Have you sat looking at the bottom portion of your garden as it
disappears under a few inches of water in a downpour, wondering what you can do
to make the best of a bad job? You could either spend money on improving
drainage so that your roses will flourish or bite the bullet & embrace the
best qualities of boggy or saturated ground & plant those species that will
welcome the water lapping around their root bowl. I’ll talk about drainage in
another blog but these are my top plants if you want to go down the floral
root.
If you study marginal planting in nature you will see several landmark species of tree that will flourish in the wettest of soil conditions. Willows (genus - Salix) are the commonest & most atmospheric & they love waterside positions. The best of them include Salix alba var. vitellina 'Britzensis', with lovely winter bark colour & Salix babylonica 'Tortuosa' - the twisted or Dragon's Claw willow. Beware though as willows can be invasive root wise, especially if they are near to drains, & can be prone to branches cracking and falling if positioned in an exposed position. Taxodium distichum, Metasequoia glyptostroboides and Nyssa sylvatica are all noteworthy garden trees for damp spots. Acers are always a good bet in soggy conditions with my favourite being Acer japonicum ‘Vitifoilium’, an autumnal stunner…
For some real class in wet ground you should look no further than the bamboo genus Phyllostachys. This large group of bamboos are not overly invasive if you keep tabs on the new shoots in the spring & cut them back underground if they stray in the wrong direction. A word of warning is that this needs doing with unfailing regularity or they can get beyond control. I would look at root barrier protection to stop unwanted spread without shoot watching. Some species can reach up to 5m in damp sheltered ground, so you should choose carefully. Biggest of all is Phyllostachys aureosuculatus with canes up to 75mm across, definitely one for the bigger garden bamboos. Golden canes are provided by Phyllostachys bambusoides 'Castillonis' or P. vivax aureocallis both of which will grow to 3m+ & will lighten a damp shady corner. The classic black bamboo p. nigra comes on several forms with two of the best being P. nigra f. punctata or the cultivar 'Boryana. Other tall bamboos to look for include (deep breath...) Semiarundinaria fastuosa, Himalayacalamus falconeri & Pseudosasa japonica (those Linnaean scholars do like to give bamboos tongue twisters for names...). A favourite of mine is the Chilean bamboo Chusquea culeou, which forms dense clumps and has fantastic canes. Smaller bamboos that will thrive in these conditions & are worthy of attention are the golden variegated Pleioblastus auricomis & Shibataea kumasasa, which has attractive zebra striped shoots in summer.
On the smaller shrub scene, the dogwoods will grow well, & provide stunning winter colour across a whole portion of the spectrum from yellow to almost purple. The genus is Cornus & the following cultivars will be good value for money. 'Flaviramea' is bright green, 'Siberica' is red, 'Midwinter Fire', orange / yellow, & 'Kessselringii' dark red / purple. Specimens should be stooled (cut to 150mm) in spring to promote better winter colour.
Ferns are a blessing for the damp shady spaces in the garden. The Victorians built special Ferneries that were designed exclusively for this most textural family of plants. Osmunda regalis (the Royal Fern) is by far & away the best fern here & can grow to 1.5m in the optimum conditions. Matteuccia struthiopteris is also known as the Shuttlecock Fern & when planted in a swathe provides a fabulous array of fronds that enhances any planting. The copper shield fern (Dryopteris erythrosora) has fantastic bronze shoots in the early summer whilst the stunningly named Polystichum setiferum ‘Pulcherrimum Bevis’ has equally stunning fronds in the shadiest of spaces.
Big leaves are the staple of the bog garden. Massive & not for the faint hearted is Gunnera manicata. Growing to 3m high with leaves that can grow to 2.5m across you can see that it would swamp the smaller garden but in the more stately acre it is an impressive beast. Darmera peltata has leaves to 500mm across & stunning autumn colour so is worthwhile in a restricted area, unlike Petatsites japonicus which looks similar but is much more invasive, flowers before leafing in the spring & with no autumn highlight. Rheum or ornamental rhubarb is also worth a look.
For flower in boggy conditions your choice is wide & varied & I would recommend the following genus highly:
Primula or primrose has the candelabra flowered bulleyana species producing orange / yellow flowers that are striking in a mass planting, with the Star Trek looking Primula viallii adding the weird & wonderful.
Inulas range from the manageable Inula hookeri to the bigger & more impressive Inula magnifica, but they are all in my top draw.
Irises really take the prize & you can pretty much take your pick from the daintily flowered Iris siberica, the bold flag waving border Irises like 'Kent Pride' through to the magical Iris ensata species.
Astilbes are hand in hand with Irises at the top of the list, Cultivars like 'Granat' & 'Fanal' are tall & red whilst 'Bronze Baby is smaller. Irrlicht' is white & can provide a real focal point.
