The Bare Root to Border Planting Success

Evaluate your border planting

It’s a perfect time of year to evaluate your borders, and especially some of the more structural garden planting in your gardens because with bare root plant season upon us it’s a great opportunity to add some specimen plants to your borders for a much more affordable price.

Bare root plants are typically grown in a field (i.e. open ground) and are then dug up when they’re dormant, the soil removed from them, and then sold as bare root plants. So, bare root plant season in the UK, generally runs from November through to March, making your winter garden the perfect time and place to change, create or add to your garden planting plans.

Bare root plants offer savings

Because bare root plants aren’t containerised, they are often a lot more affordable than their potted peers which means that you can generally buy bigger, or more, plants; essentially making your budget work harder for you. So, this is a great way to buy plants generally, but trees and hedging plants especially.

With no (usually) plastic pots to dispose of, bare root plants are also considered to be a much more sustainable and environmentally friendly choice for purchasing plants. And as long as they are planted correctly, bare root plants are thought to establish much faster than planted container plants too and are arguably less likely to fail because they’re being planted when dormant; which also means, that less water is required than for plants that are planted in full bloom during the summer months!

As garden designers bare root plants are a no brainer for us but for many of our clients as the weather changes, their minds turn away from their gardens in autumn and winter, often not returning to them until the weather picks up again in the spring. Unfortunately, at this time, bare root season has ended, and with it the opportunity to avail our clients of some serious savings on plants, since most of our clients don’t want to wait until the following winter for their planting. If this is you, it might be worth evaluating your borders now in order to make some savings on plant costs before bare root season ends.

Review and plan

We can help, of course, and our plant prices are extremely competitive, but to do it yourself look at the plants you already have and consider whether they are working together or against each other; is the border missing anything like colour or height or seasonal interest; is there enough variety of forms and textures of plants; is there a good mix of shrubs, perennials, trees, groundcover, etc; is there enough foliage, or too much foliage, too many flowers or not enough; are there any gaps that need filling, or is everything congested and could do with cutting back or dividing or thinning; does the border look and feel how you would like it to, does it fit with the rest of your garden?

Make a note of everything you’ve observed along with the aspect, size and shape of the border and then try to create a plan of it as you would like it to be. If you can draw your border and the general sizes of your existing plants to scale it will help you visualise the sizes and positions of any additional plants you may need. If you’re creating a new border the same principle applies, although obviously a lot more plants will be included on your list.

When choosing plants make sure they will work with the existing plants you have as well as the sunlight levels, space, soil type and pH that will be available to them in your border. If you can start thinking about it now, you might well be able to make the most of bare root season too so not only could you make some savings on plant costs, but your newly spruced up border will be ready and waiting for those first rays of spring sunshine! Win-win all round!

Don't forget where we are if you need help with your garden border planting, bare root season or otherwise! Contact us to find out more.

Spring Bulbs Planting Design

Example of planting design using spring bulbs

It may seem like only two minutes since we bid farewell to this year’s display of spring bulbs but now is the perfect time to be thinking about next year. Whilst many of us have them in our gardens we’ve found that very few people we talk to consider their spring bulbs to be an integral part of their planting scheme; indeed, many people seem to make their bulb choices purely on the basis of a desire to see a splash of colour – any colour – to break the drabness of winter. But, with some design planning and bulbs’ vast variety of shapes and sizes, colours and flowering periods, spring bulbs have the potential to be so much more than just that splash of colour – they could be the show stopping stars of your spring garden design.

Spring bulbs in a designed garden border

Planting Spring Bulbs

As with all planting designs environmental factors such as aspect, light levels and ground conditions will all have a bearing on the success of any scheme. ‘Right plant, right place’ works just as well for spring bulbs as for any other garden plant and planting depth of bulbs can also influence the flowering success of them later. For instance, if you plant bulbs too deep you risk getting more foliage at the expense of flowers and some might flower late or not at all. Plant them too shallow and they might emerge too soon making them vulnerable to frost. If you don’t have a label to check, a good rule of thumb is to plant bulbs 2 to 3 times their size. So, if a bulb is 5cm high, plant it 10-15cm deep and 10-15cm away from the next bulb. Since bulbs themselves are all different sizes, this allows you plant lasagne-style with larger bulbs deeper, mid-size bulbs in a layer above and small bulbs planted on a top layer. This method works particularly well in pots but can be used just as well in borders too allowing for the maximisation of space and impact.

