Inflorescence from Mixed Borders at RHS Wisley. Photo from Chris Garnons-Williams on 16 September 2013. |
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Plant Name |
Cortaderia selloana "The specific epithet was given by Josef August Schultes and Julius Hermann Schultes in 1827, after the German botanist and naturalist Friedrich Sellow, who studied the flora of South America, especially that of Brazil." from Wikipedia. |
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Common Name |
Silver Pampass Grass, Uruguayan Pampass |
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Soil |
Chalk, Loam, Sand, Clay (Acidic Alkaline Neutral). "In its native distribution a species of rocky gullies, riverbanks and roadsides. It can tolerate a range of environmental conditions but prefers sandy, low pH soils." from GB Non-Native Species Secretariat. |
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Sun Aspect |
Full Sun, Part Shade |
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Soil Moisture |
Moisture retentive but Well-drained. Apply 4 inch (10 cms) depth of Organic Compost as a mulch in April to sandy soil. |
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Plant Type |
Evergreen Grass |
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Height x Spread in inches (cms) |
120 x 60 (300 x 150) |
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Foliage |
Its deep Green serrated leaves are only .5 inches to .75 inches wide but can be 10 feet long. It grows in large clumps called tussocks. Each tussock is about 12 feet tall with many plants in it. The leaves are razor sharp and could slice you open just by rubbing against them (Watch YouTube video) - if you rub the skin from the leaf start to its tip there is no problem, but if you rub from the tip to its start; each forward facing serrated part will dig into and cut your skin. Full protection of all skin including the face is required when maintaining this plant! |
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Flower Shape, Natural Arrangement, Number of Petals and Flower Colour in Month(s). Seed |
White panicle 20–40 cms (8–16 inches) long on a 200–300 cms (6 feet 7 inches–9 feet 10 in) tall stem in August-September |
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Comment |
"Cortaderia selloana, commonly known as pampas grass, is a flowering plant native to southern South America, including the pampas after which it is named. It is a tall grass, growing in dense tussocks that can reach a height of 3 m (10 ft). The leaves are long and slender, 1–2 m (3 ft 3 in–6 ft 7 in) long and 1 cm broad, with very sharp edges. The leaves are usually bluish-green, but can be silvery grey. The flowers are produced in a dense white panicle 20–40 cm (8–16 in) long on a 2–3 m (6 ft 7 in–9 ft 10 in) tall stem. The plant was introduced to Europe, North America and Australia as an ornamental grass, and, to a lesser extent, to provide food for grazing animals. The feathery flower head plumes, when dried, are widely used in flower arrangements and other ornamental displays. There are several cultivars available, including:
Pampas grass is highly adaptable and can grow in a wide range of environments and climates. It also seeds prolifically, with each plant able to produce over one million seeds during its lifetime. As such, in some areas (for example California, Hawaii or Green Spain) it is regarded as an invasive weed, whilst in New Zealand and South Africa the plant is banned from sale and propagation for the same reasons. Burning pampas grass does not always kill it at the roots, but chemical weedkiller does." from Wikipedia.
"The habitat of Pampas Grass is mostly moist areas in the South American grassland biome. The climate of this biome is pretty hot with grassy plains. Pampas Grass grows the best in sun filled places with somewhat damp ground. It also grows well along a small stream bank or in a shallow moist ravines. An amazing feature about Pampas Grass is that it can live in almost any habitat. This amazing grass can grow in hard, rocky areas, flooded areas, dry and damp ground plus its normal habitat. The leaves die during frosts in northern climates, but grow back in the spring. The habitat it flourishes in is a damp, warm environment like that of the South American Pampas. Pampas Grass can grow to an impressive size for grass, about 8-12 feet tall. Its leaves are only .5 inches to .75 inches wide but can be 10 feet long. It grows in large clumps called tussocks. Each tussock is about 12 feet tall with many plants in it. The leaves are razor sharp and could slice you open just by rubbing against them. The leaves are a deep green color. The Pampas Grass has large pink plume like flowers that give the grass an ornamental sort of look. It also has oval shaped seeds growing off of it, which are .25 inches long. Its seed has a tan crusty shell. The female plants are prettier and their flowers are fuller. Pampas Grass can adapt to most places and can adapt fairly quickly. This quick adaptation is the product of a deep root system that digs down and finds water so it can survive in the driest areas. Pampas Grass is used in many ways. A common use is as a hedge because of the razor sharp leaves and stiff stems. It is used mainly as a decoration. Pampas Grass makes a nice ornamental plant because of its large plume-like flowers. The only setback to having it as an ornament is the sharp leaves because just brushing against it can give you a cut that becomes inflamed. Many people put this plant in garden beds or on lawns. It is not farmed for any purpose because there is no value in it for farmers." from Blue Planet Biomes - "In our site you will discover facts about our planet, its complex patterns of biomes, plants, and animals, and how climates ultimately determine the biomes of our Earth. This site was created to teach students the power of the Internet as a tool for both communication and learning, and how to use this tool while at the same time express their scientific/environmental knowledge in a fun way. Students have individually researched different attributes of major climate regions (biomes). Topics covered include the various animals and plants of these regions, the climates, and other specific biome characteristics. Our hope is that this site will be up-dated, changed and improved by each succeeding 6th grade class for many years. The West Tisbury School is a K-8 school located on Martha's Vineyard, an island approximately 6 miles off the south coast of Massachusetts. It is part of the Up-Island Regional School District that is presently composed of the towns of Aquinnah, Chilmark & West Tisbury. This site was created and developed by Elisabeth Benders-Hyde. It evolved from a biome project created by Ann and Karl Nelson, two fabulous 6th grade math and science teachers."
