Jim is dreaming of jam tomorrow as he harvests plums and blueberries, while Brian assesses the success, or otherwise, of the ruby-themed annuals that he planted in between his box-hedging trial. Meanwhile, Carole mentions the C word as it’s already time to force bulbs for a Christmas display, Chris creates a new white garden at Beechgrove, and we learn how white plants in a garden can change perspectives and enhance moods.
The Beechgrove Garden episode 17 2018
The White Border
Chris followed on from the colour theme in last week’s programme and planted up a white border in the Secret Garden at Beechgrove. This space the Anaphalis was already adding a lot of light because of its white blooms. In his new white border, the structural shrubs were placed at the back with Philadelphus first, and fully hardy. In contrast a slightly less hardy addition was Eucryphia nestled in a really sheltered spot.
The second batch of plants for the back of the border were the taller more clump forming herbaceous perennials like Veronicastrum to create sculpture in the garden. Foliage plants can contribute to a white garden too by adding textural contrast that they bring. Seasonal variation continued the theme as well as size of bloom and plant arrangement to maximise the effect. Adding white brings spaciousness, calm and relaxation to a garden space, Chris added that white in the garden can also be mesmeric in the moonlight.
Annuals and replacement box hedging
Brian was looking at the summer annuals and box hedging alternatives. Back in May he planted up this border with a selection of some hardy and half-hardy annuals grown from seed. These are exciting to look at, as well as filling gaps in your garden.
Propagation Salvias and Pelargoniums
Jim and Carole continued with the theme of propagation in the conservatory. Jim had some salvia cuttings which he had taken 3 weeks ago. They have rooted well and are ready for potting on. He took them carefully out of the 50/50 peat sand mix which is an inert medium (no fertiliser). He potted them up into multi-purpose compost which has some fertiliser in it. That will give us 1 or 2 plants to see us through the winter. Carole showed some Tradescantia cuttings which had easily rooted in a jar of water in the last 7 days. She potted them up in a similar way to Jim’s salvia cuttings.
