There comes a point in every garden’s life when change becomes necessary. Whether it is a single border that has lost its sparkle or an entire garden that no longer meets your needs, a makeover can breathe new life into the space. Mid-summer, when borders are at their peak, is an ideal time to assess what is working and what is not.
After more than 40 years of development, several borders in our own garden are due for a rethink. Because our garden is open to the public, we like to introduce fresh ideas and new planting combinations to maintain appeal for returning visitors. As we get older, we are also looking for innovative and stylish ways to reduce maintenance. Mature gardens inevitably evolve. Some plants outgrow their allotted space, others begin to decline, while some shrubs may need hard pruning to rejuvenate them. Before removing a treasured plant that is on the wane, consider taking cuttings so that its successor is already waiting in the wings. From June to August is the ideal time to take cuttings of many shrubs and roses.
One of the most useful tools for evaluating a garden is a camera. I often think of a garden as a series of interconnected pictures that together create one larger composition. Photographs allow us to step back and analyse those pictures objectively. Converting images to black and white can be particularly revealing, removing the distraction of colour and highlighting issues such as weak structure, poor contrast, lack of winter interest or unbalanced planting. Photographs also help overcome familiarity blindness – the tendency to stop noticing tired plants, unnecessary clutter or unattractive backgrounds simply because we see them every day.
This leads to an important gardening skill: editing. Garden designers frequently talk about editing a border, where the act of subtraction is just as important as addition. It is a useful discipline for any gardener to isolate elements and consider their individual merits.
Earning its place
When assessing a plant or feature, I ask myself a sequence of simple questions: if I removed it, would the overall picture improve? If the answer is yes, it may be time for it to go. If I removed it, would it be missed? If the answer is no, it’s not contributing anything and should be considered for replacement. If its absence would leave a noticeable gap, then it’s earning its place.
Once you have identified what needs to change, the next challenge is deciding what should take its place. With several borders earmarked for renovation, I’ve recently been seeking fresh inspiration. Over the past month, I’ve visited the Chelsea Flower Show in London and Bord Bia Bloom in Dublin, both rich sources of ideas that can be adapted for gardens of every size. Among many excellent take-home ideas from Bloom were striking plant combinations like the moody, rich-purple blooms of Lupinus ‘Masterpiece’ paired with the bright, lipstick-pink blooms of Silene flos-cuculi ‘Jenny’ as pictured. The show gardens were also rich in creative hard-landscaping details and innovative upcycling ideas, from stacking reclaimed paving slabs to create informal seating to repurposing old bicycle wheels as sculptural plant supports.
One of the best ways to develop ideas, however, is by visiting other gardens and seeing what catches your eye. I usually come away with design concepts and planting combinations that can be adapted at home. Among combinations that have impressed me are the glowing orange winter stems of Cornus sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’ underplanted with a drift of the black-leaved, evergreen, grass-like perennial Ophipogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’, or airy grasses, such as Stipa tenuissima used to soften the static forms of conifers. We have very little wall space in our own garden, so I was intrigued by a clever technique I recently encountered: training climbing honeysuckle as a free-standing border shrub through regular stool pruning. It is a reminder that inspiration often comes not from grand designs but from small, adaptable ideas that can transform a space.
My Japanese azalea has grown and flowered well for many years, but something has gone wrong over the winter, and the leaves have turned brown. – Brigid Hannon
Japanese azaleas growing in containers primarily turn brown because of watering stress, sun scorch or root rot disease. Given the prolonged wet weather last winter and spring, waterlogging is a likely cause. Azaleas dislike wet roots and if the compost remains soggy, roots can suffocate and rot, preventing water uptake. The leaves then dry out from the tips inward, turning brown and brittle. To check if the plant is still alive, use your fingernail to gently scrape a tiny section of the surface layer of outer bark. If the tissue underneath is green and moist, that section is alive. Brown, dry tissue indicates that section is dead. Prune away dead stems to redirect energy into any remaining live stems. If most stems are dead, recovery is unlikely.
Feed: apply a high-potassium liquid feed to container displays and hanging baskets every two weeks to promote flowering.
Climbing roses: tie in new shoots of climbing roses and ramblers while they’re still flexible, training them horizontally where possible, to slow sap flow and encourage the formation of flowering side shoots along the length of the stem.
Prune: remove spent blooms from roses, sweet peas and summer bedding to encourage new flower buds and prolong their display.
Mary Keenan and Ross Doyle run Gash Gardens, Co Laois. See gashgardens.ie