June's finest

Stipa gigantea or ‘golden oats’ has been flowering now for a fortnight or so. The seedheads rise above the other plants, shimmering and swaying. Despite their great height they are still overshadowed by patches of towering Thalictrum ‘Elin’ and Cephalaria gigantea nearby.

Our first year of growing Eremurus himalaicus the ‘foxtail lily’. After such a relentlessly cold winter and given their shallow planting depth, we were unconvinced we would see these this year, but they have shot up and flowered beautifully.

The plan for the perennial beds has been to make the most of every bit of space, growing something for each season. Here the alliums and Eremurus rise up out of the clumps of grass and Aster foliage, which will be harvested later in the summer.

We’ve sadly lost several peonies this year, but the Itoh varieties seem happy and full of life. This lemon yellow ‘Canary Brilliants’ variety has a bright red eye in the centre - we arranged it with buttery Sisyrinchium spires for a photoshoot.