Surrounding Plants

One of the tricks of designing with bulbs, of course, is blending them with existing plants – for most of us, bulbs are an addition to an already existing scheme so the height, texture, colour and form of surrounding plants will play a key role in choosing bulbs for maximum visual effect. Most of us tend to leave our bulbs in the ground once planted but it has to be said too that once a bulb has ‘gone over’ it isn’t the prettiest plant in the garden but leaving its yellowing leaves is a crucial part of the bulb’s life cycle so those surrounding plants can also play an important role in hiding those nourishing, but not too aesthetic leaves. Alternatively, planting bulbs in pots allows us to move them out of sight after flowering so can be a great choice for areas with few ‘hiding potential’ surrounding plants.

Bulb Colours

spring bulbs in a trough container near a doorway

If you’re considering planting bulbs in a small space then it’s a good plan to stick with a single colour – mixing colours tends to make a small area look smaller whereas a hit of a single colour increases impact and makes a space look bigger too. Larger spaces can accommodate more colour, of course, but limiting to 2 or 3 blended colours and planting groups of 2 or 3 varieties of bulbs in single colour clusters can look stunning. White or cream bulbs can help blend other colours together and when used alone are brilliant for brightening dark corners.

Functional Bulbs

Bulbs can be functional too; for instance, we have some quick collections that are perfect for pollinators; bulbs in this scheme not only look good but have a high nectar content that will encourage biodiversity in your garden. We also have them to help naturalise areas or to bring a fresh spring woodland look to a garden or to make a statement with bold swathes of colour. If you don’t feel confident to design yourself and don’t want a bespoke design, collections are a quick and easy way to choose bulbs. We order for our clients in August/September – both collections and bespoke designs – so whether you’re doing it yourself or working with a designer, planning now is key for next year’s spectacular spring bulb display.

Creating an Indoor Outdoor Cohesive Space

Creating an Indoor Outdoor Cohesive Space

One of the jobs of a garden designer is to try to make the garden feel part of a cohesive whole with a client’s house so that they feel they belong together. It’s rarely an explicit request but when we’re designing a garden, a good starting point when trying to decide where things should go is to do it with the sight lines from the house very firmly in mind. Regardless of the size of garden if you can create something beautiful and interesting to look out at then it brings the garden ‘closer’ to the viewer because they feel more engaged with it. We’ve talked before about creating views of the garden so that from inside the house, the frames of windows and doorways when looking out are ‘framing’ the view beyond. In putting that ‘view’ together it’s a good tip to try to think as a painter or photographer would, in terms of thinking about fore-, middle and backgrounds; about balance, subjects and ways of leading the eye through the view.

The décor, along with the use and choice of materials indoors, can give huge cues for outdoor decisions in terms of linking a garden and home – and more on that in a future article – but one obvious way to link indoor and outdoor spaces is through the use of greenery, i.e. plant choices and planting design. Indoor gardening is more popular than ever and as we’re becoming more and more aware, just as looking out at a view of nature is good for us, surrounding ourselves with house plants is too.

Studies show that there are both psychological and physical health benefits of indoor plants; psychologically they improve our mood, reduce our stress levels and help make us more productive. Physically they reduce our blood pressure, headaches and fatigue. Indoor plants – just as outdoor plants do – also bring with them a massive and versatile potential for aesthetic styling, and just as we work with such things like form, habit, colour and texture externally, so too can we do so indoors.

There’s a huge potential then for creating cohesion of indoor and outdoor spaces through planting. For instance, if you can bring your outdoor planting right up to your house – perhaps through window boxes or raised beds leading up to your patio doors/bifolds, etc - and your indoor planting right up to the outdoor threshold so only the glass of a window or doors separates them; it can be a very effective way of blending the boundary between indoor and outdoor.

Similarly repeating the forms, textures or leaf shapes of indoor plants with outdoor planting reinforces the links between the separate areas. Picking repeating/similar flower or leaf colours across thresholds has the same effect as does choosing similar styles of pots that continue across the divide.

