Flower. Photo from Chris Garnons-Williams. |
||
Plant Name |
Persicaria amplexicaulis 'Alba' (Bistorta amplexicaulis ‘Alba’, Persicaria is derived from the Latin persicarus ’peach tree’ in reference to the likeness to the leaves of a peach tree. Amplexicaulis is derived from the Latin amplecti meaning ‘surround, encircle or embrace’ in reference to the way the leaves clasp the stem. |
|
Common Name |
Mountain Fleece, White-flowered red bistort. |
|
Soil |
Chalk, Sand, Loam or Clay. This plant likes pond areas and would be suitable for growth in a boggy habitat. |
|
Sun Aspect |
Full Sun to Part Shade |
|
Soil Moisture |
Moist to Wet (Do not allow soil to dry out) |
|
Plant Type |
Semi-Evergreen Herbaceous Perennial |
|
Height x Spread in inches (cms) |
48 x 40 (120 x 100) |
|
Foliage |
Dark Green |
|
Flower Shape, Natural Arrangement, Number of Petals and Flower Colour in Month(s). Seed |
Narrow Spikes of bell-shaped White flowers in July-September |
|
Comment |
Erect Form. Pruning Group 14. "Persicaria amplexicaulis ‘Alba’ is a semi-evergreen herbaceous perennial with a clump forming habit. Its foliage is dark green in colour, 3-4 inches long and forms a thick mound-like habit. The leaves of this plant clasp the stems which are quite long, upright and bronzy in colour. The flowers are white in colour and are quite slender in appearance. They are borne on the dark stems and appear in the from of long thin spikes of tiny clustered, fluffy round flowers in profusion. The species Persicaria amplexicaulis, commonly known as Mountain Fleece, is native to the Himalayas. This plant likes pond areas and would be suitable for growth in a boggy habitat. This plant will spread steadily but is not invasive. The landscape architect may find Persicaria amplexicaulis ‘Alba’ useful as an effective ground cover plant. It is also suitable for planting in damp areas, near lakes or ponds. Ecologically, Persicaria amplexicaulis ‘Alba’ is attractive to bees and other insects. Persicaria amplexicaulis ‘Alba’ prefers soils which are moist. It can tolerate heavy clay soils. It will tolerate all soil pH levels. The Royal Horticultural Society has given their prestigious Award of Garden to the ‘Firetail’ variety of this plant in 1993. Persicaria amplexicaulis ‘Alba’ requires little maintenance. Large clumps may be divided in spring or autumn." from A Blog of Current Issues, Projects & Plants by Davis Landscape Architecture. "Propagate by division. Dig up and replant healthy sections every 2 or 3 years to keep in check and avoid the centres of clumps dying out. Read more about propagation of these plants in our Garden Diary for October 2009 and also November 2009." from Special Perennials. Available from Shoot , Special Perennials , The Beth Chatto Gardens and Claire Austin in the UK. |
|
Companions |
"Rudbeckia fulgida var sullivantii 'Goldsturm' (Black-eyed Susan)" from Shoot. "Lovely behind long flowering blue Aster thompsonii ‘Nanus’ " , which prefers a well-drained soil, from The Beth Chatto Gardens. |
|
Flower Spike. Photo from Chris Garnons-Williams on 29 August 2013. |
||
Winter Form in middle from Mixed Borders at RHS Wisley. Photo from Chris Garnons-Williams on 4 March 2013. |
||