Finally the Day Lily or Hemerocallis has literally hundreds of cultivars that will all love the damp ground. Take your pick, but I'll name a few for your perusal, 'Red Rum', 'Night Porter', 'Gentle Shepherd', 'Prairie Sunset' & 'Black Magic'.
Sometimes it feels like you need a small miracle to give your garden a facelift during the winter, but it is the same process you would use for summer borders which will give you a winter garden to be proud of. Careful thought and judicious planning are the key. We can all bung in a clump of snowdrops or crocus, it doesn't take much imagination to do that, but the same principles apply during the winter as at any other time. Careful use of colour and structure and a quick thought about succession will give you a thread of glorious colours right through to spring.
Quality early flower starts in January with the spidery flowers of Witchhazel (Hamemelis x intermedia). This small woodland tree has flowers from bright yellow (for the species H. mollis, which is also heavily scented) through a warm orange ('Jelena') to a deep red ('Diane'). At a bleak time of the year the sparkling colour of these flowers give a gentle reminder of the sumptuous colour to come in the summer.
Bark or stem colour is always a fantastic standby for striking colour throughout the winter months. Best of all (and most reliable if they are managed properly are the Cornus family (commonly known as dogwoods, particularly alba or sanguinea) or the Salix (willows to most of you). If coppiced or stooled (cut to within 10cm of ground level) in early April and well fed, the growth throughout the year achieves intense colours. Red is best in Cornus alba 'Siberica', orange/yellow in Cornus sanguinea 'Midwinter Fire' or Salix alba var. Britzensis, lime green in Cornus sanguinea 'Flaviramea', and dark red/purple in Cornus alba 'Kesselringii'. This process shortens the overall life of these plants, but as Salix can all be regrown from 'whips' (what you cut off in April) or by layering Cornus, then you can regenerate as they die off. You still would not normally worry about this for 15 to 20 years.
We are at the beginning of the best time of year for Hellebores. These underestimated plants have gained a fashionable following in recent years with all manner of crosses, sports, and new varieties flowing into good plant centres. Helleborus x hybridus has frilled, and double flowered varieties being introduced all the time, and they are well worth keeping an eye on. They are good reliable flowerers with the best displays achieved by having all their leaves removed as the buds start to peep through. Keep an eye out for Helleborus niger, especially the variety 'Potter's Wheel', the most excellent Christmas Rose. Others worthy of note are Helleborus argutifolius, Helleborus x sternii, Helleborus foetidus, and Helleborus viridis. If you already have a few… watch out for seedlings as they spread well by seed.
Most gardeners rely on bulbs for this season and carrying on into spring and nothing wrong with that, but it is worth digging a little deeper (so to speak) to find bulbs that have that extra something. Snowdrops (Galanthus) are always a welcome sight in late winter but watch for the varieties 'Flore Pleno', 'Atkinsii' and 'Straffen'. In the world of the Narcissus have a good look at the cyclamineus varieties, as they are always good value. Notable are 'Jack Snipe' and 'Jetfire'. Also worth a punt are Narcissus jonquilla as it has beautiful scent and Narcissus bulbacodium for naturalising in flower meadows. With bulbs it is always worth checking the on line companies that can be found and noting you do get what you pay for. The fill-a-bag displays in garden centres are not usually worth chancing as they can be overstocked with the cheaper, less impressive varieties. I find Gee-Tee bulbs a good supplier. You can find them at https://www.gee-tee.co.uk/
One impressive winter shrub that hides its' light under a bushel during the summer is Garrya elliptica 'James Roof'. The graceful 'catkins' seen in January against the dark, shiny foliage are always a delight and a marked lesson from the school of 'what you see isn't always what you get' school of plant buying. Those of you who only buy plants in the summer generally miss this hidden gem that will reliably perform in freezing north facing microclimates and in poor soils.
A commonly seen shrub, which some people refer to as 'winter lilac', is Viburnum tinus. Evergreen, flowering for most of the year, attractive (though inedible) fruits, this does it all. Not a fashionable plant but when has that ever stopped something being worthwhile. Either as a specimen shrub or even as a hedge this is not a plant to overlook.
Daphnes are definitely a 'must have' as far as winter is concerned, for scent, Daphne odora, or for flower Daphne bholua 'Ghurka'. Other Daphnes have good qualities but these are the pick for me.
One more shrub before I leave you, Viburnum farreri, pink January flowers with a classic umbrella shape. Not for the small garden but a great stalwart in the large mixed border.
As ever, look around and see what other people have in their gardens that look good, you could call it copying but I prefer to call it inspiration.
