Update to my Woodland Garden (New Plants)!

Over the summer I tidied up my Woodland Garden, removing some old trained fruit bushes, clearing away some of the duller, sprawling ground cover plants, then prepping several areas for five new plants.

My woodland garden is full of interest from January (Hellebores and snowdrops), and does not stop flowering (primulas, lungwort, brunnera, foxgloves, peony, azaleas and camassias…) right through to mid-summer when Aquilegias and martagon lilies finish the main season. By late July, though, there is a definite sense the garden has passed its best, with only foliage on show. By August, I’m moved to tidy up, clear away old stems, seed heads and weeds which perks the place up considerably.

• Also read: Ten ways to plug the August gap

This year, however, I went further and removed some of the old trained fruit, including two 20 year old currant fans (above) and two old espaliered apple trees (below). The effect was immediate, revealaing the fence and box hedge emphasised the geometry, giving a greater sense of space: clean and clear.

Once the fruit trees were gone, I was able to get in and do a really good tidy-up: weeding, clearing and mulching:

Then, having created some space for planting, I became interested in hunting down plants to bring interest through late summer and autumn. My woodland garden has a low-key natural feel: calm and sophisticated, rather than shouting for attention. I prefer plants that fit in as though they belong, like they are meant to be there: nothing too garish, too highly bred or too “garden centre”.

So, here are the five new plants that I’ve added…

Ivy Leaved Cyclamen

Cyclamen hederifolium are wonderful shade-tolerant plants that thrive on dry soils. They grow from large corms which store water to get them through their summer dormancy period, then spring to life in July or August, flowering for weeks. I already had several plants – most of which are an almost artificial magenta, which i wanted to dilute with some subtler mauve/pink varieties.

Hardy cyclamen are often sold in the spring as dried corms in packets. These can be difficult to establish, and the general recommendation is to buy pot-grown plants if possible. Online prices, though were off-putting, until I came across a listing on eBay selling corms dug from the sellers garden: five corms for £6. It was an offer I couldn’t pass up. Before I pressed ‘buy’ I looked up if cyclamen can be transplanted successfully in early July — discovering that yes, July is one of the best times to transplant them, as they are dormant and their roots have died back. Once planted, they will start sending up flowers (especially if they are triggered by sudden watering), using the energy in the corms and only grow new roots later. This is their normal cycle, so buying them now was perfect timing… click… BUY!

Looking great by the end of August

Perennial Foxgloves

I already have a long-lived foxglove species in my woodland garden: Digitalis grandiflora ‘Dwarf Carillon’ (left), which is certainly perennial, growing reliably for 5 years, and flowering 2-3 times per year with short dense spikes of large flowers.

Its main downside is the flower colour: a pale yellow-green, which tends to blends into the surrounding foliage making them rather easy to overlook.

This set me looking for other perennial foxgloves, and I landed on Digitalis lutea. Not actually much different in colour, but quite distinct. It has much smaller flowers than grandiflora but produces taller, narrower flower spikes.

The two straw foxgloves I planted had nice healthy leaves and one of them was in flower. I have noticed since that they are producing additional offsets at the base, so I should have several flower stems on each plant next year.

Whitewood Aster

The scientific name for Whitewood aster used to be Aster divaricatus, but has recently been changed to Eurybia divaricata. It is one of those plants I strongly associate with Beth Chatto: she had a real eye for plants that have an easy naturalistic charm to them, and I think this was one of her favourites. It has many virtues, including thriving in difficult situation: dry shade, even with root competition. Yet, it forms handsome clumps of thin dark upright stems with narrow heart-shaped leaves. In August and September these are topped with sprays of tiny starry white dairy flowers with yellow centres.

I’m so pleased with this Aster (and it’s still an Aster to me) that I’ll probably plant some more next year. It is just the perfect balance of eye-catching yet refined. And it looks great against the black fence now the currants have been removed.

Anemone ‘Dreaming Swan’

I love Japanese anemones for their perfect and cheerful late summer flowers which they hold high above the foliage on strong stems. What I like far less though, is their propensity to spread rapidly by underground rhizomes causing them to pop up everywhere I didn’t ask them to go.

Fortunately, a clever plant breeder, Elizabeth MacGregor in Scotland, has solved this conundrum with her highly acclaimed collection known as the Swan Series. These improved Japanese anemones supposedly form nice clumps that do not spread uncontrollably. They are also smaller reaching about half the height of traditional Japanese anemones (e.g. ‘Honorine Jobert’). The swan series have distinctive two-toned petals (pure white on the front with a contrasting lavender blue reverse) and have an exceptionally long blooming season from early summer right into late autumn.

Hydrangea paniculata ‘Groundbreaker Greeny’

This is, perhaps, a long shot. Launched this year at Chelsea, this is the first dwarf panicle hydrangea. The Groundbreaker series have been bred to grow as broad, low shrubs which are wider than they are tall—reaching just 30 to 40cm (12-16in) in height, with a spreading habit of up to 70–80cm (28-32in). The two available in my garden centre were Groundbreaker Ruby which was a dark red – a bit too strong for my woodland garden, and Groundbreaker Greeny with “‘long-lasting, fresh lime-green panicles”. I liked the sound of this latter one, so that’s the one I took home.

Planting a hydrangea at the height of summer drought was far from ideal, and despite me watering it every few days, after two months, I relaxed the watering, and it quickly deteriorated. Fortunately, I caught it before it died.

With the hydrangea safely back from the brink, these five new additions have (potentially) solved my August gap—bringing a fresh, quiet energy that will carry this woodland plot beautifully right into autumn. I’ll add some follow up photos next year so you can see how they performed.