Plant a colour circle inspired by the centrepiece planting on the terrace at Biddulph Grange in Staffordshire. This scheme works well in small or large gardens and looks good for several months.
At Biddulph Grange, the powerful formal design of the garden provides an ideal setting for architectural plants, as it was intended to do. In this scheme, a planted urn on a pedestal acts as the centrepiece, although a statue or sundial would work equally well.
One difficulty with bedding schemes is the obvious gaps until the plants get going, so it is worth including some permanent planting, such as artemisia, around the base of the urn to sustain interest at other times of the year.
How to create a colour circle:
- Mark out an island bed, 12ft in diameter. This could be cut out of existing grass or lawn, or in a gravel garden. Choose a sheltered, sunny position and wait until all danger of frost has passed before planting out.
- Add manure or garden compost to the ground to improve flowering performance.
- Cannas are large plants and need to be spaced about 30in apart to allow room for growth.
- In mild areas, dahlias and cannas can sometimes survive without being lifted and may be left in place – as long as the soil is very well drained. The dahlias will possibly require staking support as they grow, so it is best to put the stakes in at an early stage in order to avoid damaging the roots.
- Deadhead regularly and keep the plants well watered throughout the flowering season.
- When the first frosts have blackened the top growth of the plants, dig up and lift the dahlia tubers and canna rhizomes and store them in boxes of dry potting compost in a frost free place.
- Abutilons may be potted up and stored in a cool greenhouse, but will often survive the winter outside.
- The following year, replant the tubers and rhizomes in the ground in early summer, or, to encourage earlier flowering, pot them up and start them off under glass or in a cold frame.
Plant List:
Dahlia and canna cultivars are many and varied, and the foliage is often as decorative as the flowers. If you can’t find the exact varieties, create your own colour scheme – the brighter the better.
A 1 urn planted with Agave americana, or Cordyline australis with Helichrysum petiolare.
B 2 x Abutilon ‘Canary Bird’. Ht 5ft, yellow flowers, green foliage.
C 2 x Ricinus communis ‘Carmencita’. Ht 4ft, purple foliage.
D 3 x Canna indica ‘Purpurea’. Ht 4ft, red flowers, purple foliage.
E 6 x Canna ‘Wyoming’. Ht 7ft, orange flowers, purple foliage.
F 3 x Canna ‘Richard Wallace’. Ht 4ft, pale yellow flowers, green foliage.
G 7 x Dahlia ‘Bishop of Llandaff’. Ht 2ft, scarlet, dark foliage.
H 7 x Dahlia ‘Moonfire’. Ht 18in, apricot flowers, purple foliage.
I 9 x Verbena bonariensis. Ht 7ft, purple flowers.
J 7 x Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’. Ht 2ft, silver foliage.
To find out more about Biddulph Grange, visit nationaltrust.org.uk.
Get inspired with more ‘How To’ guides from The English Garden.
