Succession Planting Advice

Hi all,

I have recently cleared out an area at the front of the house which means I get a lovely new planting area of about 12' by 5'. The problem is deciding what to put in it (a nice problem I know, but a problem none the less)! :rolleyes:

What I want to do is create an area that uses succession planning, and ideally using bulbs and some perennials so that it never looks bare. I have been reading up a bit on succession planning with bulbs, but I wondered if anyone had any suggestions of planting schemes they have used which have provided year round interest? :confused:

I am happy to use all sizes and types of bulb/plant, provided they provide something colourful and full to look at!

Any ideas welcome!

Cheers,

Dave

 

Dave - you are looking for the same holy grail that we are all looking for! It could be a lifetime's work! Have you read Christopher Lloyd's book on successional planting. Mind you its not easy extracting his secrets.

He uses crocus and small tulips but not daffodils - their leaves take too long to die down. He also uses plenty of Alliums - A. christophii is probably the best, it has large heads and after they have gone to seed, the seed heads last longer than other Alliums. They do look better en masse rather than singly.

However most bulbs don't last long. My approach is rather different, I try to go for long flowering perennials. I keep records of how long all my plants flower for this purpose. For instance Centranthus ruber started to flower on April 9 this year, Astrantia May 7, Geranium 'Patricia' Salvia microphylla and Verbena 'Homestead purple' May 28, and Geranium 'Mrs Kendal Clark' June 4. They are all still flowering today - though not necessarily at their best.

I have all this data on a spreadsheet and would be happy to send you or anyone else a copy. You can e-mail me direct.

 

Hi Peter - I have the book on order at the library but it has not come in yet. Sorry if it sounded like I wanted an instant solution - I already have plenty of ideas of what to do, just wondered if anyone had any recommendations or previous success!

That spreadsheet sounds v interesting, I certainly wouldn't say no to a gander at it! I will PM you my email address!

 

Hi Dave. Have just sent you an e-mail. I didn't mean to sound reproachful! Its just that you have put your finger on the ultimate gardening question - and I am still looking for the answer! I find Christopher Lloyd an inspiration. His book is like the complete guide to brain surgery. But after reading it, you realise that it still could take a little while longer to perfect!

As well as his amazing knowledge of plants, a major part of his approach was to replant parts of the garden up to 3 or even 4 times a year. He admits that this is not practical for most people, but as the public were paying to see his garden over a long season it was right for him to do it.

He grew a lot of plants as biennials, such as Lupins, for early colour, then would replace them with later flowering tender perennials such as Dahlias. As you can't move Lupins, and they look dreadful after flowering, he used to chuck them out and raise more new ones for the next year,

I have tried that for the first time this year, growing a load of plants in pots specifically for use next year rather than this. But, like you, I have also just cleared my front garden 25' by 25' and am now short of plants. So goodbye experiment - for next year anyway!

 

Indeed - it is the ultimate question isn't it? (well, apart from my current "what went wrong with my tomatoes this year?" but never mind that.. !)

I have some ideas for bulbs for the year which I want to try - the usual crocus, snowdrops etc in the cold months, then daffs, tulips, hyacinths etc in spring, followed by crocosmia, alliums and lilys in the summer. AND I have my eye on some kaffir lilys in my local nursery to add some autumn interest as well! Phew!

 

Oh well, i guess the fun of gardening is the process as well as just the final effect. So i guess i am destined to be learning for about another 40 years. :D

 

Haha - and more, Newbie! My Great Uncle, whose garden it was before mine, was 96 when he died, and was still learning! At least, he used to teach me all the time!