"An incredibly fast growing showy ornamental grass that can grow to 12 feet or more tall. By its third year it produces an amazing amount of 2-3 foot white plumes that are excellent for cutting for fresh or dried arrangements. Easy to grow. Winter hardy to zone 7." from Swallowtail Garden Seeds .
"Individual plants have the ability to produce vast quantities of windborne seed – up to 100,000 per flower head – which can infest areas within a 25km radius. In many cases, garden plants are the seed source for infestations." from Pest and Weed Management of New South Wales Government of Australia.
Cortaderia selloana Mini Pampas - A dwarf form of the popular Pampas. It makes a neat plant, ideal for smaller gardens or grown in a pot on the patio where its elegant silvery plumes will create a focal point. Flowers from August to November. " - is available from
Available from
Seed available from
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Companions |
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Inflorescences from Mixed Borders at RHS Wisley. Gives a rustic olde worlde cottage garden atmosphere, when you see the lawn growing in the soil between the slabs on the path in the autumn and in late spring - see above and below! Photo from Chris Garnons-Williams on 16 September 2013. |
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Inflorescence from Mixed Borders at RHS Wisley. Photo from H. Kavanagh on 21 August 2013. |
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Foliage from Mixed Borders at RHS Wisley. Photo from Chris Garnons-Williams on 16 September 2013. |
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Foliage from Mixed Borders at RHS Wisley. Note the very small serrated edges and midrib of the green foliage. Photo from H. Kavanagh on 21 August 2013. |
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Winter Form from Mixed Borders at RHS Wisley. Photo from Chris Garnons-Williams on 20 January 2013. |
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Expanded Winter Form from Mixed Borders at RHS Wisley. Its Black Plant label is on the right of this plant. It migrates to the left of the plant by the 15 May 2013 and back to the middle by the autumn on 16 September 2013. The plant label is clearly visible to visitors; except when the plant is flowering in September. It is a shame that plants in Wisley appear to get shy when flowering! Photo from Chris Garnons-Williams on 20 January 2013. |
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Early Spring Form from Mixed Borders at RHS Wisley. Photo from Chris Garnons-Williams on 4 March 2013. |
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Late Spring Form from Mixed Borders at RHS Wisley. Photo from Chris Garnons-Williams on 15 May 2013. |
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Late Summer Form from Mixed Borders at RHS Wisley. Photo from H. Kavanagh on 21 August 2013. |
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Autumn Form from Mixed Borders at RHS Wisley. Photo from Chris Garnons-Williams on 16 September 2013. |
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Plant Label from Mixed Borders at RHS Wisley. This label has been overgrown by the Cortaderia selloana foliage. Photo from Chris Garnons-Williams on 16 September 2013. |
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Inflorescences from Mixed Borders at RHS Wisley. Photo from Chris Garnons-Williams on 10 November 2013. |
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Plant Label from Mixed Borders at RHS Wisley. Photo from Chris Garnons-Williams on 15 May 2013. |
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Number of Flower Petals |
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Flower Shape - Simple |
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Flower Shape - Simple |
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Flower Shape - Elabor-ated |
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Flower Shape - Elabor-ated |
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Natural Arrange-ments |
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At the Commital for Marilyn Lewis 1954-April 2014 some of Marilyn's Recipes were published pre and post in the Order of Service provided for the attendees: This is her Potato Goulash for serving to 4 Vegetarians:- 8 Ounces Onion, thinly sliced, 1. Fry onions in oil and margarine in large pan. 2. Add potatoes with the paprika and stir. Add the water and salt. Cover and cook slowly for 20 minutes. 3. Stir in flour (blended with 3-4 tablespoons of water) and Caraway seeds. Cook 1-2 minutes. 4. Remove from heat. Stir in Sour Cream and put into casserole. Sprinkle with chopped chives and sliced eggs.
