Open Gardens - about the plants
You'll most likely be reading this page because you visited our garden as part of the Telegraph Hill Open Gardens weekend in May 2025. It contains some information about the plant(s) that you may have taken away with you which I hope will be useful. My garden is a haven for slugs and snails and everything here survives! I've added what I hope you will find some helpful details along with links out to the Royal Horticultural Society website where you can read more from the professionals.
Campanula
This one is fantastic as ground cover and will grow in little cracks. It is great in the shade but also works in the sun. The blue flowers are great polinator magnets - you know it is in flower by the noise as well as the lovely carpet of blue. I found that once the first flush of flowers is done, you can pull them away and you'll get a second flush later on in the summer. There are lots of varieties but the closest I can get is this one. However, it seems not to be attractive to slugs and snails.
Crambe cordifolia
This greater sea kale produces large leaves and a fabulous quantity of white flowers on a tall stalk. My original plant came from an open gardens visit, and this year I've managed to get five new plants from the original parent. It seems only right that some should go to local gardens. The lower leaves can get munched by slugs and snails but not to the extent that it stops it from thriving. More info here
Crassula ovata
Very easy to care for houseplant. What more can you ask for? See what the RHS have to say about it here
Geranium
I think this one is "Ridsko" judging by the image and description on the RHS site. It is great at surpressing weeds and giving good reliable ground cover. Pretty pink flowers in early spring.
Hylotelephium (the plant formerly known as sedum)
Probably this one. Great big flowers late on in the summer which the polinators love.
Jasmine Beesianum
Great climber. Smaller red flowers in the summer. RHS info here
Jasmine (common)
Great climber. Wonderfully scented flowers in spring. More here
Jasmine (winter flowering)
This evergreen provides yellow flowers during the winter and is good for the polinators that are still around at that time of year. Tolerates hard pruning. More here
Lamium
Great for shady ground cover. This one produces lovely yellow flowers early on in spring. It will weave its way through the undergrowth and where it touches the ground, may form new roots. I find it is easy to pull up if it has strayed to where you don't want it. More information here
Mint
If you like your mint tea then this is a great plant. Because it spreads very easily, I keep mine in pots and sink them into the soil. It is easy to propagate - take some long stalks, remove the lower leaves, and then place in some water. You will soon see some roots. But don't take my word for it, read more about variteies of mint and how to take care of them here.
Pittosporum tobira
I was given two of these by a former colleague. She'd had them as standards on her balcony. Occasionally they produced small shoots and so I took heel cuttings, most of which rooted. Their flowers are gloriously scented. The RHS advice is to grow them in full sun but mine have survived in pots and with only the morning sun.
Phormium
Fantastically resilient ornamental plant that can grow quite large in the open ground. We first planted one in 1993 and it grew and multiplied into a large clump. We then dug that up, separated out all the plantlets, and put some of them back, including a couple of clumps in pots. It does well in a pot and seems to thrive however badly you treat it. In a pot, it can create a really useful screen. Individual leaves look great in flower arrangements. See what the RHS have to say here.
Raspberry "Malling Promise"
A vigorous early fruiting raspberry. I'm glad I planted mine in a raised bed as it has gone bonkers. This year I will net it once the fruits start to form so that I get more than the squirrels do! RHS advice over here
Sorbaria Sorbifolia
I was attracted to this because of its lime leaves which are tinged with pink when they emerge in spring. It also produces a lovely white flower. It is vigorous and sends out suckers with new plants along them, so I'm now keeping mine in pots so that they stay where I want them to be. Great for a pot. Seems to tollerate hard pruning. You can read more over on the RHS site here
Tradescantia Zebrina
A lovely houseplant, gifted as a birthday present a couple of years ago. Really easy to propagate - I do mine in water, simply cut off a length with a few leaves on it, remove the lower leaves, place in water and watch as the roots emerge. You can read more from the RHS experts here
Vinca minor
Ground cover. Produces little purple flowers in the spring. If it is very happy (as mine was) it will produce a carpet of glossy green leaves under which our resident toads like to overwinter! See the RHS information here
No comments:
Post a Comment