Elegant decay in the winter garden

 

Gone are the days when gardens were tidied up at the end of summer and plants cut back to within an inch of their lives.

 

 

Most gardeners realise how ornamental grasses make a wonderful contribution to the garden through winter and into early spring.

 

The grass in the picture below is pampas grass, once deeply unfashionable, but now being used with great success in borders of grasses and perennials. 

 

 

Their varied silhouettes, form tall uprights (like the Calamagrostis acutiflora Karl Foerster below) to fountain shapes and small fluffy shapes are one of the main reasons for including them.

 

 

Include perennial plants like tall Rudbeckia maxima into the mix

 

 

or Achilleas with their flat, plate-like flowers, for beautifully, contrasting shapes.

 

 

Another advantage of these flowers is that they produce seeds favoured by small birds like finches.

All these plants look wonderful with a light covering of frost, though here in the south of England we’ve had wet, very mild weather, but raindrops look nice too.

 

 

Summing up: 

• it’s all about the silhouette of these sepia tinted beauties
• plant single species in groups for maximum effect
• include tall flowering perennials for contrasting shapes and to attract birds into your garden.

Imagine how lovely this will look in the summer.

Jill