Birch branch Plant Support Structure in the middle from Mixed Borders at RHS Wisley. Photo from Chris Garnons-Williams on 11 April 2013. |
||
Spring Form from Mixed Borders at RHS Wisley. Photo from Chris Garnons-Williams on 25 April 2013. |
||
Spring Form in front from Mixed Borders at RHS Wisley. Photo from Chris Garnons-Williams on 13 May 2013. |
||
Summer Form from Mixed Borders at RHS Wisley. Photo from Chris Garnons-Williams on 29 August 2013. |
||
Autumn Form from Mixed Borders at RHS Wisley. Photo from Chris Garnons-Williams on 29 August 2013. |
||
Winter Foliage from Mixed Borders at RHS Wisley. |
Spring Foliage from Mixed Borders at RHS Wisley. Photo from Chris Garnons-Williams on 25 April 2013. |
|
|
||
Spring Foliage from Mixed Borders at RHS Wisley. |
|
|
Flower Spikes from Mixed Borders at RHS Wisley. |
Flower Buds from Mixed Borders at RHS Wisley. |
|
|
||
|
MIXED BORDER RHS WISLEY HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS GALLERY PAGES |
FOLIAGE COLOUR |
SEED/FRUIT COLOUR FLOWER BED PICTURES |
Starting with the data in Garden Style followed by Infill Plants, then you can refine your plant list from the remaining galleries in this cell:- |
||||||
PERENNIAL |
|||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
HERBACEOUS PERENNIAL Gallery with 7 Flower Colours (Red, Pink and Purple on same page) per Month in Colour Wheel. Click on Black or White box in Colour of Month. |
HERBACEOUS PERENNIAL INDEX -
The variety of plants that can be used in alpine gardening is obviously very large and very bewildering at first approach. With a view to easing the task of selection here are lists The standard potting and seed-soil recipes from The Propagation of Alpines by Lawrence D. Hills are at the bottom of the page on Alpine - Sink and Trough Gardens. |
||||||||
To compare |
|||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
with 7 Flower Colours - Blue, White, Yellow, Green for Unusual, Red, Orange and Pink per Month in Colour Wheel below. Click on Black or White box in Colour of Month. |
|||||||||
The Herbaceous Perennials in this gallery are not compared with other Herbaceous Perennials in the HERBACEOUS PERENNIAL GALLERY, but they are compared with each other in the Mixed Border Garden Design Gallery using the above 7 Flower Colours per month Wheel. FLOWER COLOUR RANGE IN 71 PARTS OF RHS WISLEY MIXED BORDER DURING After reviewing the situation in the |
|||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|||||||||
|
Blue = |
Green = |
Red = |
|
|||||
|
|||||||||
|
|
Brown = |
Blue = |
Green = |
Red = |
Black = |
|||
|
|||||||||
|
Wet Soil |
Moist Soil |
Dry Soil |
||||||
Flowering Months range abbreviates month Click on centre of thumbnail to move from this page to the The Comments Row of that Plant Description |
|||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|||||||
Herbaceous Perennial |
Flowering Months |
Height x Width in inches (cms) - 1 inch = 2.5 cms, 12 inches = 1 foot = 30 cms, 36 inches = 3 feet = 1 yard = 90 cms, 40 inches = 100 cms |
Flower Thumb-nail |
Herbaceous Perennial Flower Thumbnail |
Flowering Months |
Height x Width in inches (cms) - 1 inch = 2.5 cms, 12 inches = 1 foot = 30 cms, 36 inches = 3 feet = 1 yard = 90 cms, 40 inches = 100 cms |
Flower Thumb-nail |
||
Alpine Herbaceous Perennial if Text Background is Blue |
