Day 80 - It's all about balance

Now, you might ask the question, 'why grow hardy trees against a wall?' I agree. There is really no point. It is much better to use your wall to grow material that needs the help. Nevertheless, we had four Magnolias sharing the shelter of the south walls of the house, any of which would have been perfectly at home in an open border or lawn, making way for some more tender specimens against the house. But I had to work with what I had, and made the best of my efforts to contain these trees, and confine them as close to the wall as I could. And they didn't have a bad effect. It's just that I was getting greedy for space by this time, and would have liked to extend the range. On the other hand, the common Magnolia soulangeana looked good in this position and flowered well under the pruning regime -

The M. grandiflora types, with their glossy evergreen leaves, had a function throughout the year, even in the depths of winter, but used to rattle in the wind and throw down drifts of their leathery foliage at all times of year, which were coarse and didn't rot down, and consequently a bit of a chore.

I resolved to infill with more delicate specimens. The plants which I added on the south side included the two Wisterias I mentioned yesterday, Fremontodendron californicum, two Solanums (a blue and a white), a Trachelospermum, Schisandra rubriflora, S. grandiflora, Clematis armandii, C. cirrhosa 'Freckles', the yellow-flowered Campsis radicans 'Flava',

In the north-facing shade I placed Berberidopsis corallina and Lonicera tellmanniana, the latter of which I rigorously spur-pruned and trained into loose curves above the end of the stable block that housed the tea-room. Also in this vicinity I used Buddleja auriculata, Rosa banksiae lutea with Dioscorea batatas (yam) twining through it. This was a rare departure from my normal rigours, but as the Banksian rose prefers little pruning, I thought I'd try putting something in amongst it as an experiment. I never had to untangle them, so I never had cause to curse my temerity. Here I also planted Piptanthus nepalensis and Itea illcifolia to be trained flat against the walls, and finally, the terracotta-flowered Schisandra sphenanthera, which was a particular favourite of mine.

But what can I show you pictures of? Well, that is easy. I have omitted from that list two plants which I have photographic evidence for. Remember that view from the lily pond I put up yesterday, where I said there was a gap on the right-hand corner of the wall? Well, that was where I put Ribes speciosum. This is a beautiful gooseberry relative, the flowers of which make it look more like a Fuchsia. It is an uncomfortably thorny subject to work with, like most gooseberries, which is why I train my goosegogs as fans in my present garden at home, to help with picking. This particular quality had given me the idea of training Ribes speciosum flat against the wall, where its flowers could be seen better, and at eye level, at the same time making the pruning less vicious. It worked marvellously. On the right-hand corner of the building you can now see it growing to at least ten feet in height -

Seen from much closer it looked like this -

And from even closer like this -

Oh, go on then, just one more, because I love it -

The obvious success of this led me to try the much less common close relation, Ribes roezlii, which is a handsome thing with its two-tone flowers. I'm not sure it survived long-term, but I did get a picture the first year it flowered -

Another plant which benefited from my strict pruning regime, was the rose 'Albéric Barbier', whose presence in the garden predated my time there. A Wichuriana hybrid, this is usually listed as a rambler, but I always pruned it as a climber, setting up a framework of permanent stems curving around the door next to which it was planted, and cutting back side-shoots to flower the following summer. Needless to say, I inherited it in terrible condition, and in full growth it made entering the building more like an assault course. The revised treatment removed this problem -

Then I have to ask myself, what am I looking for in a plant? I have said on a number of occasions that the common plants are excellent because they are hardy, disease-resistant, flower prolifically etc, and that is true. In a large garden particularly, you need to take up swathes of ground with strong plants to provide shelter and against which to place your more difficult specimens. But I think there comes a time for all of us when we develop a connoisseur's taste for the more unusual, the exotic, and we want to hunt out these rarities, to enjoy them in all their understated magnificence as specialities amidst all the commoner material. A good garden is usually a balance of the two. Overdo it on the uncommon plants, and you may have less of a grand-scale feast for the eyes, with too much detail and no relaxing backdrop to set it all off. An excess of the plantsman's garden. Too much of the common stuff and you have boring. It's all about balance, I call out from the top of my ladder......