Planting ideas
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This was my raised border a few years ago now. It was full of flowers & foliage. It is a funny shape with one long curved edge. I put the tall Red Hot Pokers at the back with the feathery dark purple of the fennel, it worked quite well. I do like using purples & blues with a hint of rebellious red thrown in for good measure.
This is a before and after picture of a meadow I planted for a customer. The area was full of trees, and is now a beautiful natural meadow mainly grassses, daisy and plantains- these are the best meadow plants for clay soil. It is in its second year now and I have seen some Red Campion, Teasel, Verbena and various other meadow flowers in there, also lots of butterflies,other beneficial insects and even the deer sneak in for stroll round!
The customer asked for this old unused pond to be made into a bog garden complete with water feature.

Grass border

Here is a border I did last week, the client wanted the area cleared of existing ‘Carex pendula’ and other weeds and an ornamental border created. It is a lovely wildlife garden, so the grasses really fitted in with the surroundings. I used lots of Miscanthus sinensis, Festuca, and a stipa – all beautiful grasses that move gently in the breeze. Birds love perching on them and cats love playing and hiding amongst them.

 Redesign of a border
 
The client asked me to redesign their border in the front garden, it overlooked a pond so nothing could be that tall. I chose one grass in the middle called Stipa gigantea which you can see through, but will give a bit of height and interest. Everything is I planted was low growing. I planted ‘Nepeta x faassenii’ and’ Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’ for scent, calm colour and of course to attract bees and other beneficial insects. I also put in some small Sedums, a  ‘Miscanthus zebrinus’ for a striking ornamental grass, a ‘Convulvulus cneorum’ for an evergreen silver leaved and white flowered shrub and two Cornus for winter bark effect- ‘alba siberica’ and ‘midwinter fire’.