A Visit to Wildly Cumbria!

The name says it all really! Wildly Rural, a fabulous nursery right on the coast of Cumbria. After the recent glimpse of summer that we’ve had I’d hope that my visit would be on an equally sunny day but that wasn’t meant to be. Its wet and windy and I see where the Wildly comes from in their name. It’s a very exposed position and you just know that these plants will be tough enough to cope with anything!

Earlier in the year I’d agreed with David, the nursery owner, to pay a visit to discuss my choice of grasses as well as the quantity.  We are looking at around 200 individual plants but this depends on many factors, such as the size of the plants, and thus the corresponding pot size as well as the nature of the grass variety; how bulky they are. David will split some plants so we can have different sizes of the same grass to give a greater textural difference. That’s the sort of advice which is invaluable when you’re creating a show garden.

I need to think more laterally about how the plants will work together, less of a grid and more of a tapestry – how poetic! I’ve got to believe that everything will be OK on the day and realise that specific decisions cannot be made this early. I was aiming to create a set planting plan but the look I’m going for means that until I see how the plants will work together I can only work out rough percentages. We set a date for my next visit when I’ll bring along some of my perennials to set them out on the nursery floor with the grasses to work out how far apart they’ll need to be positioned from each other to create the look I’m aiming for. If some grasses are wide I may be able to set them quite far apart and therefore need fewer. David gives me a very handy hint; plant the grasses that sit along path edges at an angle so that the heart of the grass is directed towards the person walking past. Try it, it works!

Finally we decide on some specific grass species with some in reserve just in case and then I have to put my trust in Mother Nature!  

Dreamy planting and cool paving

Now that the structure of the garden is decided, what about the planting? I envisage pale, smooth paving for a contemporary look; with exuberant planting full of texture and movement.

Grasses have inspired the planting in the show garden, for their fabulous texture and movement, and their almost year round interest. I want to plant the grasses en masse with ribbons of tall perennials woven through, their pretty flower heads peeping above, giving the impression of a flowing sea of colour and texture.

David and Pauline at Wildly Rural, a fabulous specialist grass nursery in Cumbria, have agreed to supply the grasses. They’re not new to the particular demands of a show garden so I’m confident that the plants they supply will do us proud. The next step is to pin down my plant list so they can set aside just the right number and varieties I want (possibly up to 200 plants). They’ll be lovingly tended over the next several months and then primped and primed to make sure they are at their very best just in time for the show.

I’m definitely worried about the perennials, what with the unreliable weather we’ve had over the past few years, you never know which plants will be in flower and looking their best just in time for the judges. Ladybrook Nursery, in Bramhall, Cheshire, are another Tatton regular, and are supplying the shrubs, trees and perennials and I’m in the process of drawing up my shortlist for them. All plants will be set aside in a section of the nursery devoted to the Tatton show plants, and then its over to me to keep a regular eye on them, paying regular visits to deadhead, stake, feed and generally protect with my life! There’s no turning up the week before the show hoping that everything’s going to be OK.  There’s a big commitment to ensure the plants are in tip top condition for their big day!