Earlier in Spring, I decided all the perennials in one particular garden really needed dividing to maximize their flowering capacity. My only problem was the size of the border, it’s not small – almost 30 metres in length, adding to this I am only there for around 3 hours a week. It would have taken for ever.
I came up with a solution, and dug out the old woody centre of each congested clump, rather than digging up, dividing and replanting.
The results this Summer, are incredible, there are dozens and dozens of stems waiting to come into flower.
This border (which belongs to Eleanor ) contains several personal favourite flowers, including :-
Helianthus Lemon Queen (image from 2015) A late Summer towering perennial, which regularly tops out at over 6ft.
Rudbeckia Herbstonne (image from 2015) . A stunning tall border perennial. Flowering from late July onwards.
I often find, that when I lift and divide this perennial the smaller clumps are attractive to slugs, with my new approach they have grown away at an incredible rate.
Achillea millefolium (image 2015) A tall back of the border perennial, flat creamy white flower heads.
Leucanthemum Phyllis Smith, a truly magnificent shasta daisy, at just under a metre tall, it is a stunning flower, a firm favourite of mine.
When I first started working in this garden, I made a very neat hoop shaped willow edge to the front of the border. Six years on, the hoops have all but disappeared, instead I regularly prune back the willow at various heights, to enable the perennials to be seen. Rather than being an edge to the border, it has definitely become an integral element.
Sally Wicks 