Discover Top Posts Tagged with #matthew pottage

Flower Garden Ideas For The UK with Matthew Pottage

Matthew Pottage is a truly tremendous plantsman! He is a keen garden writer, and a self-diagnosed conifer addict. Matthew is the Deputy Curator at Wisley Gardens, a 136-year old majestic 240 acre showpiece in London England. He is a lover of retro crisps and 90's comedy. Matthew asks the hard Read more at http://www.stumbleupon.com/to/s/52asuY

#conifer #London UK #Matthew Pottage #RHS #Wisely Gardens

Flower Garden Ideas For The UK with Matthew Pottage

View On WordPress

#conifer #London UK #Matthew Pottage #RHS #Wisely Gardens

Interview with RHS Garden Manager - Matthew Pottage

Who: Matthew Pottage What: Garden Manager Where: Wisley, the Royal Horticultural Society's flagship gardens in Surrey. Love or Hate the Coniferous Relations? Matthew looks at this often misunderstood group of plants. Why do you think conifers have struggled to get into the limelight and remain an unpopular choice in garden centres and nurseries? Most people seem to be scarred by the terrible press of the Leyland cypress, or have visions of bad rockeries in the 1970’s full of ‘dwarf’ conifers that didn’t really stay dwarf mixed with lumps of concrete and heathers. What is the answer to these predicaments? People need to see past these past misfortunes. Both instances come about through plants in the wrong place - conifers can be used in mixed plantings very easily and can be excellent structure for any garden. Is there actually such thing as a dwarf conifer? There are a few true dwarf conifers, that will stay very small, such as the tiny Abies koreana ‘Silberkugel’, though many make more shrub like specimens in time or even small trees. Buying reliably labelled plants is the answer here. The ‘multipack saver’ selection of unnamed conifers has a lot to answer for!

Abies koreana ‘Silberkugel’ Why plant a conifer? This plant group offers interesting bark, winter colour, foliage texture and form, cones, scent and even flower colour. (Conifer flowers are called ‘strobili’) If you’re still not sold on the idea, check out the bark of Pinus bungeana or the winter colour of Pinus sylvestris ‘Gold Coin’ or a specimen of Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Little Spire’ in full flower.

1. 2. 3. 1. Pinus bungeana bark

2. Pinus sylvestris ‘Gold Coin’

3. Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Little Spire’ What plants work with conifers? Conifers are surprisingly compatible and only need imagination. While they work with winter interest plants, it is still a rather dated concept. At Wisley, we’ve used the weeping mounds of Picea omorika ‘Pendula’ as punctuations throughout a planting of grasses and summer flowering lilies. We had to link the Pinetum to the grass borders with the herbaceous borders. It was a plan that raised a few eyebrows, but in turn brought in excellent visitor feedback. Picea omorika ‘Pendula' Do you use conifers in your own garden? Of course! Though people are often surprised every border isn’t full of them - they are great complimentary characters and need to be mixed with other plants. They draw the eye across the garden in the winter and give a feeling of permanence in the summer months. Space is limited, so I like small / medium sized trees that will grow upwards rather than outwards. Favourites include the wonderful Cupressus arizonica ‘Blue Ice’ with its ice blue foliage as the name suggests, with small yellow flowers and peeling bark, Pinus patula with its pendant, exotic looking needles and the crazy Sequoiadendron giganteum ‘Pendulum’ with its skinny, eccentric growth habit, planted so it is shooting up among some Hosta. Finally, I have a lovely plant of Abies pinsapo ‘Aurea’ which is very slow growing and has a wonderful two tone colour. The foliage is like plastic lego, and asks to be touched! They always attract comment when we open the garden to the public. Cupressus arizonica ‘Blue Ice’ Abies pinsapo ‘Aurea’