The third phase of the creation of AndAllen was the installation of 2 herbaceous borders. The preparation for these was completed during phase 2 so all that was left to do was source the plants and get them into the ground during the sweet spot – the short period of time between the last frost and the blistering heat of summer.
I had always been impressed by the designs of Piet Oudolf – repetitions of perennials and grasses on a large scale. Harmony of plant height, flowering season, color and texture – the overall look being greater than the sum of the parts. Add onto this a bit of influence from the Irish designer Jimi Blake by throwing in a hint of tropical planting – then that was the scheme for these 2 beds. Reality check – highly unlikely that the desired look will be achieved on the first pass due to a number of factors – plant availability, not all original selections could be sourced; whether all the plants sourced will thrive in the GA climate; there will be a number of wrong plant/wrong place choices.
Early in the placing out of the plants it became clear that the decision to replace the majority of the clay with a bespoke planting medium was a great idea – additional cost but the consistency of drainage and ease of planting would be a lifetime benefit. The task of placing 240 plants was eased with a bit of help from Mads and Rosie.
The plant list included – New England Aster (Raydon Favorite); Eupatorium maculatum;shasta daisy; sedum autumn joy; Veronica georgia blue; Monarda Jacob Cline;Stachus,lambs ears; blue eye grass;Stokes aster; blue festuca; amsonia hubrechti; iris sibirica; achillea moonshine ;Nepeta walkers low ; penstemon ; Baptisia australis; Gaura lindheimerei ; Monarda balmy rose ; phlox paniculata; salvia ; echinacia ; coreopsis ; verbena bonariensis ; rudbeckia goldsturn and Canna.
After planting and mulching, all that was required was a good watering!
AndAllenGarden 