October – succession in the garden

Step into the garden at Gasper Cottage in October and you will be greeted by dahlias, cosmos, sunflowers, and asters, still fresh, flawless, and bursting with life and colour. These late-season troopers continue to flower their socks off well into autumn, wilfully refusing to take their cue from the many other plants now firmly in 'wind down' mode.

With such season-defying vigour on offer, the value of succession planting has never been more apparent. By this, we mean planting a bed or border with things to flower sequentially through the seasons; the colours and textures ebbing and flowing throughout the year like a well-orchestrated symphony.

Championed by the late Christopher Lloyd of Great Dixter, succession planting aims for a constantly changing display from late spring to autumn, with no discernible 'peak' during this time. As Christopher himself put it, the idea is to 'keep the show going over as long a period as possible', and 'at no point shall there be a lapse'.

Though much more complex and labour-intensive than the traditional seasonal display (think summer border, winter garden, etc.), this approach is, we think, what elevates a garden from 'average' to something really special. To get it right takes years of trial and error, and even then it remains very much a work in process.

To look at an example, take the Curved Border. In a prime spot close to the house and next to the main outdoor entertaining area, this border needs to pack a punch for as much of the year as possible. Getting off to a flying start in spring, it zings with the acid yellows of euphorbia contrasted against the bluey purple hues of nepeta and chives. White accents from foxgloves and astrantia provide a luminous lift.

As the season progresses, things like ammi, verbascum, calendula, geranium, delphinium, and origanum come to the fore, continuing on the yellow, blue, and white theme.

Red tones are gradually introduced as things like penstemons, sedum, and the first of the dahlias take over. These pick up the deep purples of the structural shrub planting (smoke bush and barberry), and are highlighted by generous helpings of white cosmos and soft lilac asters.

As the soft, low light of autumn arrives, the remainder of the dahlias shine in rich, warm tones.

By winter only a handful of evergreen sedges and few skeletal perennials remain, though enough to add height and catch frost – giving the eye something interesting to rest on.

Late winter sees the border in its barest moment; cut back, mulched, and ready to start the whole thing all over again.

As you may have noticed, it takes many different types of plant to garden in a successional way. Perennials can't do it alone, not even with shrubs backing them up – simply too much of their year is spent without flowers. Annuals and biennials are therefore key in the quest for floral constancy. These can be popped in the gaps between permanent planting and relied on to 'do their thing' quickly and loudly. Their short, sweet lifespan means that after flowering they can be whipped out and replaced with later alternatives that have been waiting in the wings (i.e., polytunnel!).

If this all sounds straightforward, we can assure you it is not...

"It's a constant juggle", explains Jack, "and we're still very much in the early days of perfecting the timings. I'm constantly learning from previous mistakes, and definitely have a way to go before achieving what you might consider a finely tuned schedule.

"Throw in variables such as extreme weather and seed failure, and it can be really challenging to stave off that dreaded lull. There are certainly a lot of plates spinning at any given moment!".

To give you an idea of those plates, this is what Jack's succession schedule currently looks like:

• Autumn: - Sow slower-growing hardy annuals in the polytunnel, such as calendula and eschscholzia. - Clear out late summer bedding from the borders and get spring interest bulbs and biennials planted. This year, there will be a big push with tulips, as well as those old Gasper faithful's – honesty, foxgloves, and sweet rocket.

• Early spring:

  - Sow quicker-growing hardy annuals in the polytunnel, such as nigella and opium poppies.

  - Once these are large enough, plant out along with the autumn sown hardy annuals.

• Late spring: - Sow late summer annuals in the polytunnel, such as sunflowers and cosmos. - Pot up newly bought tubers or bulbs of tender things like dahlias or cannas to give them a head start in the polytunnel.

• Early to midsummer: - Clear away spring bedding and plant out late summer annuals and tender tubers/ bulbs. This changeover typically means something of a midsummer dip with the annuals, though should, in theory, be when many of the perennials are in their prime.

  - Sow next year's spring-interest biennials.
  

Exhausted just reading it?! Fear not, there are a few things everyone can do in their garden to achieve a long season of interest, and which don't require the tireless efforts of a full time gardener.

Firstly, try to grow things which have a natural inclination to flower long and hard. These may not be the most exciting or unusual of plants, but they're wildly popular for a reason. Things we wouldn't be without from this camp include alstroemeria, verbena, geranium, and erigeron. All are spectacularly easy plants which virtually look after themselves, remaining fresh and colourful for months without so much as a grumble.

Seen in the foreground, Alstroemeria 'Indian Prince’ is one of the most outstanding plants in the garden, reliably looking this good from May until the first frosts of November.

Many a gardener's not-so-secret weapon. Verbena bonariensis flowers for almost half the year, and will seed itself about with wild abandon. The ultimate self-gardening plant.

There are many excellent hardy geraniums, though Geranium 'Rozanne' is, for us, the longest flowering. A gentle spreading habit sees it snugly fill gaps (see next photo), and it will romp away happily almost anywhere.

A one-plant garden makeover. Introduce Erigeron karvinskianus once and watch it quietly seed itself in cracks and crevices forevermore. Flowers from late spring to early autumn; year, after year, after year.

Our second top tip for keeping the show going for as long as you can is to deadhead things like dahlias and cosmos regularly. This makes a huge difference in prolonging flowering, and is something we do once a week during the latter half of the season. It's a lovely, gentle job, too, with many a happy hour spent inching round the garden, bucket and secateurs in hand.

We hope you've enjoyed this insight in to our methods and motivations here at Gasper Cottage, where it's all about squeezing the most possible joy out of the space we have.

Until next month!