Alpine Herbaceous Perennial if Text Background is Blue |
||||||||
Evergreen or Semi-Evergreen Perennial |
|||||||||
A |
A |
||||||||
May, June, |
48-60 x 24 |
96 x 40 |
|||||||
June, July, August, |
36 x 24 |
48 x 24 |
|||||||
June, July, |
48 x 18 |
40-60 x 20-40 (100-150 x 50-100) |
|
||||||
June, July, |
36 x 18 |
June, July, |
60 x 40 |
Creamy-White. |
|||||
June, July, |
48 x 24 |
32-39 x 24 (80-100 x 60) |
|||||||
May, June, |
36 x 24 |
July, August, September |
64 x 16 |
Violet-Blue. |
|||||
June, July, |
20 x 15 |
August, September |
96 x 40 |
Dark Blue. |
|||||
June, July, August, |
28 x 18 |
July, August |
40-60 x 4-20 (100-150 x 10-50) |
Violet-Blue. |
|||||
June, July, August, |
36 x 16 |
24-48 x 18-24 |
|||||||
June, July, August, |
36-42 x 12 |
48 x 36 |
|||||||
June, July, |
16-48 x 12 |
70 x 40 |
|||||||
July, August, |
42 x 36 |
August, September, October |
80 x 24 |
Creamy-White. |
|||||
July, August |
40 x 80 |
60 x 24 |
|||||||
December, January, |
18 x 30 |
40 x 20 |
|||||||
July, August, |
30 x 18 |
60 x 24 |
|||||||
June, July |
20 x 18 |
18 x 12 |
|||||||
July, August, |
24 x 24 |
July, August |
36 x 20 |
White. |
|||||
July, August, |
30 x 24 |
32 x 24 |
|||||||
June, July |
72-96 x 24 |
36 x 16 |
|||||||
June, July |
72-96 x 24 |
40 x 16 |
|||||||
June, July |
72-96 x 24 |
July, August, September, October |
48 x 24 |
White. |
|||||
June, July |
72-96 x 24 |
24 x 16 |
|||||||
June, July |
72-96 x 24 |
20-40 x 4-20 |
|||||||
June, July |
72 x 24 |
28 x 24 |
|||||||
June, July, |
4 x 20 |
July, August, September |
72 x 60 |
Pinkish-Lavender |
|||||
June, July, |
16 x 12 |
60-100 x 40-60 |
|||||||
July |
24 x 230 |
20-40 x 20-40 |
|||||||
June, July, |
36 x 24 |
August, September, October |
24-40 x 24-40 |
Pale Pink. |
|||||
August, September, |
36 x 24 |
40-60 x 20-40 |
|||||||
Pink - July, August or |
24 x 16 |
60 x 24 |
|||||||
July, August |
36 x 18 |
July, August, September |
60 x 24 |
Cream. |
|||||
July, August |
25 x 16 |
August, September |
24 x 24 |
Yellowish-Brown. |
|||||
May, June |
16 x 18 |
July, August, September |
60 x 18-24 |
Pink. |
|||||
May, June |
30 x 12 |
September, October |
12-36 x 12-36 |
White. |
|||||
June, July, August, September, October |
36 x 12 |
July, August, September, October |
4-20 x 4-20 |
Red and White. |
|||||
July, August, |
28 x 16 |
September, October |
52 x 24 |
Mauve-Pink. |
|||||
August, September, |
12 x 12 |
September, October |
60 x 16-24 |
Lilac-Blue. |
|||||
July |
30 x 18 |
August, September |
12-18 x 8-12 |
Purple-Pink. |
|||||
August, September |
8-12 x 10 |
45 x 78 |
|||||||
June |
20-24 x 12 |
September, October |
48 x 36 |
Purple-Red. |
|||||
July |
24 x 18 |
August, September, October, November |
48-60 x 24 |
Pale Violet. |
|||||
July, August |
39 x 24 |
24 x 16 |
|||||||
August, September |
48 x 24 |
B |
|||||||
June, July |
18-24 x 18 (45-60 x 45) |
40-60 x 20-40 |
|||||||
July, August |
24 x 18 |
C |
|||||||
July, August |
8-18 x 12 |
60 x 24 |
|||||||
June, July |
24 x 18 |
48 x 20 |
|||||||
B |
24-36 x 18-30 |
||||||||
April, May |
12-18 x 24 |
24 x 12 |
|||||||
April, May |
12-18 x 18 (30-45 x 45) |
June, July |
60-100 x 40-60 |
White. |
|||||
June, July, August, |
24 x 18 |
20-40 x 4-20 |
|||||||
C |
24 x 24 |
