GARDENS:A "plant community" is the perfect alternative to that fussy and needy herbaceous border
AS I GROW OLDER, I find that my relationship with plants changes. When I started gardening as a child, I was delighted just to grow things, anything at all. If it had a big flower, or if I could eat it, all the better. Later, I became pickier, and a little enthralled by the idea of rarity, of having plants that were not immediately identifiable. These were often plants that were passed around from gardener to gardener in carefully cupped hands, or that were proffered with great seriousness at certain garden centres.
Like many gardeners who are also collectors, I arranged these plants in the same way that some people organise ornaments on a mantelpiece: each one a prized item, an entity in itself. Sometimes, I’d be lucky to acquire a matching mate, so there would be double the impact. Although these plants sometimes seemed out of place, and didn’t have much to do with the rest of the garden’s floral inhabitants, any uneasiness about this was cancelled out by the sheer joy of having them.
But, after killing most of these curiosities in my unsuitable growing environment (surprising how many of these treasures favoured moist, woodland conditions – not usually found in an urban garden), I realised that my garden would look better and I’d be happier if I concentrated on plants that liked what was on offer: free-draining soil, mild temperatures and plenty of light.
More recently, I’ve refined this approach a bit, and not only do I look for plants that suit the soil, climate and habitat, I also look for plants that get along with each other, and that can form sustainable communities in the garden.
This is an idea that emerged in Germany about a quarter of a century ago and that began to move into our part of Europe in the past decade. It is a relaxed and naturalistic look, in which plants mingle with each other in the same way that they do in the wild, forming an ever- evolving, living tapestry. Such a collective of vegetation is the complete opposite of the traditional herbaceous border, where roughly the same effect is sought year after year, and where a fragile status quo is maintained only by a continual digging up, dividing and replanting of the ingredients. To be sure, the herbaceous border is a glorious thing, all neatly tiered with the big lads at the back and the small ’uns to the fore, and with the flowers timed to go off at regular intervals. Yet, as the ultimate expression of our mastery over the unruly floral world, it requires an enormous amount of energy and expertise to make the plants toe the line.
The concept of a plant community is much more benign, and there is minimal interference from the gardener. Let me give you an example from the Bay Garden in Camolin, Co Wexford, where Iain MacDonald has created a beautiful, undulating patchwork of wiry perennials and grasses on the poor, rubble-permeated soil in the “barn garden”. Here, none of the plants is fed, and their upkeep consists mainly of shearing them down en masse in early spring – with a motorised hedge trimmers.
So how does one go about planting an area in this manner? Well, the simple answer is to identify the natural habitat that the space most resembles, and to plant accordingly. So, for instance, if yours is poorly drained, damp soil, then you could create a mini-marshland planting scheme, with species that enjoy these conditions. If you have room for a tree (a moisture-lover such as alder), this will form the backbone of the planting in the same way that, in nature, woody specimens congregate on the edge of a wetland.
Then, you populate the rest of the plot with congenial plants, bearing in mind their different growth habits and behaviour. Spreaders, such as the yellow marsh marigold (Caltha palustris), will slowly move around the space, with stronger growth along the leading edge, while clumpers such as the American panther lily (Lilium pardalinum) will appear in the same place each year in slowly expanding groups. Gaps will open and close within the community, as some plants die off, and others jump into their place by self-seeding or spreading.
The book Perennials and their Garden Habitats by Richard Hansen and Friedrich Stahl (Cambridge University Press) is the classic text on this kind of ecological planting. It is aimed at garden designers and serious plantspeople. For those who want something more accessible, Noël Kingsbury has written Natural Gardening in Small Spaces and The New Perennial Garden (both Frances Lincoln). We also have our own experts living in our midst, Oliver and Liat Schurmann of Mount Venus nurseries, who studied this method with Dr Hans Simon in northern Bavaria. Oliver memorably describes this method as “vaccinating the garden with plants” which then go off and do their own thing.
Perennial planting such as this works best in a larger space where there is room for groups of plants to reach their full potential, and where gaps aren’t upsetting to the eye. It is perfect for large country gardens, for public parks and roundabouts. jpowers@irishtimes.com
The Garden and Landscape Designers Association is hosting a planting workshop at the National Botanic Gardens, Dublin, on June 20th, with Noel Kingsbury and Oliver Schurmann. Workshop fee for non-GLDA members: €90. Booking essential. 01-2940092; www.glda.ie
DIARY DATES
Tomorrow, May 31st, 2-6pm:
Charity opening of Lorna McMahon’s five-acre garden in Bushypark, Galway, for Galway Mental Health Association. Plants for sale.
June 5th-7th:
Garden Show Ireland at Hillsborough Castle,
Co Down. Show gardens, nurseries, crafts,
expert roadshow, and much more. Admission: adults, £9, (about €10), children under 16 free with adults. www.gardenshowireland.com
THIS WEEK’S WORK
With tomatoes, it’s worthwhile putting in some time at this early stage to get them growing in an orderly fashion. Cordon varieties should be grown with a single stem. Pinch off all the side shoots when they appear in the angle between leaf stalk and stem. Train the stem up a cane, or wind it around a string that you have suspended from the greenhouse roof (if you are growing indoors). Water regularly.
Uneven watering can cause split skins or blossom-end rot. Use tomato feed weekly when you see the first fruits begin to form.