden magazine and runs Gash Gardens in Co. Laois.
