Every Drop Counts
The hose pipe ban is here! The prolonged heatwave has put the borders - and me for that matter - under a great deal of stress. I’ve been dreading it. But, actually, now that it’s here, it’s proving to be a very useful exercise.
Whilst wielding the watering can, I’m having to get up close and personal with the borders, and what I’m learning is going to stand me in good stead for next year’s planting schemes.
When water is rationed, it quickly separates the men from the boys! So far, it is no surprise that shrubby salvias are thriving in the hot, dry conditions. But the large-leaved varieties are struggling in full sun. Since I cannot do without my semi-hardy salvia confertiflora and salvia involucrata, I shall plant them in a more sheltered, partially shaded position.
This summer I bowed to peer pressure and planted cosmos for the first time. Green fingered fundraiser, Chris, raises dozens of them from seed to sell for our local hospice charity, and all my Hampstead Garden Suburb customers swear by them for their flower power. From July right through until the first frosts, providing you deadhead them regularly, they become stalwarts of the late summer border. Not so for me, it seems. Most shrivelled and died, with one exception, planted in the prairie border, which refuses to flower at all. I feel somewhat vindicated though, as my friend Rose has also had poor results with them this summer. As neither of us lives in the Suburb I can only surmise that they don’t travel well!
So, what’s doing well and what’s not? Crocosmia, gaura, sanguisorba, ornamental grasses, kniphofias, good old erysimum Bowles Mauve, Mediterranean herbs, stachys, all good. Anything chartreuse yellow. And roses. Climbing roses Etoile de Hollande and Summer Wine are into their third flush.
Pittosporum, berberis, euphorbias, all growing like Topsy, but I’m glad of it, as they are a good foil for the vivid planting scheme.
My beloved tree lilies put on a brave face, but their blooms were smaller than usual, and the colour slightly faded. Erstwhile stalwarts of the hot border, persicaria amplexicaulis, are suffering from leaf scorch, their long, slender, flower spikes shrivelling in the direct sunlight. But the arrow leaved varieties, like Purple Fantasy, are completely unfazed.
That’s all very well, but the next hurdle is seeing if they can withstand a cold, wet winter. Gaura has never been a Keeper so far. But regular mulching and the addition of grit to all planting holes has improved our clay soil’s drainage. It’s a learning curve. And of course, next year is always going to be better.
Love, Caroline
Cover photo: My sunny border.