||||||||
April |
9 x 12 |
August, September, October |
35 x 23 |
Opening Orange fades to Pink. |
|||||
June, July, |
2 x 12 |
36 x 18 |
|||||||
June, July, |
36-48 x 24 |
June, July, August, September |
60 x 48 |
Purple. |
|||||
June, July, |
24 x 24 |
D |
|||||||
July, August, September, |
36 x 24 |
May, June, July, August |
80 x 40 |
Creamy-Yellow-Green. |
|||||
D |
E |
||||||||
July, August, September |
60 x 18 |
18-24 x 14 |
|||||||
Links to the other 22 Diascia Pages are in Alpine / Herbaceous Perennial Index D Page |
June, July, August, |
6 x 20 |
40 x 18 |
||||||
May, June |
18 x 30 |
28 x 16 |
|||||||
May, June |
24-36 x 20 |
39 x 39 |
|||||||
E |
July, August |
18-48 x 24 |
Bright Blue. |
||||||
July, August, September |
30-48 x 18 (75-120 x 45) |
40-60 x 20-40 |
|||||||
F |
12-60 x 24 |
||||||||
June |
6 x 6 |
White |
88 x 40 |
||||||
G |
Eupatorium maculatum (Atropur-pureum Group) 'Riesen-schirm' |
July, August, September |
80 x 80 |
Pink-Purple. |
|||||
August, September |
24 x 18 |
August, September, October |
60-100 x 20-40 |
Purplish-Pink. |
|||||
June, July |
32 x 18 |
24 x 20 |
|||||||
June, July |
12 x 12 |
F |
|||||||
July, August, |
4 x 12 |
60-100 x 20-40 |
|||||||
July, August |
60 x 72 |
July, August |
72 x 18 |
Sulphur-Yellow. |
|||||
H |
60 x 20 |
||||||||
September, October, |
60 x 18 |
G |
|||||||
August |
48 x 30 |
48 x 36 |
White. |
||||||
August |
20 x 36 |
Deep Violet |
48 x 32 |
||||||
July |
36 x 48 |
36 x 36 |
|||||||
K |
Geranium 'Rozanne' |
24 x 16 |
|||||||
September, October |
24 x 18 |
24 x 18 |
|||||||
July, August |
36 x 24 |
24 x 20 |
|||||||
September, October |
30 x 18 |
H |
|||||||
L |
July, August, September |
72 x 24 |
Yellow. |
||||||
May, June, |
24 x 12 |
June, July, August |
36 x 24 |
Brick Orange Red. |
|||||
April, May, |
12 x 18 |
38-51 x 16 |
|||||||
August, September, |
48 x 36 |
20-40 x 4-20 |
|||||||
June, July, |
3 x 6 |
72 x 24 |
|||||||
June, July |
12 x 12 |
20-40 x 4-20 |
|||||||
June, July, August, |
36 x 12 |
September, October |
96-120 x 12-36 |
Yellow rays and dark Brown disc. If it flowered in Sep-Oct, I missed taking their photos |
|||||
April, May, |
48 x 24 |
80 x 48 |
|||||||
May, June |
12 x 18 |
80 x 18 |
|||||||
July, August |
36 x 24 |
23 x 30 |
|||||||
M |
20 x 40 |
||||||||
May, June, |
12 x 36 |
Yellow with |
30 x 24 |
||||||
May, June, |
12 x 24 |
32 x 40 |
|||||||
P |
18 x 12 |
Cream. |
|||||||
June, July |
36 x 36 |
26 x 20 |
Pale Pink. |
||||||
May, June |
36 x 36 |
I |
|||||||
June, July |
30 x 30 |
72 x 36 |
|||||||
May, June |
16 x 16 |
72 x 60 |
|||||||
Paeonia |
|
|
23 x 18 |
||||||
May, June |
6 x 4 |
Pinkish-blue |
J, K |
||||||
May, June |
... |
Yellow, Purple, Red, Pink |
32 x 24 |
||||||
May, June |
6 x 5 |
Pink |
40 x 20 |
||||||
May, June |
6 x 3.5 |
Purple |
August, September |
120 x 48 |
Orange-red fades to yellow. |
||||
May, June |
6 x 3 |
Red |
June, July, August, September |
48 x 32 |
Lemon-Yellow. |
||||
May, June |
6 x 5 |
White |
July, August, September |
40 x 30 |
Light Scarlet fades to Yellow. |
||||
May, June |
6 x 3 |
Yellow |
June, July, August |
36 x 24 |
Orange top with Ivory-White bottom. |
||||
|
|
|
|
L |
|||||
June, July, |
12 x 6 |
August, September, October, November |
60 x 40 |
White. |
|||||
May, June, |
