Top Garden 2 – Next …

We liked the secluded atmosphere and were surprised at how well the new plants became established.

The overall colour scheme was vaguely; lime, magenta, deep purple, pink and white. One or two introductions were made with an eye for foliage form or texture. Flowers were a bonus that did not necessarily weigh heavily in the equation. The yellow tree Paeony which was a present from a friend got established early on, before we had chosen a colour theme. It was too dodgy to attempt to move it, but (apart from not being obsessively purist) we discovered that the new foliage in spring complemented the pergola perfectly.

We had added a wooden pergola around the front of the border and had painted it magenta, a bold choice which seemed to work. It supported a number of different climbers including Clematis, Roses and Passionflower. I will include a full list of all the climbers and shrubs in this border in a later post.

For wonderful soft texture we added a Pinus patula, with curving droopy boughs and silky foliage. I would recommend this for a sheltered spot (in the south). We got it from Architectural Plants, and they call it the Orangutan pine because of its habit.

In the centre of the gravel was a square 1960’s planter which initially contained a Trachycarpus fortunei (Chusan palm,) then later because it sadly didn’t survive a particularly cold winter, a more obvious Cordyline australis. This was a bit of a cliche, but added the touch of drama we wanted when you looked up to the top garden from the house. Also in the tub was a large and impressive self set Geranium. It was either ‘maderense’ or ‘ palmatum’ I was never sure which, but it was reliably stunning.