Perennials

Hi everyone. Hope all is well and everyone is safe in the times we are still living in.

I hope this is the right part of the forum to post this, its one of those could go anywhere kind of queries.

I have two allotments which I am in the process of clearing, and I am saving one half of one for just flowers. It's a tribute to my grandad who I used to 'help' in the garden when I was small, hopefully will help to bring in pollinators too and be quite nice and calming to sit and be near etc. I've been inspired by walking around RHS Wisley, the borders there are amazing, so I have an idea of what I want to do but I am lacking in the knowledge of what plants to actually choose for it.

I am going to have one large circular raised (log roll height) bed, split into quarters by stepping stones for weeding purposes, it will be about 15ft in diameter, with a high point for a clematis/another climber on an obelisk, or something else that is tall in the centre. Unsure about a rose as we have a lot of blackspot locally. I want to gradually reduce in height from the centre as I move to the outside. I would like it to be full of plants or shrubs that return year on year, I don't want to be replanting the whole thing every spring. I don't have the room for a lot of winter storage of tender plants, but I would also like something to be on show throughout as much of the year as poss, to cover most of the seasons. I have really heavy clay soil, which I am going to be improving this autumn as much as I can, the site is in full sun all day, and it is fairly exposed to the wind (hence thinking the tallest stuff may be sheltered if closer to the centre). I also have a lot of issues with Roe Deer, so I am going to need to figure out how to stop them eating everything, maybe a fence until things are established, unless there are plants they dont like? ha ha!

Can anyone here offer up advice on plants that would suit my situation and requirements and be happy in that soil/sunlight? I am going to try to grow some from seed so keep initial costs down.

Many thanks in advance.

 

@Pixel1982
Hi. Roe deer will probably eat anything, Sea Buckthorn they might avoid, most things do, it looks nice but is spikey. So I think some form of permanent fencing.
Where abouts are you in the country?
There are a lot of perennials to choose from many of which can be grown from seed. Lupins and Delphiniums, slugs can be an issue, Hollyhocks, Rudbeckia, Helenium, are fairly tall. Lower growing/ground cover pansies and violas, Ajuga reptans, Ophiopogon Planiscarpus 'Nigrescens',
Dianthus, wallflowers, sweet williams, snapdragons.
I would get Chiltern Seeds catalogue and sit down at a computer for a weekend and read and Google and pick what I like. Note other catalogues and search engines are available.
I'm sure others will be along with their suggestions soon.

 

Hi nigel. Thanks for the response. Yeah I should have added the location. I'm in Buckinghamshire, so south/south east. I know the Roe Deer are going to be a long term menace for sure. Funny you mention chiltern seeds, they aren't based all that far away. Used to work locally to them.

 

They started in the Chilterns moved to the Lake District and then moved back to the Chilterns a few years ago.
New catalogue comes out around Christmas and is mainly text hence need for search engine.

 

Tulips, lilies, hyacinths and other plant bulbs probably wont get eaten since the taste really bitter. No idea how they will fare in loamy soils though. But since they are easily obtainable and pretty cheap you can always try.

Otherwise maybe go with raspberries or brambles. But make sure to build a proper root barrier for the former. They are tasty and depending on how thorny the plant is, the deer will probably think twice before eating them. You still have to prune them at least once per year.

 

Hello Pixel1982, sounds like a great project! Bear in mind that Clematis like lots of water. A rose would give you as much flower-power without sulking during a drought, especially on heavy soil. Trachelospermum is a lovely evergreen 'jasmine' that would provide greenery through the winter. See my tip in the 'Human Hair' thread about deer deterrents. Sounds weird, but they really work, and aren't as ugly as they sound I'll try to get a photo for you tomorrow.
Just a few ideas for perennials....Penstemons, Echinacea, Agapanthus, Salvias? Then some low-growing evergreen shrubs like Nandina domestica, Cistus, Lavender and the smaller Hebes. Must admit that it would take a while to raise most of that from seed, even where possible, but perhaps you have plant swaps or local gardeners willing to donate cuttings?

 

15ft is a good amount of space and you could get a lot of interesting pollinator-friendly plants in there! Taller plants that would favour your soil are Eupatorium cannabinum, Veronicastrum virginicum and for some really impressive height Alcea rosea! I'm doing something similar aimed at attracting butterflies and you'll find that you have many more options as you get to the edges with the shorter plants of course, which can be a tad overwhelming but great fun! Will need some soil amendment, but Erysimum 'Bowle's Mauve' may be a good option despite its ubiquity, flowers for most of the year and still looks good when recently deadheaded. I'm going with hebes for evergreen foliage and Summer flowers, they are slow-growing but quite easy to care for in my brief experience. Intermediate options for height with little soil amendment would be some Achillea millefolium cultivars, Aster 'Professor Anton Kippenberg' and a few other asters which are more tolerant of heavier soils for some late flowers. I know these are not mostly plants that can be grown quickly from seed but they may possibly be an affordable option if purchased as 9cm pot plants. Another one which will need quite a bit of soil amendment but is cheap if you want several (as easy to divide and forms sizeable clumps rapidly) is Sedum spectabile.

You mentioned Wisley, if you have photos or footage of the plants that appealed to you perhaps we could identify them for you. Post individually in the Plant ID section.

PS Totally agree with Nigel on a fence, it can be utterly crushing to have many of your plants destroyed and the pain will be magnified for you due to growing most from seed.

Hope this helps,

Nick

 

Thanks for all of the advice guys. That's all amazing. I've made a list of everything mentioned so will get researching over the weekend and go from there. I've got an absolute tonne of digging and soil amendment to do first but I like to plan in advance when it comes to my allotment to stop me going around in circles in my head.

Thanks again. Will hopefully do a post in the project part of the forum when I get further into it.

 

Please do, I love garden progress updates, especially when it's a pollinator-friendly garden!

Nick