How many kinds of sweet flowers grow

By Pippa Greenwood

The quintessentially English country garden has classic, timeless appeal, and although easier to achieve in the countryside can still be recreated at least in part in town. Shrubs make a great backdrop so choose a range of different shapes, textures and shades of leaf colour for that cottage garden feel. For best effect choose mainly or all deciduous shrubs with just a few evergreens. A wooden or metal gate painted white gives the right feel, and when smart, traditional-look fixings and fixtures are painted contrasting black, the look is complete. In a country-style garden the combination of a wide range of types of flower in an even wider range of colours is perfect. Contrasting colours look great as long as there is plenty of greenery in-between. Plant loosely and almost randomly in drifts, with no straight lines anywhere, to give beds and borders a country style, whatever their size. Allow plants to grow closer together so there is no bare earth, and when planting a bed from scratch use hardy annuals to fill in any gaps while the main plants grow, to create a wall-to-wall carpet of colour. Plants in pots add seasonal splashes of colour, so include temporary plants such as brightly coloured pelargoniums and geraniums or longer-term plants such as bulbs and small shrubs. Choose a pot with an informal, rounded shape, rather than anything too geometric or modern; a terracotta pot works a treat. Have a range of heights in the flower borders, basically with smaller plants in front and the largest at the back, but add in tall, slim plants throughout to add colour, interest and height variation without blocking your view of their smaller neighbours. The classic choice for this is the purple-flowered Verbena bonariensis. A wall made from brick or stone make a perfect boundary. A drystone wall with variations in the grey and brownish colours of the stone looks great in all weathers, and you can grow plants such as house leeks in some of the crevices. If your garden needs steps, choose stone. It is long-lasting, withstands hard frosts and needs no preservative treatments. Combined with a wall of the same material, steps like this almost look natural, particularly when laid slightly unevenly. Ivy is perfect for covering up unattractive features such as an ugly wall. It grows rapidly and is a useful wildlife habitat, but don’t allow it to grow out of control. Maximise planting opportunities with containers made from natural materials such as terracotta. Positioned on top of a wall they’ll mark the boundary well and bring seasonal colour. Swap the plants around at summer’s end and use winter-flowering pansies for colour throughout the year. Plant small, compact plants along the edges of paths and steps to add colour and interest. Small saxifrages look great but won’t swamp the steps either!

Visit Pippa’s website (www.pippagreenwood.com) to book Pippa for a gardening talk at your gardening club or as an after-dinner speaker.