Gardeners: grow up for God’s sake!
How many gardens do you see that are 2D, without any tall plants? There may be a tree or shoulder-high shrub in one corner, but the rest – lawn, bedding and edging – are rarely more than a foot high. Look at any natural ecosystem; plants evolved to fit every niche and height. They don’t grow in order of size.
People are OK with using tall plants as long as they’re up walls or at the back of borders, but there’s a fear of putting them ‘in front’ of anything. Free-standing vertical elements in a border – tall, slim annuals or perennials, climbers grown on canes or obelisks or suitable shrubs or trees – break up your perception. Your eyes rest on this “high point”. One of the first rules of garden design is not to let everything be seen at a glance. You’re forced to look around these ‘false corners’ to discover what comes next.
Tall plants – Don’t let everything be seen at once
Here are some of my favourites:
Sunflower (Helianthus): The sky’s the limit if you grow annual Mongolian Giant or Giraffe (14ft)! These are novelties. Opt for multi-branching plants, six-footers that don’t need staking, such as Helios Flame or Bees’ Knees.
Perennial Helianthus: Lemon Queen is the best, late flowering, with dark foliage up to 6ft.
Sweet peas: Train up an obelisk at the front of the border for impact. Try Cupani, Fragrantissima or Old Spice for the best perfume.
Perennial sweet peas (Lathyrus latifolius): Will grow 8ft from the ground each year. It’s as tough as old boots. I’ve come to terms with one wedged in a crack in a wall I can’t kill, so now I work with it. Some years I use it as ground cover, others train it up an obelisk.
Echiums: I have a ridiculous passion for this genus of tall plants, not our native viper’s bugloss, but the exotic type from the Canaries, ever since I grew a mixed pack of E. pininana. They’re either bi- or triennial, depending on conditions. Some can have 12ft flower spikes, but in pots they can be restricted to just 4-5ft. I also grow E. wildpretii, E. fatuosum, E. fatuosum Dwarf Blue and E. Red Rocket. Beware slight irritation to some from long, pointy leaves.
Make yourself a floral net curtain
Giant mullein, Verbascum bombyciferum: A silvery, woolly rosette of leaves, 3ft across, which gives way to a yellow candlestick of blooms, 6-7ft high. It’s a biennial but seeds itself around freely.
Angelica and purple angelica (A. archangelica and gigas): Both tolerate some shade. They are biennials, and their ornamental leaves are boosted by huge umbel-like flower heads.
Verbena bonariensis: A favourite of designers, it always dies on me. Long, wavy strands of purple flowers form a living mesh.
Stipa gigantea: With 8ft stems, very architectural for winter interest – like a giant net curtain.
Productive crops: Runner beans are ideal over cane wigwams. The thornless blackberry, Loch Maree, can be grown this way, with its double pale pink flowers, autumn fruit and winter leaf/stem colour.
Tall plants – Native stars
Foxgloves: British natives are not that tall, but hunt out some rarer varieties, especially in mixed packs of seeds, and you’ll find some whoppers. Sadly, the taller they are, the shorter their lives and vice versa. The shortest tend to be perennial in my experience.
Teasel (Dipsacus): A wildflower favourite with spiny pink/purple flower heads rising out of a prickly rosette of leaves in summer. These heads dry to an attractive shade of brown, much loved by birds and flower arrangers. Teasels are biennials but self-seed freely. About 6ft and will stand some shade
Cardoon (Cynara) and globe artichokes: Similar and edible, but I prefer them in a border for their huge thistle-like flowers and striking seed heads, which stay on over winter.
Kniphofia (red-hot pokers): Striking late summer colour from the exotic-looking strap-like clump, and hardier than they look.
Clematis alpina, climbing roses, or fast-growing exotic annual climbers grown over obelisks: Any old climbers – avoid any spines if growing near a path – or the golden hop – it can cause skin irritation.
There’s an excellent selection of tall plants at www.bethchatto.co.uk.