Unfortunately; we the generation who finished their education in Britain before AD 2000 still use ounces - International avoirdupois ounces - despite the following statement - "On January 1, 2000, it ceased to be a legal unit of measure within the United Kingdom for economic, health, safety or administrative purposes". Due to the British Government overspending for the last 4 years at a rate of £3805.18 a second, there are insufficient funds to educate our illiterate about that last statement concerning the legality of using the ounce.
10 years later - in April 2024 - from first publishing this page, UK National Debt was roughly £1,080,000,000,000 in 2009, then Conservatives came into government in 2010. £2,654,300,000,000 British 30 year Gilt is 4.379% annually on 12 March 2024. UK Goverment collected £788,600,000,000 in taxes in 2022 to 2023, an increase of 10.2% from the year before. "The Local Government Association recently reported that one in five councils could be in severe financial hardship within two years and a report from the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) this week reported that more than 50 per cent of councils are saying it is likely they would issue a Section 114 notice in the next five years. Medway has seen a sharp reduction in revenue support grant from government - £85million to around £7million since 2010 – despite a continuing increase in service demand and inflationary costs.
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MIXED BORDER DESIGN GALLERY PAGES
FLOWER COLOUR RANGE IN 71 PARTS OF MIXED BORDER DURING |
7 Flower Colours per Month in Colour Wheel below in the MIXED BORDERS DESIGN Gallery. Click on Black or White box in Colour of Month. |
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It is worth remembering that the links to external sites were valid on the day that I created that link, but may no longer be valid as Father Time moves on! |
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MIXED BORDER OTHER PLANTS GALLERY PAGES Site Map of pages with content (o) Introduction - |
Other Permanent Plants Height from Text Border for the |
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Blue = 0-24 inches |
Green = 24-72 inches |
Red = 72+ inches |
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Bedding Plants Soil Moisture from Text Background |
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Wet Soil |
Moist Soil |
Dry Soil |
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Click on thumbnail to add the Plant Description Page of the Bedding Plants named in the Text box below that photo. |
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MIXED BORDER OTHER PLANT INDEX |
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Other Plant Name with link to its Description Page |
Flower Colour with link to Design of East Border or |
Flowering Months with link to Mixed Borders Flower Colour per Month Pages |
Flower Thumbnail |
Height x Spread in inches (cms) |
Foliage Colour with link to Mixed Borders Foliage Colour Page |
Foliage Thumbnail |
Comment |
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Bamboo |
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Bulb |
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60 x 24 |
5 other Agapanthus in Herbaceous Perennial Gallery |
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24 x 8 |
74 other Allium in Allium and Anemone Gallery |
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Green, then Purple and ages Reddish-Purple |
24 x 3 |
Strap-like, Mid-Green |
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Red and green petals spotted with black |
Aug-Sep |
40 x 18 |
Light Green |
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Opening Orange fades to Pink |
August, September, October |
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35 x 23 |
Erect, narrow, sword-shaped and Dark Green |
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100 Crocosmia at Trecanna Nursery |
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36 x 18 |
Upright, pleated, wide, lance-shaped, mid Green leaves |
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should be named Ornithogalum candicans |
48 x 16 |
Strap-shaped and Mid-Green |
Other Southern African Orni-thogalum species that originate in southern Africa |
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Climber |
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Clematis See Description Page also in Clematis Climber Gallery |
120 x 72 |
Grey-Green |
See 70 other Clematis climbers in Clematis Climber Gallery and further data on Clematis |
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Clematis |
120-180 x 36 |
Dark Green |
321 Clematis at Haw-thornes Nursery |
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60 x 20 |
Dark Green |
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Blue, Violet, Lilac, Lavender |
100 x 40 |
Lance-shaped Dark Green |
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Clematis 'Elvan' |
