Designing with the Seasons
How we arrange plants in our gardens is the work of a lifetime. Each time we think that we have figured out the best configuration, we either change our minds or the weather intervenes. The quote above is a fine piece of advice that suits any type of garden design.
It is easy to do the opposite of Beth’s advice above—we tend to scatter our flowering plants around the garden so there is something to see wherever we look. She likens this look to the arrangement of pins randomly inserted into a pincushion. That was written thirty-five years ago. Probably more people sewed and had pincushions back then. Does anyone own a pincushion anymore—maybe you do if you are a quilter? But the image is still valid, if a little quaint now.
I have been immersed in garden design thoughts recently. There are several reasons for this. One is that my brain is full of images from a recent course I taught for Longwood Gardens, located in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, called “Designing Themed Gardens.” Another part of my preoccupation with design is that I am planning and installing a new garden area at Northview, my private gardens in Ambler, Pennsylvania.
To Beth Chatto’s point in the quote above, I am thinking about when I want this new space to have its crescendo of bloom. I am thinking that September will be it. As I might have mentioned before, it is my birthday month, so I always like my garden to look good in case I host parties or tea dates.
Another proponent of this clustered arrangement of plants that bloom at the same time was Gertrude Jekyll. She had gardens specifically planned for each time of year. For September she had borders of Michaelmas Daisies that we call asters (see the asters discussion below).
I managed to fit in another visit to Munstead Wood when I was in the UK in August. Katherine Mills and her team are moving ahead with plans for the house and garden. I had a lovely walk around. It was very special to see the garden at a different season. The long border was looking vibrant and colorful particularly in the middle hot-colored section. Stay posted for more exciting developments. Here is the Munstead Wood website if you want to check out the latest news.
Northview Rain Garden
In this month’s blog I am sharing some thoughts about my Rain Garden here at Northview. This is the opposite of the Dry Garden that I described last month.
Plant of the Month:
Asters (Michaelmas Daisies)
Asters, or Michaelmas daisies, are some of the stars of the autumn garden. Depending on the species and cultivar that you choose, the flowers are most often purple with a yellow center but can be lilac, pink, or white. When I was growing up in England, this whole group of fall-blooming daisies were called Michaelmas daisies. This name is not often used in North America, but if you are reading British gardening books, this is often what they are called.
Michaelmas is the name given to the season where summer gives way to autumn. It was the time by which the crops would be harvested and safely stored for the winter. This cause for celebration in agricultural communities was associated with the feast of Saint Michael that falls on September 29th each year.
Michaelmas daisies used to be grouped together in the genus Aster, but they are now split into several different genera. Some European and Asian plants were left in Aster, while the North American species were placed in the hard-to-spell genus of Symphyotrichum, and still others were reclassified in Eurybia, Doellingeria and others. It is no wonder that gardeners continue to use common names when describing these wonderful daisies.
All of these asters are easy to grow in sun to part shade. Some types require moist soil while others are fine in regular to dry conditions. The beautiful, plentiful flowers are useful in the garden for autumnal color in the flower bed and to feed late-season pollinators. Aster plants are often aggressive spreaders in a flower garden, but they are easily divided or pulled out if there are too many in one place.
There is a plethora of possibilities for enlivening your September garden. The native flora of North America is rich in flowers that bloom at this time of year. I would suggest that with your asters you could add in some goldenrods (Solidago). We have a love-hate relationship with this genus. They are one of the top herbaceous plants for pollinators and other beneficial insects on the plus side. On the negative side, they are some of the most prolific and hard-to-contain perennials in the autumn border. The more aggressive species spread rampantly. They smother their neighbors with their questing roots and then seed into other beds where you didn’t want them. Every now and then, I need to have a famed “Jenny Rose Rip & Tear” and really firmly edit out unwanted plants. However, at the same time, remembering to leave enough grouped together to not get the pincushion look.
Book of the Month:
Beth Chatto’s Garden Notebook
Writers who garden are a great source of information for other gardeners. They know what they are talking about and are willing and able to share that with others. Beth Chatto had a long gardening life and was free with her gardening insights in her books. The one that I am highlighting today is Beth Chatto’s Garden Notebook. It is a personal account of her life as well as her garden. Maybe reading this will encourage you to jot down your own garden thoughts and notes throughout the gardening year.
The book is neatly arranged by months so you can easily dip into the part that you would like to read. I always love books like this because I can compare what the author has in her garden and what I have in mine. The months don’t always align exactly but you can read the two or three months that are relevant to you. In the September section, Beth writes of her love of salvias, colchicums, and plants grown in pots.
One of the other September quotes that I love and can relate to says: “We are having golden September days. Early in the morning there are spiders’ webs everywhere, laced between plants and bushes outlined with dewdrops. The lawns are spread with a silver sheen unbroken except by shadows until my footsteps cross it.”
As summer turns to autumn, there is a change in the temperature, especially at night. This leads to the dewy grass and visible cobwebs. This description takes me to my early adulthood when I was teaching at a village school. September was when I returned to school and met my new classes. Good writing is relatable even if you do not garden in the same growing conditions. It makes you think and maybe be more observant about what you are seeing in your own garden.
Note: I am not sponsored to promote books found in these newsletters. They are featured because I truly love them.
In Case You Were Gardening…
Munstead Wood – Gertrude Jekyll’s Garden – July 15, 2024
A Classic English Garden – Longbarn, Kent – April 9, 2024
The Wild Garden – September 17, 2022
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Bye for now,
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