For many of us space can be an issue both inside and out, so as usual, when floor space is limited, we’d recommend thinking vertically. While hedges aren’t quite an option indoors, indoor wall space can be just as effective as garden fences and walls outside when it comes to accommodating plants. You don’t need a full-size living wall either (as beautiful as they are!). Climbers can be used indoors or as in our image/s small ‘living pictures’ can be used to harmonise the indoor/outdoor areas just as effectively as floor or shelf standing planters. (We were so delighted with these living pictures in terms of looks, versatility and practicality - they have their own reservoir so watering is pretty much taken care of – we are now accredited suppliers of them so do get in touch if you are as equally delighted with them!)

Of course, choosing plants for indoors needs the same consideration as choosing for outdoors so light levels, room temperature and fluctuations, plant care needs and toxicity are some of the things to be considered along with their looks, size, form, colour, texture, etc. If you have the right plant, in the right place doing the right job for you both indoors and out then the chances are good that you’ll also have a cohesive indoor/outdoor space.

Garden Design Quick Tip - Trees for structure in small gardens

One of the elements of garden design that designers use is that of structure. While perennials and annuals come and go within a garden accenting it, it is the more permanent aspects of a garden - manmade like arbours or pergolas, or plants like shrubs and trees - that gives it structure, adding strength and often character to a space.

Trees are brilliant structural plants. When our horizontal opportunities are limiting trees allow us to capitalize upon the vertical possibilities often making the space feel bigger. They also add definition to a space too; for instance a single tree planted in the centre of an island bed defines a space in one way but a line of trees along a pathway adds a different dimension cmpletely. The age of a tree can also add a sense of history or context to a garden while the tree itself brings layers of biodiversity to a garden through the different species it supports. All in all a tree's reassuring presence throughout the seasons makes it a first port of call for any garden designer looking to add structure to a garden.

Our top 3 trees for adding structure to a small garden are:

Amelanchier - A beautiful group of trees with a great shape. As the wind blows through it you often get a silvery sheen to it which gives it an ever changing look. Its spring blossom is fabulous (our image doesn't do it justice!) and its autumnal colour spectacular.

Sorbus - all varieties are lovely delivering beautiful spring blossom , striking autumn berries and leaf colours in differing combinations. For instance Sorbus aucuparia 'Joseph Rock' has white flowers in spring with creamy yellow berries in autumn along with orange, purple and red leaves. Sorbus aucuparia 'Chinese Lace' has single white flowers in spring followed by clusters of dark red berries. Its leaves turn purple-red in autumn.

Prunus - (our main image). Prunus serrula 'Tibetica' - with its distinctive peeling bark that looks good all year round, especially in the cold, frosty winter light. It has pink spring blossom and great autumn leaf colour.

Winter, you’ve never smelled so good

Winter, you’ve never smelled so good

According to a recent garden trends survey 49% of us use our gardens to feed/watch or to encourage wildlife. We spend around £250 million a year on feeding birds alone but whilst many of us step up our bird feeding habits through the winter it can be a tough time of year for our beleaguered winter-active pollinators, with natural food sources being generally, and literally, very thin on the ground. But that doesn’t have to be the case in our gardens. There are some fantastic winter flowering plants that can not only be a life saving food source for our pollinators, but can also add beauty, interest and often masses of scent to our winter gardens too.

In no particular order here are some of our scented winter favourites that are perfect for pollinators too:

Clematis ‘Jingle Bells’ flowers between January and March. An evergreen climber its citrus-scented flowers are creamy white and bell shaped. There are plenty of other winter-flowering, scented clematis too such as balearica or ‘Lansdowne Gem’.
Mahonia – an evergreen shrub with spiney green leaves and clusters of often heavily scented, usually yellow flowers in autumn through to spring – try ‘Sweet Winter’ or ‘Charity’
Daphnes are super-fragrant. Daphne odora ‘Aureomarginata’, for instance, is a much-used evergreen shrub with variegated green and yellow leaves. Its clusters of richly smelling purple buds to pink flowers appear January to March.
Sarcococca – also known as Christmas Box or Sweet Box because of its sweetly scented pure white flowers which appear from December through to March. An evergreen shrub perfect for shade.
Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Dawn’ – often looking like a very small tree this deciduous shrub produces dense clusters of richly fragrant dark pink flowers on its bare stems from November to March.
Chimonanthus praecox – its common name, wintersweet gives the game away. It produces small, sweetly scented yellow flowers with purple centres, on bare branches from December to February.
Hamamelis x intermedia also produces its flowers on bare branches in December through to February. Different varieties produce different flower colours from Pallida’s sulphur yellow to Diane’s coppery-red.
Winter honeysuckle such as Lonicera fragrantissima is a deciduous or semi-evergreen shrub that produces scented, creamy-white flowers in December through to March.
For scented perennials that pollinators adore, try Hellebores. Not all of them are scented but varieties such as ‘Miss Jekyll’s Scented’ or odorus are, and can produce flowers from December through to May. These nodding, often semi-evergreen perennials are a star of the winter border.
A variety of spring bulbs including aconite, crocus, daffodil, muscari, tulip and snowdrops all have scented varieties too and are all fabulous for pollinators. A mix of varieties can provide flowers and scent from February through to May and by adding scented cyclamen varieties too, this season can be extended all the way back to October.

