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
Modern Topiary, the Book, at Garden Media Guild
My book about topiary, Modern Topiary, has been mentioned on the Garden Media Guild newsletter…. As the screenshot says, the book can be read for free online here. At the bottom of the screenshot, it looks like another Garden Media Guild member has a book out called ‘A Year In A Cottage Garden’…. so if that is where your garden heart lies, check that out too! And at the top of the screenshot, it looks like I was listening to Pelleas et Melisande, by Debussy. What a classy chap I am, listening to classical music as I reply to emails. …
Start of the Whitby Topiary Library
I have been offered a space here in the centre of Whitby, south-facing aspect, with some raised beds in, so that I can make a Topiary Library. In my head, a topiary library is a place to showcase the common (and then not so common) shapes you can make out of topiary. With classical topiary plants, as well as some more unusual pieces. This Topiary Library can act as a reference for people to learn more about pruning and clipping. The space is small but the aspect is great and the beds are deep enough to put some plants in. …
Delivery After Dark – From the Makers of The Amelia Project
Last week I spent most nights stood in cold water streams on the moors of North Yorkshire, helping to film a new project called Delivery After Dark from the makers of the Amelia Project. I worked on the Amelia Project back at the end of 2024, lending my terrible vocal talents to a small part in the episode Didius Julianus. But this project is something new – and exciting! – and thankfully only needed me to be filmed, rather than to actually say anything. But not only did I have to stand in cold moving water at midnight, I also …