THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Now we get to the heart of Dan Pearson’s plant recommendations… and he offers far more perennials than another designer we have written of…
(Do also check out this review of his excellent book ‘Spirit’.)
Perennials
Acanthus mollis latifolius group ‘Rue Ledan’
Actaea cordifolia
Anemone x Hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’
Angelica edulis
Aralia cordata
Baptisia Alba var. Macrophylla
Brunnera macrophylla ‘Betty Bowring’
Bupleurum longifolium ‘Bronze Beauty’
Cephalaria dipsacoides
Ceratostigma plumbaginoides
Dierama pulcherrimum ‘Blackbird’
Digitalis ferruginea
Disporum longistylum ‘Night Heron’
Epimedium wushanense ‘caramel’
Erigeron karvinskianus
Eryngium agavifolium
Eryngium ebracteatum
Ferula tingitana ‘Cedric Morris’
Foeniculum vulgare ‘Purpureum’
Gaura lindheimeri
Geranium ‘Tiny Monster’
Gillenia trifoliata
Glycyrrhiza yunnanensis
Helleborus x Hybridus Ashwood Hybrids
Hemerocallis ‘Stafford’
Inula magnifica ‘Sonnenstrahl’
Iris lazica
Lathyrus vernus ‘Gracilis’
Molopospermum peloponnesiacum
Paeonia lactiflora ‘White Wings’
Persicaria amplexicaulis ‘Alba’
Persicaria virginiana var. filiformis
Rudbeckia laciniata ‘Herbstsonne’
Salvia nemerosa ‘Caradonna’
Salvia uliginosa ‘Ballon Azul’
Sanguisorba ‘Cangshan Cranberry’
Sedum ‘Jose Aubergine’
Selinum wallichianum
Thalictrum ‘Elin’
Verbena macdougalii ‘Lavender Spires’ (this plant is difficult to find, at least at the time of writing. Not the same but easier to find is a plant we also wrote about here Verbena bonariensis…)
Recommended Reading:
The Well-tended Perennial Garden: Planting and Pruning Techniques
Topiary, The Art Garden at The Henderson
The Art Garden at The Henderson in Hong-Kong has now opened to the public. I joined the project last March, to work with Gillespies Landscape Architects on the topiary that had been designed for the Art Garden, which gives a calm, green space below the extraordinary Henderson skyscraper designed by Zaha Hadid Architects. The garden has been designed with butterflies in mind, so lots of nectar plants, and has other art projects and installations within its footprint. The history of the site is interesting too – it was originally the first cricket ground in Hong-Kong! So still a green space….! …
ClipFest 2025
On Sunday June 22nd there will be Clipfest 2025 at Ichi-Coo Park in Surrey. It is a celebration of all things pruning and topiary, and I will be there in my capacity of teacher at the European Boxwood and Topiary Society to demonstrate tool cleaning and sharpening, and how to clip. Tickets can be found here on Eventbrite. We are hoping for great weather and to see lots of keen pruners getting their shears out and joining us at this amazing garden! And for more on topiary…
Secateur Holders
A present arrived from Norway today, from a student who visited last February to work with Chris Poole and I on learning topiary. His new hobby – a beautiful and neatly stitched secateur holder. Thrilled with this! The holder will save me keep losing my secatuers too…! Thank you Bernt! It was the same student who introduced me to the APA with whom I am doing a talk at the end of March. Tickets can be bought here for ‘Defining The Essence – Aesthetic Pruning in the Garden’. Do join the European Boxwood and Topiary Society for that!