Planting ideas from the Chelsea Flower Show

Press Day at The Chelsea Flower Show is a very glamorous occasion, but beyond the layer of glitz, it comes down to fabulous gardens with wonderful plant combinations.

It’s a chance to enjoy perfection and grab ideas to use at home, these are just a few of those planting ideas that, with a few tweaks, could be used in any garden.

This was a crowd-pleaser on ‘ A Trugmakers Garden’ in the Artisan category. It’s a nice mix of orange, red and dark blue flowers all held together with the green foliage and lime-green flowers of Alchemica mollis (ladies mantle).

It’s not just the show gardens that are rife with planting ideas, some of the trade-stands have great displays, like this one on the Alitex stand.

Frothy, white flowers that look like cow parsley give a nice, airy appearance. Garden plants like Ammi majus or Anthriscus Ravenswing have just the same look, and along with deep, red Aquelegia, thistle- like flowers of Cirsium rivilare Atropurureum and lupins complete a pleasing, naturalistic look.

The planting was repeated with plum coloured iris and box balls.

Planting in blocks rather than naturalistic planting was the look for this contemporary, Mondrian inspired garden designed by Marcus Barnett for the Telegraph.

The blocks of flowers were mixed with blocks of evergreen plants like these Yews, the white Eremurus (foxtail lily) towers above a base of white and silver.

This block was made up of peonies, still in bud but probably red, and red poppies, nicely set-off by the dark grey wall. The background colour is used to great effect in lots of the show-gardens and a great idea to use at home.

More blocks, this time with orangey-red tulips and purple aquilegia.

This is a sultry combination that I’m going to find a place for in my garden, velvety-red roses with spears of Lysimachia Beaujolais.

I’ll use some of these planting and colour ideas, probably with different plants that’ll suit the conditions in my garden, the only rule is to make sure they all flower at the same time.

Here’s a book about growing hardy perennial plants, and a post about one of the best evergreen shrubs here.

Happy gardening

Jill

all photos: Jill Anderson.