What does it take to be an adventurous gardener? Now we have moved into the long warm days of high-summer my cottage borders are a riot of vibrant colour. Am I an adventurous gardener? I’m certainly breaking some accepted garden rules ! I can  think of one person who might have approved but also of another who might not !

Christopher Lloyd

I hope Christopher would have approved of my glorious jumble of mixed colours. The mix will get even better when the Asters, Dahlias, Gazanias and Rudbeckias are into their stride.

In his book ‘Colour for the Adventurous Gardener‘ (Published by the BBC)  Christopher was his usual unconventional and outspoken self;

‘He advocates knowing the rules of combining colours, so that you can break them! ‘Every colour in the garden has its place’ he claimed. He discusses the tenets of good taste and encourages gardeners to break away from them. ‘The limitations imposed by rules are a safe haven, but the adventurous gardener will want to try something different’ he says….If a colour is ‘polite’ he certainly knows how to liven it up without being vulgar.’

–  From the book’s  review

Gertrude Jekyll,

Gertrude was another who was certainly an adventurous gardener when she broke away from the accepted formal style of her time a century ago. However, she was a renowned advocate of carefully themed designs for colour in the borders. She wrote:

‘The practice of good colour arrangement in the garden is full of delightful potential.. It cannot fail to be a source of abiding interest and unfailing inspiration.’

‘A Gardener’s Testament’  p 168

She might not have approved of my more spontaneous free style forced upon those like me with small modern gardens. We don’t have the space or money that she had to employ staff to implement her carefully prepared designs, beautiful though they were, and still are, in larger gardens and estates.

But Gertrude might have liked this. I call it my ‘Beth Chatto’ combination – Stipa, Eryngium and Anthemis  E.C.Buxton  (One of Beth’s top 10 plants). She uses this group very successfully in her famous dry gravel garden in Essex.

These Godetias are stealing the show in my annual border. Seed- grown annuals are much overlooked these days. They used to be one of the mainstays of the old cottage gardens. They are due for a come-back.

Glorious Stipa gigantea (‘Golden Oats’), everyone’s favourite, is a must for any garden. A number of friends have bought one of these for themselves after seeing ours.

However, I hope even Gertrude Jekyll might have given the thumbs-up to this quiet, cool combination in my semi-shaded rear patio. The outstanding and totally reliable  Hydrangea ‘Annabelle’ always has a ‘presence’ and attracts attention. In the evening this group glows in the fading light.

A delightful display, mainly of bedding annuals grown from seed, by our front door. It cheers every visitor. Even the delivery men comment.

Who could  resist allowing such a stately ‘weed’, as this teasel, to establish itself here in the path brickwork. It seems to pair well with the tall yellow fennel beyond. Yes, weeds have a place in every garden. But even this one will have to go sometime soon when its moment of glory is over.

Wishing you happy and adventurous gardening.