SPRINGING INTO SUMMER

Spring may be well underway, but there’s still time to transform your garden into a horticultural haven in time for summer. Philippa O’Brien, chairman of the Society of Garden Designers (and something of an oracle on all things green-fingered!), has shared her sage advice on whipping your garden into shape in time for summer.

As the spring progresses it is easy to see which gardeners have planned ahead. Their gardens are overflowing with nodding tulips, buzzing with bee-friendly alliums and altogether a blaze of colour and a deep well of enjoyment! The well-organised gardener will have split their perennials, planted their autumn flowering bulbs, and made sure that the summer and autumn are as stunning as the spring was.

However, if you’re a normal human being with a hectic life, it’s still not too late to think about adding some additional summer interest.

Short-lived herbaceous perennials are great value, and will probably die back before you get tired of them. Think about a luscious carpet of blue with Geranium Brookside, or a fluttering drift of white butterflies with Gaura lindheimeri.

It’s still not too late to buy some bold and slightly shocking dahlia tubers, though you may need to stand guard against the slugs! If your taste is for the dramatic, big bold Rudbeckias can bring a stunning dash of yellow to your border or planters.

Verbena bonariensis is a designer special, the nurseries just cannot grow enough of them. Stick in a few now, and you will have a floating cloud of purple drifting over your other plants. Equally long lasting, but less floppy, the tough little Salvia Caradonna flowers until well into the autumn even if you don’t have the time to deadhead it.

And then there are the asters, just the thing to welcome you back after the summer holidays. These joyful daisies redolent of harvest festivals and bonfirey autumn days both attract the butterflies and light up the late border.

Most London gardens tend to be on the shady side, so think about a collection of ferns. The Victorians knew what they were doing when they put in ferneries, and a collection of these long-lived trouble-free plants can give endless pleasure. One of the most exciting is Belchnum chiliense, which does not mind a bit of sun, or you could try some of the lacy little Polystichums. Throw in two or three of the new double white Hellebores and the grimmest, darkest part of the garden will become a tranquil oasis of soft shady planting.

If all this is just too much to fit in between walking the dog and ordering the shopping, then why not think about employing the services of a professional garden designer. There are many planting specialists living and working around London. The Society of Garden Designers (SGD) website features only its fully Registered Members. These are garden designers that have passed the Society’s strict adjudication process and been in business for at least 3 years. As an organisation with hundreds of creative minds they are never short of ideas. Visit www.sgd.org.uk for a bit of inspiration.

Members of the Society of Garden Designers will be offering free garden design consultations at GROW London again this year. Visit the SGD stand on the day of your visit to find out more and book your slot.

Thanks to Sarah Hammond MSGD, Sue Townsend MSGD and Thomas Hoblyn MSGD for their beautiful images.

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