"All Clematis fall into one of 3 distinct pruning groups: No Prune (Group 1), Light Prune (Group 2), and Hard Prune (Group 3). Group 1: Early Flowering. Typically blooming in winter and spring, these varieties flower on the previous year's growth only, so if you need to remove damaged stems or control the size of the plant, the best time would be as soon as they have finished flowering. Included in this group are Alpina, Macropetala, Montana, and Evergreen varieties. Group 2: Large Flowers. Typically larger flowers grow out on new shoots from last year's growth in late spring and summer. Some of these will occasionally display a second bloom at the tips of the current year's growth in late summer and autumn. These varieties should be pruned in spring, right back to where there are strong and healthy buds, before they start their active growth period. New flowering stems will be produced from this architecture of previous growth. Group 3: Late Flowering. Group 3 Clematis only flower on current year's growth. These blooms tend to display from summer through to late autumn. These varieties are arguably the easiest to prune, as you basically cut it right down to about 20cm (8ins) above ground level in spring before they begin their active growth period, removing all of the previous year's growth." from Primrose who have produced a new method of raising "Kids in our planters". |
If this climber flowered after May 2013, then I could not identify it or see its Plant Label. See Clematis 'Elvan' Des-cription Page in Clematis Climbers Gallery |
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Clematis |
If this climber flowered after April 2013, then I could not identify it or see its Plant Label. See Clematis 'Etoile Violette' Des-cription Page in Clematis Climbers Gallery |
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Purple fades to Blue |
60 x 60 |
Dark Green |
Where is the American Clematis Society? |
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See Description Page also in Clematis Climber Gallery |
168 x 36 |
Pale to Mid-Green |
Clem-atis.com focuses on Clematis varieties which are available and suitable for the North American garden including this variety |
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White with Pink tinge |
72 x 36 |
Dark Green |
British Clematis Society awarded 'Com-mended Certificate' to this Clematis |
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Clematis 'Kermesina' |
Unable to locate plant label to take photos of its foliage or flowers after 4 March 2013 |
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Clematis 'Madame Julia Correvon' See Description Page also in Clematis Climber Gallery |
96-120 x 36 |
Dark Green |
Sag-amihara Green Association for Clematis in Japan |
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Clematis 'Pink Ice' |
Unable to locate plant label to take photos of its foliage or flowers after 15 May 2013 |
Fact Sheet on Clematis from Gardening in Australia |
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Clematis 'Purpurea Plena Elegans' |
Unable to locate plant label to take photos of its foliage or flowers after 13 April 2013 Chelone glabra black plant label on left and Clematis 'Purpurea Plena Elegans' black plant label on right |
Clematis Nomen-clatural Standards List from the Inter-national Clematis Society |
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Clematis Rosemoor 'Evipo002' |
Unable to locate plant label to take photos of its foliage or flowers after 13 April 2013 Hemerocallis lilio-asphodelus black plant label on right and Clematis Rosemoor 'Evipo002' black plant label in middle |
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180 x 60 |
Mid-Green |
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Clematis 'Ruutel' |
Unable to locate plant label to take photos of its foliage or flowers after 4 March 2013. Since its Birch Branch Support structure has not been replaced, It may be that this climber position was not going to be there in 2013 summer season. |
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Violet Blue ages to Purple |
120 x 60 |
Dark Green |
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Clematis x aromatica |
Unable to locate plant label to take photos of its foliage or flowers after 15 May 2013 |
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80 x 40 |
Pale Green |
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80 x 36 |
Grey-Green |
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Conifer |
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Dediduous Shrub |
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60 x 60 |
Grey-Green |
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Unable to locate plant label to take photos of its foliage or flowers after 15 May 2013. |
The Trials Report of 2008-2010 on Buddleja davidii and its close hybrids of the RHS provides useful data including the require-ment for hard pruning. The Panel co-opted three genus special-ists, who are all national collection holders of Buddleja. They were; Peter Moore (Long-stock Gardens), Anita Allen (Shap-cott Barton Estate) and Andrew Bullock (The Lavender Garden). |
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Buddleja davidii 'Nanho White Monite' |
Unable to locate plant label to take photos of its foliage or flowers after 15 May 2013. |
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Buddleja davidii 'Peacock' |
Pink to Purple-Pink |
60 x 60 |
Medium Green |
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120 x 120 |
Large crisp Golden-Yellow leaves in spring. |
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Cornus alba 'Elegantissima' |
Small, Creamy-White, in flat heads. Unable to see its flowers in May-June or even later in the year. The 3 cornus at the back of the bed are starting to create their spring foliage on 15 May 2013 |
Spring pruning at Beech-grove Garden helps you to create what you want to see from a plant. |
