The Paeony Border - Extending The Season

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Several years ago, my neighbours planted a conifer hedge after the fence between our gardens. Since then, the hedge has grown and the house has changed hands twice. The current people did not like the hedge and, after checking with me first, had it taken out. This gave me a long strip of extra space about two feet wide on the eastern boundary. This is the side of the garden where the soil is heavy clay but the roots of the hedge had done a good job on breaking it down; it is now fairly friable.

As this strip is difficult to get at for maintenance but receives quite a lot of sun, I decided to plant it up with paeonies. In its season, it makes a stunning display.

But how to extend the interest when the paeonies are not in flower? For spring, I plan to plant lots of small primulas which will relish the shade provided by the paeonies in the summer. And for later, I have used an idea from Christopher Lloyd at Great Dixter and planted a clematis – C. x triternata ‘Rubromarginata’ – and let it ramble over them. This is a fairly vigorous climber, making four metres in a season, so give it lots of space. The early growth is very prone to slugs so it has taken a couple of years to get established (with the help of a copper ring placed around the emerging shoots) but now it is very much at home.