In the Dry Meadow a Poa labillardierei in full flower catches the first rays of warm sunshine.
As we come into high summer many of the grasses are now offering their fresh flowers which reflect and radiate even the smallest shafts of summer sunlight. Although the weather has again this year been ‘mixed’, the combination of lots of rain followed by some pretty warm temperatures has meant that many plants have put on an impressive amount of growth in quite a short space of time.
The light and airy flowers of a selection from a UK native grass, Deschampsia Goldgehange, basks in the summer sunshine.Not grown for its flower but for its quite fabulous foliage, Hakonechloa All Gold makes impressive mounds of refined and elongated golden yellow foliage and like all pure golden leaved plants is best with some protection from hot sun.Panicum Sea Mist, a Knoll Gardens introduction, has made rather distinctive mounds of bluish toned foliage and revels in hot and dry positions. It will begin to flower in the next few weeks.The well named Golden Oat grass, Stipa gigantea, holds its flowers well clear of the basal foliage, moves gently in the slightest breeze, and works beautifully in association with any number of perennials such as the mauve of veronicastrum and the soft yellow of cephalaria.Amongst the first of the taller grasses to flower each year, Calamagrostis Karl Foerster offers initially dark purple flowers that fade through any number of pink shades and light up with even the smallest amount of sunlight.Lit up by early morning sunshine, Achnatherum Allgau in the Dragon Garden produces masses of delicate looking slightly pendulous flowers that are a delight for many months.Replanted in the Prairie style in 2023, the Dragon Garden has a mix of perennials that work beautifully with the backbone of grasses. Sanguisorba Ruby Red, a Knoll Gardens introduction, is a rather compact selection that produce masses of ruby red flowers from this time of year onwards and is seen here in association with Molinia Overdam and Panicum Sea Mist.Molinia Overdam is a selection of a UK native grass, and forms neat clumps of foliage that is topped by many initially purplish flowers at this time of year. It is excellent for use in mixed plantings or as a base grass and can turn some wonderful autumnal colours. Also in the Dragon Garden, and rather taller than the sanguisorba, is Veronicastrum Fascination which produces very distinctive generally upright pointing flowers that are so very popular with many of the gardens pollinators.The Stream Garden is probably about peak flower this month with filipendula, lythrum, veronicastrum, persicaria and hydrangea all contributing to the floral fanfare.The Mill End borders are not at their summer peak quite yet but echinops and geranium are backed by the tan flowers of the plume poppy, while the very tall grass to the right, an Arundo donax, has already achieved a pretty impressive amount of growth.Backed by woody plants and grasses, the perennials in the Long Walk such as persicaria, echinops, agapanthus and inula are just beginning to show some summertime flower colour.At the back of the Gravel Garden, and close to the tall white and green foliage of Arundo donax Versicolor, a sorbaria has been in full generous flower for some weeks.While in a different section of the Gravel Garden the blue tinted foliage of festuca, poa and arundo, along with the blue flowers of agapanthus, contrast nicely with the yellow flowers of verbascum and evening primose; neither of which have ever been planted but just seed around where they feel best.The emerging new leaves of a pollarded tree, Paulownia fargesii, are as attractive in detail as its mature leaves are impressive in size.