Winter flowers tend to be less showy than their other-season counterparts but they do often pack a punch scent-wise since that is one of their main communication tools for attracting pollinators. So, including as many plants like these in your winter garden will pretty much guarantee a busy, pollinator-viewing winter experience. Though in terms of designing with scent try to choose plants whose scents complement each other rather than compete. Too many different scents can be overpowering but if all you’re likely to do is look at your winter garden through the windows of your home then competing scents aren’t going to be problematic. If you’re likely to be immersed in your winter garden then choosing plants whose scents complement each other or placing plants carefully when scents are likely to compete with each other, then becomes key.

Generally speaking, placing scented plants under windows, or next to doorways and gates and along pathways or the edges of patios, works wonderfully well for us because they allow us to engage more easily with their scent. But wherever they are placed, scented, winter-flowering plants can be life-savers for our winter-active pollinators.

Respect your elders… and oaks… and maples… and pines… and…

Trees bring benefits to the garden

It was a sad day. A newly moved-in homeowner rang the death knell for two enormous, mature spruce trees that had occupied the same space since before a house and garden was ever even a thought in the original landowner’s mind, back at the turn of the 20th century. Of course the new homeowner has every right to make that decision about those trees but this story is indicative of a trend that seems to be currently sweeping the UK. Decades, if not sometimes hundreds of years’ growth, are being decimated in a single day by (often) new homeowners who only see potential problems with trees and not their many benefits. Add a ‘potential problem’ to a ‘disposable world frame of mind’ and the result is not going to be a favourable one for many an existing tree.

But we would urge anyone to reconsider that decision to fell a mature tree. Even ignoring the proven wider environmental benefits of trees on our urban environment (an article for another time) – and privately owned trees often constitute more than half of the tree cover in UK cities – from a purely ‘garden design’ perspective the mature trees inherited with a newly acquired garden usually bring fantastic opportunities and benefits with them.

Being able and open to considering what they can offer is half the battle. Assuming they’re healthy and sound, we’d recommend living with inherited trees for at least a year before making any decisions about them. Watch them throughout the seasons and consider what they bring to the garden at different times of the year, in different conditions. So for instance, notice things like colour, fragrance, flowers, height, shade, structure, fruit, wildlife, movement, sound, view… all of these things add to the ‘feel’ of a garden (and in many circumstances were actually part of the reason why you loved the house and garden in the first place!).

Inheriting mature trees is like starting a new relationship – it’s worth getting to know them before ditching them! Oftentimes, the things that you weren’t sure of to begin with become the very things that you grow to love about them, or even if you don’t love some things the other things that you love about them overshadow and far outweigh the things that you don’t; and like all good relationships, compromises can be reached that keep both parties happy.

There may be no alternative to felling when it comes to damaged or diseased trees but for the most part, from a garden design perspective mature trees are virtually impossible features to replace in a garden and finding something even vaguely as versatile and impressive as a mature tree is very costly – if you have inherited one or more in your garden we’d recommend you hang on to them, they are like gold-dust!

Don’t be fooled by gardens in winter

Winter isn’t ‘dead’

It may be the ‘dead’ of winter, but don’t be fooled… contrary to popular belief winter gardens have an awful lot going for them. Not only can a well designed garden look gorgeous in winter, in terms of both gardening and design there is also lots to do in, and about, the garden at this time of year.

