Bracknell prairie - planting day

16 comments

While parts of the country had heavy rain today, here in balmy Bracknell it was cloudy but dry (and incredibly windy). Back in January I announced I would be replanting my front garden as a prairie. After months of looking at pictures and videos, scouring websites, reading up on the subject, planning, and ordering plants, today was the day it got planted

This is the bed in question. By waiting until mid March, most of the bulbs already in there have put in an appearance

Here are the plants – hmmm, doesn’t look that many :-(

But when they are placed (and yes, I had a planting plan to work from), suddenly there seem to be lots!

Several hours later, and they’re all in

I gave the bed a feed and will now get some woodchips (free) from a local tree surgeon to mulch the bed

These are the plants I have used:
GRASSES
Panicum virgatum ‘Heavy Metal’ and ‘Shenandoah’ (these are upright grasses, growing four to five feet tall during the season. ‘Heavy Metal’ is blue-grey, while ‘Shenandoah’ is green but takes on red tints in the autumn)
Pennisteum alopecuroides ‘Hameln’ (this is more of a fountain grass, reaching three to four feet with fluffy ‘bunny tail’ seedheads)
Sporobolus heterolepis (grows to three feet and is topped by light and airy seedheads which, unusally for a grass, are scented)

SHRUBS
Amorpha canescens (sub-shrub up to three feet. It has pinnate leaves and tiny mauve flowers with orange stamens that attract both butterflies and insects. The plant is also very drought tolerant)
Leptodermis parvifolia (I haven’t much information on this shrub. I have grown it from seed and all I know is that it likes full sun and grows to about five feet – we shall see)

PERENNIALS
Achillea ‘Terracotta’ (orange) and ‘Walther Funcke’ (red)
Agastache ‘Kudos Gold’ (soft orange flowers)
Asters (there are already a few shorter varieties in the bed)
Chaerophyllum hirsutum ‘Roseum’ (like a two foot tall cow parsley with pale pink flowers in early summer
Dianthus carthusianorum, cruentus and knappii (small flowers on arching stems – carmine, red and pale yellow respectively. Should stand out among the grasses I hope)
Echinops ritro ‘Veitch’s Blue’ (globe thistle)
Euphorbia schillingii (upright to three feet with lime green inflorescences, prefers part shade)
Geranium sanguineum (there are already some of these around the edges)
Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus (the flowers of this species have been described as “custard yellow”. It starts flowering relatively early)
Knautia macdonica ’Mars Midget’ (maroon flowers on short plants. Unlike the taller version, this doesn’t get mildew)
Lobelia x speciosa ‘Tania’ (Barbie pink flowers later in the season)
Monarda ‘Gardenview Scarlet’ (red flowers and mildew resistant)
Phlox amplifolia ‘Augenstern’ (a taller variety with smaller flowers but more tolerant of dry soils)
Pimpinella major ‘Rosea’ (four foot cow parsley with pink flowers in early summer)
Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’ (blue) and ‘Rose Queen’ (pink)
Salvia pratensis W&B BG H-3 (not exactly a name that rolls off the tongue, but it has mauve flowers. I planted it between the other two varieties so it might look like a hybrid between them)
Sedum telephium subsp ruprechtii (creamy lime-green flowers, glaucous foliage and pink stems), ‘Matrona’ (pink flowers and foliage flushed purple. The most popular variety with insects at the RHS sedum trial at Wisley) and ‘Red Cauli’ (dense clusters of wine red flowers)
Silene asteras (small drumsticks of crimson flowers on stems about 18 inches tall)
Solidago ‘Goldenmosa’ (two feet tall) and rugosa (three feet on poor soil)
Verbascum chaixii (white- and yellow -flowered forms self-sow in this bed)
Veronica grandis (blue flowers and a taller variety at three feet)
Veronica longifolia ‘Blauriesin’ and ‘Schneeriesin’ (upright varieties with blue and white flowers respectively)
Veronicastrum virginicum ‘Album’ (white) and ‘Erica’ (pink)

BULBS
Gladiolus ‘Purple Mate’ (not hardy but should give a shot of colour in the first year of this project)
Lilium lancifolium (orange flowers on stems up to five feet tall)
Lilium pumilum (bright red flowers on two feet stems)

I will take pictures through the rest of the year, partly for my own records, but also to share so we can all see how it has worked out

• 16 Mar, 2019
• 9 likes

More blog posts by AndrewR