Let me show you a 'Branklyn Garden Spring' set of photos.
Nestled into the slopes of Kinoull Hill and overlooking the River Tay and Perth is Branklyn Garden. It belongs to the National Trust of Scotland besides it's a garden that holds a few National Collections.
Furthermore there are plenty of rare and unusual plants growing there too.
At this time of year the garden is just bursting with colour from the spring flowering woodlanders. Pathways are lined with hellebores. While drift after drift of soft lemon oxslips meander through the borders. In addition pockets of corydalis in shades of lilac, white and pink are scattered among the trees.
Furthermore many of the rhododendron and trillium flowers are just emerging from their buds. The prunus trees are exuberantly coming into flower. While the upper canopy of leaves from the many maples and birches are just beginning to unfurl.
There's a tapestry of colour from the primula, anemones, chionodoxa, scilla , pulmonaria, and muscari. Moreover if you look a little closer you'll find little jewels like hacquetia, hepatica and various erythronium and much more.
All against a backdrop of a large alpine rock garden and many shades of green and blue from the conifers.
“Is the spring coming?" he said. "What is it like?"...
"It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine...”
~ Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden
A Branklyn Garden Spring
Neat Complementarity
Many of us struggle with continuity of flowering in the garden. However Branklyn Garden is a great example of spring and summer planting growing practically in the same area. Many of the spring plants go dormant over the summer months as the much larger perennials take their place. Consequently those larger plants provide shade for the spring ones like the primula that don't have a summer dormancy period.
Noel Kingsbury wrote on a similar topic called The Joys of Spring where he referred to it as 'neat complementarity'.
His 'neat complementarity' is really all to do with planting in layers. Starting off with the larger summer perennials as the main display in the garden. Then planting the spring layer of plants and bulbs around those summer perennials. Because these plants have different growth cycles and flower at different temperatures they are so much easier to integrate together. As the spring woodlanders die back the summer perennials are only starting to produce their new growth of the season.
The earliest pioneer of this style of mixed border planting was Gertrude Jekyll. Likewise in our generation it was the late Christopher Lloyd.
Succession Planting
Without our sights always focused on getting best value over a long season - the ethic of 'I'm not greedy but I like a lot' - we constantly plan so that when a plant has its off season another takes over. ~ Christopher Lloyd from his book 'Succession Planting'.
In Christopher's book he tells us that we need to consider the vigour of both the spring and summer plants. In other words ...before we plant them together! Some plants just detest the competition.
For example he warns of the broad leafed spring daffodils. These are like thugs in the garden and are virtually impossible to integrate close by with summer perennials. He suggests growing alliums with late summer Japanese anemones. Spring bulbs with geraniums and small leafed narcissus with hemerocallis to name just a few.
Over the late spring and summer season I hope to get back to Branklyn Garden. I want to see how they integrate their planting with the seasons and take home a few ideas for my own garden!
Furthermore you can read more of my Branklyn Garden series below:
Have you wanted to strolled down the Blue Yonder?
How to Grow Meconopsis poppies
Andrea
Hello Rosie, i guess i seldom see your wide angle photos these days. It is nice to stroll and shoot in that garden, with many subjects to play with. My favorite is that tree with unusual bark pattern, amazing.
Lucy Corrander at Loose and Leafy
I don't usually like conifers in a garden but the backdrop you show here is interestingly dramatic.
Mark and Gaz
Hi Rosie, thank you for taking us along, on a beautiful garden that is looking lovely in the spring. Looking forward to your updates on how this garden would look like later in the season.
A Garden of Threads
Great post Rosie, I love companion planting. The dieback from spring bulbs is hidden by the summer perennials.
Carolyn ♥
Thank you Rosie for a lovely walk through inspiring gardens. I have a perennial garden that i enjoy through the seasons. Delphiniums, tulips, peonies, columbine and iris are our stars of Spring. As they begin to fade the bright colors of Summer arrive, coneflowers of many variety, mallow, hydrangeas, clematis, daisies, sweet alyssum, penstemon… the list goes on. Surely my joy in gardening is here where change is eminent and so welcome.
Rosie Nixon
@Andrea I'm bringing the wide angle and the tripod the next time I go 🙂
Rosie Nixon
@Lucy Corrander at Loose and Leafy It blends in very much with the background as there are lots of conifers around this part of Kinoull Hill along with giving great winter interest.
Rosie Nixon
@Mark and Gaz I can't wait to go back – as the Meconopsis will soon be in flower.
Rosie Nixon
@A Garden of Threads Thanks Valerie – it's something I am getting better at planning in the borders.
Rosie Nixon
@Carolyn ♥ Exactly Carolyn thank you.
Janet/Plantaliscious
Some beautiful planting there Rosie. I love the river of primulas. Succession planting has always seemed like the Holy Grail of the gardening world, but I am beginning to think it isn't as hard as it seems if you take the time to really understand the plants and their needs. I think I need to get my hands on that book…
Liz
Hi so beautiful as always.. hey I changed my site to..http://enrichingmomentsphotography.blogspot.com/ please come by and say hello.
Florist
Amazing pix.So beautiful garden with lovely flowers. Found your photos on Google+.