14 Comments
User's avatar
Moira's avatar

Front garden looks lovely. I used to hate ferns and hostas and now I love them thanks to @laetitiamaklouf and her Five Minute Garden. I’ve got the typical new build garden where the bit against the house only gets early AM sun. I also loved Jo’s shady bed from the Glasshouse garden; 3 types of fern, a hosta and a grass. It’s so lovely and incredibly elegant. You could try the Fuchsia Hawkshead there too? Mine grows in shade.

Expand full comment
Horticulturalish's avatar

Funnily enough it was while I was standing *IN* Jo's Chelsea garden that I wondered if I could learn to love ferns. And 'Hawkshead' is already in there, it is just growing v v slowly - and zero buds as yet!

Expand full comment
Moira's avatar

Honestly, I hated them, just give it time!

Expand full comment
Melissa Harrison's avatar

Epimediums for the shady bed? Hellebores?

Expand full comment
Horticulturalish's avatar

Both are in there, I just… eurgh.

Expand full comment
Melissa Harrison's avatar

I have an entire long bed like that, beside a path. Full, dry shade, alongside a fence, with an overhanging akebia above. I’ve gone hellebores, epimediums, hostas and ferns and a pink geranium that’s a bit ‘basic bitch’ can survive anywhere, BUT ALSO wild garlic, bluebells, red campion and cow parsley for spring, and some lords and ladies (the variegated kind) have popped up too. Best I can manage and better than bare soil :-/

Expand full comment
Horticulturalish's avatar

Totally. I guess not every part of a garden is exciting. And to be absolutely fair to it, there is still the fuchsia 'Hawkshead' and hydrangea 'Pinkachu' to come - they're just coming v v slowly. I should have stuck a bunch of erigeron in it so that it was at least contributing something at this time of year. But come the winter, it has holly and sarcacocca and hellebores to give, which will be something.

Expand full comment
Melissa Harrison's avatar

Erigeron’s a good idea – though it’s self-seeded all over my garden BAR that bed. Sigh

Expand full comment
Horticulturalish's avatar

😂😂 for gods SAKE shady bed!!

Expand full comment
India Knight's avatar

That's such a clever idea for a podcast. Lovely climbing rose. Also I misread thought your baby brother was called Busby, which you have to admit would be a marvellous name.

Expand full comment
Celia Cain, PhD's avatar

If you aren’t fond of ferns and hostas, have you considered something with big juicy leaves like Rodgersia or astilboides tabularis? That might make a nice contrast.

Expand full comment
Liz Wrigley's avatar

I put a water feature and grow some marginal irises and other strange variegated things in it

They sit in pots to their required depths which I have to keep on a record as I forget. They come out in winter and pots of holly go in their place. Epidermis are nice for two months in spring tedious otherwise

Ferns are beautiful by the way I bought seven different ones and stole a hart’s tongue from my friends walk to put on a north facing wall behind the dread shady spots

Expand full comment
Ceit-Mendip Flower Garden's avatar

I have saved this for all the plant and flower names, I’m still filling a lot of gaps, thanks for the inspiration.

I have a bank of a lot of ferns, with some geraniums and a fuscia weirdly mixed in, and I actually really like them after hating them for about two years!

Expand full comment
Katy's avatar

Can’t wait to listen to the first episode of Voicenotes ❤️

Expand full comment