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The 3 cornus at the back of the bed are now over 6 feet high on 29 August 2013. The plants in front obstruct the view of the cornus behind and thus no photos of the flowers of this cornus were taken in 2013. As a backdrop of variegated green/yellow it may be fine, but in that case why not replace that section of hedge behind it instead. |
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200 x 200 |
Dark Red-Purple oval leaves and, when the temperature drops, the leaves develop a bright-pink margin before becoming scarlet. |
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Scarlet Sepals and Purple Petals |
44 x 44 |
Slender deep Green |
Hardy Fuchsia List for the Showbench from the Fuchsia Societies in the UK |
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Scarlet Sepals and Purple Petals |
80 x 120 |
Bronze-tinted Dark Green Spring Foliage becomes Dark Green Foliage in the Summer |
There is the American Fuchsia Society , the Australian Fuchsia Society Inc the National Fuchsia Society of New Zealand and there was the Greater Victoria Geranium and Fuchsia Society in Canada |
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White with Red base |
96 x 60 |
Lobed Dark Green |
Inter-national Hibiscus Society list of registered and non-registered cultivars |
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52 x 60 |
Dark Green |
American Hyd-rangea Society with the story of the big Hydrangea that wouldn't bloom. |
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200 x 100 |
Toothed Mid to Dark Green |
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Burgundy, Pink and White |
100 x 80 |
Dark Green |
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Without the 50 x optical zoom on my current camera, I was unable to take photos of the flowers which were on this shrub on 15 May 2013. This shrub is too far back to enjoy its flowers with the naked eye. |
The Peony Society has further details on peonies. |
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White often tinged with Pink |
60 x 60 |
Golden Yellow |
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96 x 96 |
Dark Purple ages to Green |
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Sambucus nigra f. porphyrophylla 'Guincho Purple' |
Pink and White The Plant Label in the middle of this photo of January 2013 is unreadable. The Plant Label has been expanded below. |
The photo taken on the bottom right on 15 May 2013 shows that the Sambucus plant label is facing the front. The Yellowish-Green juvenile foliage on the bottom right belongs to Cornus alba 'Aurea' - you can see from its page that it grows quite high and hides the side view of this Sam-bucus Plant Label when that plant is in flower. Since the plant label is difficult to read from the front lawn, this indicates no identity of this plant took place when it was in flower. |
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Sambucus nigra f. porphyrophylla 'Gerda' |
When you look at the panorama photos in East Border Part 19 you will note - by 19 September 2013 - that purple flowers could be seen on the Sambucus but its plant label could not, because of the yellow foliage of the Cornus in front of it. |
This photo taken on 15 May 2013 shows the plant label for this burgundy-leaved Sam-bucus in the middle and facing the lawn between the 2 Mixed Borders. The orange juvenile foliage on the left is from Cornus alba 'Aurea'. |
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Deciduous Tree |
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Catalpa bignonioides 'Aurea' |
Since no flowers were seen, then no photos of its flowers could be taken in Wisley. |
This photo from Bowes-Lyon Rose Garden on 15 June shows no flower bud formation for flowering in July. |
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This photo on 21 August 2013 from East Border Part 25 shows no indication of flowers during July or August. The panorama photos in that page do not indicate any evidence of flowers during 2013 |
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Paulownia tomentosa |
Photo from 4 March 2013 followed by photo of 1 July 2013 with no flowers seen before or afterwards. |
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Evergreen Perennial |
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20 x 40 |
Narrow, upright Dark Green |
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Grape-Purple with Golden-Yellow throat |
30 x 24 |
Narrow, strap-like, Dark Green Evergreen Perennial |
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Unable to get clear photos of flowers in 2013 |
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18 x 12 |
Jet black-maroon Evergreen Perennial |
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Pale Pink Unable to get clear photos of flowers in 2013 |
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26 x 20 |
Marbled, Plum-Purple |
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Evergreen Shrub |
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White flushed mauve-pink |
120 x 300 |
Dark Green |
Semi-Evergreen Shrub |
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Artemesia See further details in East Border Part 14 about lack of record keeping leading to this plant being overgrown - linkstakes in front of the Pennisetum would have provided a temporary solution from May 2013 onwards. |
Yellow Although these plants were in front of the bed next to the path and in front of Pennisetum orientale 'Shogun'; the Pennisetum overgrew them. |
