911±¬ÁÏ

James Lawrence, 911±¬ÁÏ Principal Horticultural Advisor, has designed this simple, attractive, and most importantly, sustainable border design for you to try at home with plants that are easy to grow, widely available and look good together.

This pink and red-themed planting design provides a range of plants that, once established, will thrive in alkaline, chalky or limey soil to provide a variety of interest throughout the year. A simple planting plan helps to create depth, interest and good coverage in a border.

James Lawrence

These plants have been selected because their preferred growing condition is alkaline soil

The acidity/alkalinity of soil is measured on a pH scale, which runs from 0 to 14. Neutral soil has a pH of 7. Alkaline (lime-rich) soil has a pH above 7, and the higher the pH, the more alkaline the soil. Chalky or limestone soils are alkaline. You can measure your soil pH using a simple testing kit. If you have alkaline soil, choose plants that will thrive in it – acid-loving or ericaceous plants such as rhododendrons will not. Club root disease (which affects brassicas) is less prevalent in alkaline soil. . By using plants that are naturally adapted to these conditions, we can enjoy healthier plants and lower inputs compared with trying to grow plants that are less well suited.

The Geum and Heuchera provide some ground cover and will help prevent erosion of bare soil. The ground cover can also help to suppress weed growth and reduce evaporative moisture loss from the soil surface.

Additional organic mulching , preferably with homemade compost , can further improve soil moisture retention and weed suppression. Mulches should be spread when the soil is already moist, to help trap some of that moisture before it dries out in summer.

1 - Aucuba japonica ‘C°ù´Ç³Ù´Ç²Ô¾±´Ú´Ç±ô¾±²¹â€™ is an evergreen shrub that creates structure through all seasons with large, leathery green leaves heavily spotted and blotched with deep yellow. The small flowers are dark purple and on this female variety are followed by bright red berries.

2 - Deutzia x hybrida ‘Mont Rose’ is a medium-sized deciduous

Deciduous refers to plants (mainly trees and shrubs) that lose their leaves seasonally, usually during autumn. This is a natural process triggered by the season's shorter days and lower temperatures and allows plants to conserve energy during the winter months. shrub with clusters of pale purple-pink star-shaped flowers in early summer.

3 - Heuchera ‘Green Spice’ is a perennial

Perennials are plants that live for multiple years. They come in all shapes and sizes and fill our gardens with colourful flowers and ornamental foliage. Many are hardy and can survive outdoors all year round, while less hardy types need protection over winter. The term herbaceous perennial is used to describe long-lived plants without a permanent woody structure (they die back to ground level each autumn), distinguishing them from trees, shrubs and sub-shrubs. with semi-evergreen mounds of leaves that are marbled silver-green, with burgundy veins edged with green. Pale pink flowers are held high in late spring.

4 - Geum ‘Mrs J. Bradshaw’ is a herbaceous perennial producing bright orange-red flowers with golden yellow stamens in the centre in late spring-early summer, held high above ground-level dark green foliage.

5 - Anemone hupehensis ‘Praecox’ is an upright herbaceous perennial with three-part leaves and bowl-shaped, pink-purple flowers in late summer and autumn.

6 - Syringa pubescens subsp. microphylla ‘S³Ü±è±ð°ù²ú²¹â€™ is a deciduous shrub with dark green leaves and upright sprays of fragrant rosy pink flowers in late spring to early summer.

Alkaline soil is common in areas of the country with a lot of chalk or limestone. By choosing plants that are well-suited to chalky or limey soils, you can keep your border looking good and growing well, because plants that are planted in the right place tend to be stronger and more naturally resistant to pests and disease. Once the plants are established, this will also reduce the need for extra water and fertilisers that less well-adapted plants would need.

Chalky soils can be very fast-draining, so have the same issues as sandy soils in that respect. However, the most important thing to bear in mind is that the high pH

This describes how acid or alkaline soil is, and is expressed as a number between 0 and 14. Soil with a pH of 7 is neutral, an acid soil has a lower value, and an alkaline soil has a higher one. Most plants grow best in soil that’s within a specific pH range, so it’s useful to know your soil’s pH. Testing kits are easy to use and widely available in garden centres and online. of chalky or limey soils can cause some minerals to be ‘locked up’ in the soil, leaving the plant unable to take them up and struggling to grow. However, if you choose plants that have adapted to naturally thrive in those conditions, they will grow much better.

Using the ethos of ‘right plant, right place’ to create a sustainable planting combination is great for the environment. It helps avoid waste and the use of products and practices needed to try and help ailing plants, such as the application of fertiliser. It also creates robust, long-lived planting that benefits soil health and garden biodiversity

The variety of living organisms (plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms) in a particular environment. Boosting the biodiversity of your garden has many benefits, including supporting wildlife, improving soil health and reducing the likelihood of pest and disease problems. . For more information about sustainable gardening, please see the 911±¬ÁÏ Sustainability Strategy .