Garden Centre

Monday, October 5, 2009

Plants that look good in the rain

I think there should be a rule in garden centres that they must display plants as they would look after several days of heavy British rain. It’s amazing how often we buy something that then degenerates into a soggy brown mass in the middle of the border.

Most plants can cope with a couple of days rain, but when we get it for seven or ten days in a row, as we often do in March and October, the garden can end up looking pitiful. Not only that, but plants that are prone to mildew will seem to recover from their semi-drowning, only to succumb again to the nasty grey growth that appears from ground level and seeps under every leaf before crawling up stems.

One plant that I love in my rainy garden is the catmint family – they don’t mind some wet soil as well as a good soaking from above, and they are still going strong into October

Any plant that comes from the rainforest will do well in our October rains, although probably not so well in March as they are used to a more congenial temperature along with their rain – but if you don’t like planting non-natives, you’re rather limited: ivies always look good, some of the large pond marginals will still be giving good service at this time of year – such as the cardinal lobelia, and spindles will always look sparky, even in a deluge.

Labels: catmint, ivy, lobelias, plants for rain, spindle

The All Seasons Gardener at 5:37 AM

---