36 x 24 |
36 x 36 |
|||||||
May |
4-8 x 8 |
48 x 48 |
|||||||
S |
30 x 18 |
||||||||
September |
18 x 18 |
Lychnis coronaria 'Gardener's World' |
24 x 10-12 |
||||||
D |
40 x 24 |
||||||||
May |
24-48 x 48 |
60 x 20 |
|||||||
|
|
|
|
36 x 18 |
|||||
|
|
|
|
M |
|||||
|
|
|
|
100 x 60 |
|||||
|
|
|
|
June, July |
88 x 40 |
||||
|
|
|
|
June, July |
80 x 48 |
||||
|
|
|
|
June, July, August |
55 x 55 |
||||
|
|
|
|
June, July, August, September |
24 x 18 |
White. |
|||
|
|
|
|
July, August, September |
60 x 20 |
||||
|
|
|
|
June, July, August |
36 x 15 |
||||
|
|
|
|
N |
|||||
|
|
|
|
June, July, August, September |
36 x 24 |
||||
|
|
|
|
June, July, August |
48 x 36 |
Lilac-Pink. |
|||
|
|
|
|
June, July, August, September |
24 x 20 |
||||
|
|
|
|
O |
|||||
|
|
|
|
June, July, August, September |
18 x 24 |
||||
|
|
|
|
July, August, September, October |
18 x 18 |
||||
|
|
|
|
P |
|||||
|
|
|
|
July, August, September |
70 x 24 |
||||
|
|
|
|
July, August, September |
70 x 24 |
||||
|
|
|
|
June, July, August, September |
40 x 30 |
||||
|
|
|
|
July, August, September, October |
48 x 48 |
Bright Red. |
|||
|
|
|
|
July, August, September, October, November |
18 x 18 |
||||
|
|
|
|
June, July, August, September |
50 x 60 |
||||
|
|
|
|
Persicaria amplex-icaulis taurus |
July, August, September, October |
40 x 28 |
|||
|
|
|
|
July, August, September |
20 x 40 |
White. |
|||
|
|
|
|
June, July, August |
80 x 40 |
Pale Yellow. |
|||
|
|
|
|
May, June, July, August, September |
36 x 30 |
||||
|
|
|
|
July, August |
40 x 24 |
||||
|
|
|
|
July, August, September |
30 x 20 |
||||
|
|
|
|
July, August, September |
30 x 30 |
||||
|
|
|
|
July, August, September |
36 x 24 |
Lilac. |
|||
|
|
|
|
July, August, September |
18 x 14 |
||||
|
|
|
|
July, August, September |
24 x 16 |
White. |
|||
|
|
|
|
July, August, September |
40 x 20 |
||||
|
|
|
|
Dear Mr C H Garnons-Williams, Tony Dickerson Horticultural Advisor Above email sent by the RHS on 13 September 2013 - plant label in Mixed Border bed still not changed by 23 November 2013. |
|||||
|
|
|
|
July, August, September |
30 x 16 |
||||
|
|
|
|
July, August, September |
30 x 30 |
||||
|
|
|
|
July, August, September |
40 x 32 |
||||
|
|
|
|
July, August, September, October |
36 x 24 |
Red. |
|||
|
|
|
|
July, August, September |
24 x 24 |
Blue-Purple. |
|||
|
|
|
|
July, August, September |
36 x 12 |
||||
|
|
|
|
June, July, August, September |
24 x 18 |
||||
|
|
|
|
June, July, August |
16 x 12 |
||||
|
|
|
|
June, July, August |
16 x 12 |
||||
|
|
|
|
Q, R |
|||||
|
|
|
|
August, September, October |
24 x 18 |
||||
|
|
|
|
June, July, August, September |
80 x 36 |
Yellow. |
|||
|
|
|
|
S |
|||||
|
|
|
|
June, July, August |
30 x 24 |
||||
|
|
|
|
May, June, July, August, September |
18 x 18 |
||||
|
|
|
|
July, August, September, October |
24 x 20 |
||||
|
|
|
|
September, October |
20 x 16 |
||||
|
|
|
|
August, September |
40 x 20 |
||||
|
|
|
|
August, September, October |
12 x 12 |
||||
|
|
|
|
August, September, October, November |
18 x 18 |
||||
|
|
|
|
August, September |
18 x 18 |
||||
|
|
|
|
September, October, November |
24 x 18 |
||||
|
|
|
|
June, July, August |
32 x 24 |
||||
|
|
|
|
August, September, October |
60 x 32 |
Yellow. |
|||
|
|
|
|
