August in the garden

Two years ago we set about expanding the cutting garden by adding a large section of perennial plants. Our selection was strongly influenced by the natural-style ‘prairie’ landscapes created by garden designer Piet Oudolf (and countless others). The reasoning behind this was two-fold - both for the incredible movement and texture created through the use of ornamental grasses and herbaceous perennials (which give endless, interesting combinations of flowers and foliage for our designs), and by the robust hardiness and drought-tolerant tendencies of the plants (which saves on unnecessary irrigation on our dry, chalky soil in the hotter months). Now in its second summer, and with only a small handful of losses over the winter, our choices are bedding in well and we’re enjoying their incredible floriferous display, grasses swaying and rustling, humming with insect life. Here are some of our favourites this month…

Macleaya cordata, the ‘five-seeded plume poppy’ muscles its way across the perennial paths, towering above its neighbours. The flower spires are incredibly useful for their height (we love to use them in large-scale arrangements). The plant also has large sculptural leaves in a grey-green hue.

There is something about the pop-art pink of Echinacea purpurea that just speaks of late summer sunshine on sultry August afternoons. Peacock butterflies flit between their fiery orange ‘cone’ centres, Pennisetum grasses whispering in the wind alongside.

The garden is where it all begins! Alex carries a bucket of perennial potential to be prepped and conditioned ahead of arranging. A good mix of textures and shapes provides the starting point for that weekend’s wedding urn designs.

Over the past few years we’ve planted a few different varieties of perennial scabious. Our favourite has to be Scabiosa columbaria, the ‘small scabious’. Having flowered profusely since June, the plants are now a textural tangle of pale mauve-blue flowers and seedheads, humming with bees.