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Ligustrum quihoui This image is part of the unreduced original photo taken on 24 July 2013. These plants were at the back of a 240 inch (600 cms) deep bed and the flowers were too small. |
Without the 50 x optical zoom on my current camera, I was unable to take close-up photos of the flowers which were on these shrubs on 24 July 2013. These shrubs are too far back to enjoy their flowers with the naked eye. |
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108 x 108 |
During the growing season all new flushes of growth are brilliant red, turning to bronze by late spring then to Dark Green |
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Evergreen Tree |
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Fern |
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Grass |
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September |
Very rarely flowers in Britain |
240 x 160 |
Grey-Green |
See other Grass-Base - The Online World Grass Flora from Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, England. |
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Silvery-grey with Pinkish-Purple tints becomes Golden-Brown |
60 x 36 |
Grey-Green |
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120 x 60 |
Deep Green with razor sharp edges and midrib |
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60 x 48 |
Dark Green with razor sharp edges and midrib |
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60 x 40 |
Dark Green |
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52 x 48 |
Dark Green with White stripe down the leaf centre |
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Pink ripens to Silver. |
August, September, October, November, December |
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100 x 60 |
Dark Green |
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Rosy-Pink |
July, August, September, October |
Note that the Pink Spikelets were visible on the panorama of West Border Part 68 of 19 Sep-tember but its label was hidden by the plants in front |
100 x 40 |
Dark Green with White Midribs |
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Grey/ Silver and Pale Pink |
September, October, November |
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40 x 36 |
Dark Green with White midribs and edges |
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Pink turning to pure White Unable to locate plant label to take photos of its foliage or flowers after 15 May 2013 |
August, September |
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56 x 40 |
Dark green |
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Missed taking photos of its Pink Inflore-scences |
August, September |
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48 x 18 |
Horizontal Cream bands on Dark Green arching foliage |
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Pale Pink |
48 x 32 |
Flat, linear, Blue-Green leaves, turning Yellow-Brown in autumn |
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Pale Green ages to light buff |
30 x 18 |
Dark Green |
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Purple ripens to Gold |
100 x 48 |
Slender Grey-Green |
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Stipa gigantea Plant removed after 20 January 2013 |
Straw Yellow |
Photo taken on 20 January 2013 in West Border Part 63 |
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Hedge |
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Carpinus betulus (Hornbeam) |
Green as background hedge to all 71 Parts of Mixed Borders |
May |
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480 x 320 |
Mid-Green with Brown Autumn and Winter dead foliage |
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Herb |
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Odds and Sods |
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Biennial - Onopordum acanthium |
In the late 19th century, it was introduced to temperate regions of North America, South America, and Australia as an ornamental plant, and is now considered a major agricultural and wildland noxious weed. I would not recommend growing it in your garden, orchard or fields. |
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Sub-Shrub - Having such a small area of plant, I was unable to find its flowers from 29 August to 30 December 2013. |
September, October Photo taken by H. Kavanagh on 21 August 2013 with the Artemesia being the wide area of green foliage next to the path. |
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Rhododendron/ Azalea/ Camellia |
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Rose |
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Retail name in UK should be |
36 x 44 |
Glossy, Mid-Green |
See WISLEY WISLEY Rose Classification System Page for details on this Rosa Retail Name 'Trade Name' RHS naming system. |
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Rosa glauca 'Carmenetta' and Page in RHS Wisley Bowes-Lyon Rose Garden Roses |
78 x 78 |
Green with Grey reverse |
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Soft Fruit |
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Site design and content copyright ©January 2014. Added Camera Photos of Plant Supports Gallery Link June 2019. 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. I am attempting the same free link to mail-order nurseries for the people of Europe, Latvia, America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and China.
