THE LONG BORDER IN JULY

Dig out your sunglasses, there's some very bright flowers coming your way this week.  The Long Border, as regular readers will know, is based on the designs of Gertrude Jekyll.  At either end the colours are pale blue, primrose yellow and white, but they gradually change to stronger yellows and oranges, reaching a crescendo of bright reds and crimson in the centre.  The border is designed to look at its best from July on wards.  



I've picked out some of the plants which are looking their best at the moment.

1. Nasturtium

These were grown from seed sown under glass in the spring.  I know they can be direct sown, but that's always a bit risky in this garden.  


2. Hemerocallis flore plena

This is a double orange day lily.  This plant appears to be what Gertrude used, but it's not the nicest plant in my opinion as the flowers lack form.  I've nicer orange day lilies in the garden, but they have already finished flowering so wouldn't be of much use here.


3. Hollyhock

A really dark red hollyhock, called 'Nigra'.  I originally grew these from seed, and now they are easy to keep going by collecting the seed and sowing it in the Autumn.


4. Monarda Cambridge Scarlet

The leaves of this smell wonderful.  Another name for it is Bergamot, which is used to flavour Earl Grey tea.  I've not tried harvesting it! Mingled in are some Coreopsis lanceolata.


5. Achillea 'Credo'

The flat heads of the Achillea form a nice contrast to the many daisies of late summer.  These are a little paler than some yellow Achilleas.


6. Crocosmia 'Lucifer'

One of the many reasons why I made this border was to have somewhere to grow this plant.  I think they look very exotic and tropical and needed to be carefully placed not to jar in this English Country Garden.  Here they look just right.  I have to confess that this plant doesn't appear in Gertrude's border.  She has Gladiolus brenchleyensis instead, a plant which I couldn't track down.


If you'd like to learn more about Gertrude Jekyll's long border design click here

That's all from my garden this week.  If you found all that orange not to your taste, I'm sure there will be some more tranquil pinks and blues from the Rose Garden next week.

As ever, have a look at The Propagator to see what's happening this week in more gardens from around the world.


Comments

  1. I do love a bit of Gertrude, your border is looking great! I especially like the combo of monarda and coreopsis. :)

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    1. The Monarda and coreopsis seems to be a favourite.

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  2. I love hollyhocks, especially when they have a very dark colour like yours. I have collected seeds and I hope to have flowers next year!
    Monarda + coreopsis = gorgeous !! 😍

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    1. I sowed some seeds last year as soon as I collected them. They've made big plants, but no flower spikes yet. I wonder if they will flower this year or if they'll wait til next year.

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  3. Very nice monarda. Mine gets chewed on all season. Not the lemon mint, but the red one, Panorama Red Shades. Always have been a magnet for something, but it keeps the other plants safe.

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    1. I've not noticed anything chewing these thankfully.

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  4. The Long Border is glorious. I love the colours and the plant combinations. The way the Monarda intermingles with the Coreopsis creates a lovely tapestry of colour. I love that Hollyhock, and I’ve made a note of it for future changes to the borders.

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    1. The Hollyhock is a good easy one, and can be treated as perennial although it gets a bit rusty. I'd recommend it. The only problem they seem to have (and that goes for Hollyhocks in general) is a tendency to lean over and block the path even though I do try to stake them.

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  5. I'm a huge fan of GJ and love your long border, sadly my Monarda didn't survive the winter here. Probably too wet, but they are lovely plants.

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    1. The Monarda is under a very big tree so it will be quite dry there. I do like a bit of GJ. I think because she was a gardener herself and she speaks from her own personal experience. For example in one of her earlier books she recommends a plant (I forget which) and a few years later she writes about it again and says don't plant it whatever you do because it's so invasive.

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  6. Lovely colours there. I've grown Monarda but never got it to come back the next year. It just doesn't like my garden!

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    1. Judging by Hey Jude's comment, it seems to like it relatively dry. It is annoying when a plant does that. I love Agastache Black Adder, but would have to buy new plants each year as it never survives.

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  7. Beautiful flowers. I've never had any luck with Monarda. I should give them another go.

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    1. Judging by the comments from other Sixers they seem to be a bit temperamental.

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