...winter can be one of our busiest seasons because for those clients who want to enjoy their garden in the spring and early summertime, it is in winter where all the work is required

As garden designers we’re often asked if we get the winter ‘off’ but honestly, winter can be one of our busiest seasons because for those clients who want to enjoy their garden in the spring and early summertime, it is in winter where all the work is required. The garden design, build and planting process can take anything from 5 to 24 weeks from date of sign up, and even longer in some circumstances – the weather, resource availability and other factors can often get in the way – so counting backwards, if you want to be enjoying those early rays of April sunshine in your newly designed garden you need to be confirmed in our work schedule in December, January or mid-February at the very latest.

But even if a professional garden designer and landscaper isn’t for you; it is in winter that the best laid plans for your garden need to be hatched. It is winter time that allows you to see the underlying structure of your garden and judge whether or not it’s working; it is winter time that is best for physically addressing those structural problems while plants are dormant and space is clear for movement; it is winter time that is the best time for moving plants that you want to keep because of that dormancy and it is the wintertime that precedes the time you most want to enjoy your garden, enabling you to be ready and prepared for the spring ‘rush’ to be outdoors.

If you’re not redesigning but looking after your garden the winter offers the best opportunity to prune trees and shrubs such as wisteria, fruit trees (though not stone fruit trees like plum or cherry), climbing roses, acers and vines. It is a great time for propagating many perennials from root cuttings and shrubs and trees from hard wood cuttings. It is also the best time for the maintenance of structures and tools and there are still many garden maintenance tasks that, if done regularly, will benefit your garden greatly when it does begin to come out of hibernation.

In terms of designing for a beautiful winter garden for next year, structure is the key here.

In terms of designing for a beautiful winter garden for next year, structure is the key here. Structure can be provided by a number of means: well placed evergreen plants, for instance, with different forms, texture and heights really come into their own in a winter garden. Hedge lines and simple topiary shapes like balls and pyramids can look fantastic as do ‘gone over’ seed heads and the stark imposing shapes of deciduous trees. Sheds, obelisks, pergolas, art, water features and trellis all offer structural opportunities for the winter garden along with hard landscaping features like pathways, steps and walls. And don’t forget colour too, just because it’s winter your garden doesn’t have to be dull – think of the neon winter bark of cornus and willow, the bright red berries of holly and the acid yellow/orange flowers of hamamelis, to name a few; not to mention the extensive array of paint hues and shades available to us for a man-made intervention.

Tempted to get out of your cosy armchair yet?? Go on! You know you want to and spring will be here before you know it!

Garden Design Quick Tip: Using Plants for Texture

We love creating texture in the garden because it appeals to many senses at once. You can often tell what something is going to feel like just by looking at it - think of Stachys byzantina also known as ‘lambs ears’ where the leaves have that soft woolly texture and Stipa tenuissima (feather grass) with its fine feathery tendrils that make you want to run your fingers through the leaves. But not all plants feel how they look and it is only by interacting with them – i.e. touching them – that anticipation can be confirmed or surprised. When there is great textural contrast within a border its effects are heightened not only because of the visual and physical impact of how those textures work together but also because the invitation to touch it is so much stronger too.

Examples of plants with coarse texture are Gunnera manicata, Bergenia and even Fatsia japonica – where often the leaves themselves become strong and dominant focal points. If you have a small garden having too many coarse textured plants can make it feel claustrophobic, and generally to create greater depth coarse textured plants would be placed in the foreground with finer textures around the boundary. In a small garden this could be achieved using Fatsia japonica in the foreground and Osmanthus x burkwoodii or Sarcococca confusa (or varieties) for instance around the boundary.

Often medium textured plants are used to link the coarse and finer textured plants to create harmony whilst softening the contrasting textures. The shrub Elaeagnus x ebbingei and perennials such as Geraniums or Heucheras both have medium texture foliage that help link the others together.

Finer texture plants have the smallest leaves such as Hebe, Yew or Stipa tenuissima. These plants do not seem to demand the attention that the coarse plants require and therefore are more calming and much easier to look at. They also have a great quality of receding; therefore planting a small garden with many fine textured plants can make it look larger. Fine textured plants can often play an important part in more formal planting schemes because it is often the overall shape of the plant rather than the leaves that becomes the dominate feature. So, for example, Buxus sempervirens (Box) has very small leaves but can be clipped into many shapes as does Taxus baccata which provides a good backdrop for different types of planting schemes.

