Here’s a colourful border in early summer with a small wildlife pond (in the centre of the photo).
The soil had a fair amount of clay in it and things like Thymes would not survive over winter, but as you can see from the list below, there are quite a number of alpines that cope with these conditions.
For a bigger picture see it at our Facebook page.
Why not have a go at creating a new flower border, or revamp an old one, in a similar style to this one?
So here is the list of the most obvious plants that make up this flower bed.
Firstly the foreground:
- Erodium chrysanthum (feathery foliage, not flowering)
- Sedum kamtschaticum var. floriferum Weihenstephaner Gold
- Hebe Pageii
Next line back and the middle:
- Campanula pusilla (blue bell-like flowers)
- Dianthus Fusilier (upright crimson flowers)
- Viola labradorica purpurea (purple-black foliage)
- Iris sibirica (very tall and slender with blue flowers)
- Persicaria bistorta Superba (light pink flowers on tall stems)
- Geum rivale (leafy foliage)
- Mimulus Inca Sunset (creamy yellow with brown eye)
- Helianthemum (Rock Rose) The Bride (silver foliage and white flowers)
- Dryas octopetala (fluffy seed heads)
- Chamaecyparis lawsoniana Minima Aurea (golden foliage)
Background plants:
- Hypericum olympicum (golden flowers)
- Silene uniflora Druett’s Variegated (low white flowers)
- Campanula Resholt’s Variety (dark blue flowers)
- Sedum spurium Fuldaglut (bright red foliage)
- Saxifraga Pearly King (past flowering – brown seed heads visible)
- Saxifraga Knapton Pink (past flowering – brown seed heads visible)
- Achillea ptarmica The Pearl (tall white flowers)
- Dianthus Warden Hybrid (magenta flowers)
- Gypsophila repens Dubia (creamy lilac flowers)
- Helianthemum Henfield Brilliant (brick red flowers – could substitute with Helianthemum Georgeham)
- Saponaria ochymoides (deep pink flowers)
- Dianthus La Bourboule (creamy pink flowers and ruby buds)