June, July, August, September |
18 x 24 |
||||
|
|
|
|
June, July, August, September |
20 x 28 |
||||
|
|
|
|
August, September, October |
48 x 24 |
Violet-Blue. |
|||
|
|
|
|
June, July, August, September |
32 x 18 |
||||
|
|
|
|
T |
|||||
|
|
|
|
June, July, August |
94 x 23 |
Lavender. |
|||
|
|
|
|
June, July, August |
59 x 23 |
Purple-Pink. |
|||
|
|
|
|
June, July |
48 x 48 |
Sulphur-Yellow. |
|||
|
|
|
|
June, July, August |
72 x 36 |
Purple-Pink or Lavender. |
|||
|
|
|
|
U, V |
|||||
|
|
|
|
August, September, October |
60 x 18 |
||||
|
|
|
|
June, July, August, September, October |
24 x 16 |
Purple or Magenta. |
|||
|
|
|
|
June, July, August, September |
36 x 24 |
Pale Purple/ Lavend-erish Lilac. |
|||
|
|
|
|
June, July, August, September |
60 x 24 |
||||
|
|
|
|
July, August, September |
60 x 36 |
Pink Lavender/ Lilac. |
|||
|
|
|
|
July, August |
40 x 20 |
||||
|
|
|
|
July, August, September |
60 x 18 |
||||
|
|
|
|
June, July |
42 x 20 |
Lilac/ Pale Blue. |
|||
|
|
|
|
July, August, September |
60 x 26 |
||||
|
|
|
|
W, XYZ |
|||||
|
|
|
|
May, June, July |
18 x 14 |
||||
Site design and content of this table copyright ©July 2009. Page structure amended December 2012. Colour Wheel clarified January 2013. Feet changed to inches (cms) July 2015. Herbaceous Perennial Menu Table changed and Index Pages added June 2017. Chris Garnons-Williams. Site design and content for Mixed Border Herbaceous Gallery copyright ©March 2013. Chris Garnons-Williams. DISCLAIMER: Links to external sites are provided as a courtesy to visitors. Ivydene Horticultural Services are not responsible for the content and/or quality of external web sites linked from this site. |
Ivydene Gardens Herbaceous Perennial Flower Shape Gallery: |
|||||||
HERBACEOUS PERENNIAL FLOWER SHAPE AND OTHER DETAILS- |
|||||||
Number of Flower Petals |
|||||||
|
|||||||
Flower Shape - Simple |
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|||||||
Flower Shape - Elabor-ated |
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|||||||
Natural Arrange-ments |
|||||||
|
|||||||
Herbaceous Perennial Name Index The respective flower colour and thumbnail, months of flowering, form, height and width, foliage colour and thumbnail, use and comments are in the relevant index page Evergreen Perennial Name Index |
|||||||
UK Peony Index :- |
|||||||
|
|||||||
Perennials & Ephemerals chapter of Plants for Dry Gardens by Jane Taylor. Published by Frances Lincoln Limited in 1993. ISBN 0-7112-0772-0 for plants that are drought tolerant. |
|||||||
Rock |
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|||||||
|
Perennials for Ground Covering in Shade and 3 |
|
|||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
Colour All The Year in My Garden by C.H. Middleton. Published by Ward, Lock & Co. for culture. Perennials The Gardener's Reference by Susan Carter, Carrie Becker and Bob Lilly. Published by Timber Press in 2007 for plants for Special Gardens. It also gives details of species and cultivars for each genus. |
|||||||
Herbaceous Perennial Form |
Prostrate or Trailing |
Cushion or Mound-forming |
Spreading or Creeping |
Stemless. Sword-shaped Leaves |
Erect or Upright |
||
Herbaceous Perennial Use |
|||||||
|
|||||||
Back of Border, Alley, and Too Tall for Words Special Garden |