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Copied from Ivydene Gardens Mixed Border Other Permanent Plants Gallery: |
The Other Permanent Plants from the Mixed Borders in the Garden at RHS Wisley in this Gallery are neither their Bedding plants nor their Permanent Herbaceous Perennials. All the Permanent Plants in a bed are their to provide a structure where all of its plants when they are in flower can be seen and identified when in a garden that is displayed to the public. |
This Buddleja davidii nanhoensis 'Nanho Purple' plant is in the West Border Section 7 Part 57 and you can see it in flower in the photo below taken 19 September 2013. It has the purple flowers at the back of the border in the middle of this panaroma shot of that section. We will now expand this photo to find its plant label. Unfortunately we cannot see its label. The above photo was taken on 4 March 2013 and shows that the Miscanthus in front of it is still higher than the Black Plant label for this Buddleja. If that plant label was not elevated that could be the reason why no plant label for that buddleja was seen in September 2013. What is the point of having plants in a display garden, that visitors cannot identify when they are in flower. This buddleja had its crown reduced in height by the staff at RHS as shown by the following photo taken on 20 January 2013 and the following shows the right hand side:- If one leaves this amount of young branches in such a confined area then summer growth will become a congested mess.
The Pruning of trees, Shrubs and Conifers by George E. Brown published in 1977 in Faber Paperbacks - formerly Assistant Curator in Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew - was recommended as one of the books from Hadlow College where I took a course for a year from 1990-1991 to learn about horticulture. The following is what it states about pruning Buddleja daviddii :- "Those which flower terminally on the current season's wood. With these, the habit of growth and flowering is such that the late spring and early summer are devoted to the formation of shoots which are often 100 or 200 cms (40-80 inches) in length. These are eventually terminated by the inflorescence, which opens and sets seed all in the same season, as that in which the growth is made. Buddleja davidii Franch. and the various cultivars of this species all have this habit. Left unpruned, they develop into large spreading bushes full of dead wood and small branches which blossom poorly. Hard pruned annually in the spring, taking each shoot back to the lowest growths, the vigour is channelled into fewer shoots which as a result are strong with corresponding panicles of blossom. The pruning may either be carried down to ground level or to a main framework of a few branches about 90 -120 cms (36-48 inches) in height according to vigour. The need for a larger framework is indicated when the growths are excessively vigorous, especially at the top of the bush, and in order to achieve it, selected, well-positioned growths should only be pruned to half their length for the first 2 or 3 years after planting. All buddlejas are sun lovers. The soil should be well-drained but they are strong growers and require feeding and mulching. This is especially true of those which are pruned hard each year. They all respond well by growing from really old wood if the shrub is cut back hard."
In the start of winter, when the current season's growth has finished and the new growth has just started; then I would prune buddlejas down to a maximum of 24 inches (60 cms) high and reduce each branch to an outward facing new shoot. I would also remove a third of the oldest trunks to ground level, so that I would end up with 1 year, 2 year and 3 year old trunks. I then had buddlejas with their flowering height at about the height of client's eyes each year. |
The following shows the foliage of the Buddleja davidii nanhoensis 'Nanho Purple'on 15 May 2015:- but no further photos where this buddleja could be identified were taken after 15 May 2013. It does not seem to have been mulched to provide its nutrients and all its trunks are very mature; perhaps over 10-15 years old. |
The same pruning problems have occurred with the Buddleja daviidii nanhoensis 'Nanho Blue' (Photo taken on 15 May 2013) and the Buddleja daviidii nanhoensis 'Nanho White' (Photo taken on 15 May 2013) in these Mixed Borders
These Buddleja davidii 'Peacock' were blown out of the ground by the storm before 10 November 2013:- and then replanted as shown in the Lost Flowers Page. Since half its roots had been broken for it to be blown over and because of its age, this buddleja should have been replaced. I do realise that because the Royal Horticultural Society is suffering financially in these austere times (over £19,000,000 excess income over expenditure in 2012-2013) and lack of visitors to this garden (1,000,000 in 2012-2013), that donations should be sent to the RHS Garden, Wisley Lane, Wisley, Woking GU23 6QB:-
Including the banana and/or the Dog biscuits might get the RHS to take note. Photo taken on 24 March 2014 of existing path alongside current Tulip Trial. Above Photo of same path section taken on 15 June 2013. Safety issue?
Pavement repaired with sharp sand. Photo taken 10 November 2013. Photo taken 24 March 2014. The sand used between the slabs and their neighbours appears to have become soil. Photo taken on 24 March 2014 looking at temporary visitor viewing path to see part of Tulip Trial. I wonder what would happen when a wheelchair being pushed by its carer uses this - after it has rained. |
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Copied from Ivydene Gardens Mixed Borders in RHS Garden at Wisley Garden Design: |
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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:-
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