Remember that if your garden is lacking in texture the ratio 1/3 fine-textured plants and 2/3 course textured plants is a good guide to work towards. Obviously every garden and setting is different but as a general rule it’s not a bad one to remember!

Panic for Fence Panels? Think Again!

Lots of us have been affected by continuous storms and constant battering by the rain causing damage not only to plants in our gardens but fencing too. This has led to a national shortage of fence panels to the extent that according to the BBC, prices have risen by up to 30%. Newspapers have also reported that a black market has opened up with 'normal' - usually budget - fences being offered at £80 a panel!

That's extortionate but it's also an extremely good reason to consider creating a green boundary in your garden instead of fence paneling. It's no secret that we love plants here at Blue Daisy and we love living boundaries, here are some of the reasons why…

They can look fantastic - Beech, Hornbeam, Photinia Red Robin, Box, Pyracantha, Berberis, Holly (non-invasive) Bamboo the list goes on… green boundaries look great and can sound great too
They are functional - they give us the privacy we so often crave and can in some cases act as a sound barrier (not completely but much better than a fence panel can). They can also help mitigate urban flooding.
They're great for wildlife, not only for birds and mammals but in many cases for our beleaguered pollinators too (see Pledge for Pollinators and RHS Wildflower Plants for Pollinators List Released for further information about pollinating insects)
They add interest - because they are living many will change with the season
Sure you will need to maintain them but living boundaries - hedges - can help distribute and dissipate wind as it passes through its leaves and branches - this can be really beneficial for protecting the microclimate of your garden. It also makes them more likely to survive high winds and stormy weather.

So what are you waiting for? Contact us to organise your new living boundary today!

Top 5 Shrubs for Late Winter, Early Spring

There are so many amazing shrubs out there and I don’t think they get the recognition they deserve. I could wax lyrical about why everyone should have them in their gardens, what qualities they add to the garden and how hard some of them really do work for us. I thought I'd share with you my top 5 late winter/early spring flowering shrubs I often use when I’m designing gardens that will add visual interest and some are also scented!

For adding that bit of drama and excitement that spring is surely here you can’t beat a Forsythia, the yellow flowers that arrive around March can’t help but make you feel cheery. It makes a great centre-piece and is as equally at home as part of a mixed border. It can also make a pretty good hedge too. Try Forsythia x intermedia ‘Lynwood Variety’ as it is tolerant of most soils and aspects - it prefers full sun or part shade.

Sarcococca confusa also known as Christmas box, its flowers are white, sweetly scented and are in their full glory from December through to March. It likes full or partial shade and is a slow growing evergreen shrub. This looks great as a specimen plant as well as planted in a mixed border or even a container. Plant it by a pathway or a door you’ll get the full benefit of that vanilla scent which really brightens up a wintery day!

Chaenomeles x superba ‘Crimson and Gold' the ornamental quince, it bears bright crimson-red flowers with gold anthers on bare stems from March until May and is a welcome injection of colour at this time of year. It is a compact shrub that grows to about 1m in height and 2m in width making it great for a small garden where space is limited, it can be trained espaliered against a wall, it prefers full sun or part shade and is happy on a north facing wall.

Hamamelis, the Witch Hazel family are incredible at this time of year and we particularly like Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Diane’ because it is a little different to the usual yellow witch hazels. It flowers well before the Camellias and Rhododendrons welcoming the start of the gardening year and the deep dusty orange petals can be seen unfurling in January giving an injection of colour but also of scent too! Its leaves turn yellows and reds in the autumn. It prefers full sun and part shade, well drained soils and will cope with minimal pruning but without can grow quite large so is ideal for the back of borders.

Viburnum x bodnantense 'Dawn' flowers for a long time especially in milder winters, it can start in late autumn with the last of the flowers being seen late March. Flowers are scented and pink, the dense clusters can be seen on bare branches making them really stand out on a winter's day but they will look even better with a darker background such as a hedge to show them off. If it gets hit by frost it will produce more flowers within a few days or so, it prefers full sun but will grow in dappled shade and likes well drained soil. Plant at the back of borders as it can get quite tall and beware of the berries which can cause a mild stomach upset if eaten. This shrub will really work hard for you!