|||||||
Herbaceous Perennial in Soil |
Clay + |
Peat + |
Any + |
+ Herbac-eous Perennials in Pages in Plants |
|||
Peony Use |
Copied from Ivydene Gardens Mixed Borders in RHS Garden at Wisley Garden Design: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This section details what I consider as errors in design carried out by the staff at the RHS garden in Wisley:-
Mixing all the primary colours together for the flower colours used in many of the 71 parts of these Mixed Borders This mixture provides a foliage and flower foil against which these other permanent herbaceous perennials can provide new growth from the ground each year, with the different colours of foliage from juvenile to mature to dying off in the autumn and then an easy maintenance during the months of December-March for removing most of the growth above ground and replacing the plant supports to provide a neat bed in a series of large ground areas. The bedding plants - see Bedding Annual Plant Index and Un-labelled Bedding Annual Plant Index pages - provide the icing on the cake at different flowering time periods between May and November to enhance the overall flower colour scheme. The new bedding each year can provide opportunities to vary the look of these beds. It was disapointing that I did not see the flowers during 2013 of more than 25% of these Permanent Herbaceous Perennial Plants - possible reasons shown in Lost Flowers Page with 'Walkabout' Plants and 'Stateless' Plants Page. A table for each month - May, June, July, August, September, October, November - shows the flower photos for each of the 71 parts of the Mixed Borders split into Blue, Orange, Pink, Red, Unusual Colour, White, or Yellow for all the plants. Besides that, you can see from the table below that Red and Pink with Unusual Flower Colours seem to be predominant as flower colours and that these are spread throughout the beds.
I have added the BEDding (started January 2014 - completed March 2014) and then the OTHer Permanent Plants (started March 2014 - completed May 2014) to the table below to show the flower colour planting scheme of the Bedding and the Other Permanent Plants and then its combination.
If I had produced this planting design with its mixture of flower colours in almost every part - or maintained these beds in this way - in 2013, I would be deeply ashamed. As a nation of gardeners in Britain; the Royal Horticultural Society being at its pinnacle, with the tradition of excellence by our previous head gardeners and their staff during the Victorian era, I had thought that the staff at the RHS Garden at Wisley would not need a lecture.
Another Possible Solution for lack of coordinated Flower Colour Scheme If you want the garden to be restful to the eye, then you can provide a colour scheme using the harmony of adjacent colours. If you prefer to shock the visitor, then use the contrast of opposite colours, but I am not favourable of the above partial use of the harmony of triads as shown by the Colour Wheel Page of Garden Design.
Very Poor Plant Labelling After reviewing the situation that 102 plants were missing their identity when in flower in 2013 out of 348 (29.31% of the plants) in 768 square metres of Mixed Borders garden beds:-
|