After the dark days of the winter, there are
few things more uplifting than the sight of the first emerging
buds beginning to swell as plants wake from their cold slumber.
Gardeners everywhere will be looking keenly for
the young new shoots of herbaceous plants breaking through the
soil.
For cathedral-like spires of flowers and
foliage, Verbascum olympicum stands proud in any sunny
border providing it’s not too wet. With yellow towers of blooms
and grey foliage it’s happy on Kent’s chalk soils.
Ever popular at RHS flower shows, the trendy
Verbena bonariensis is capable of making over six feet to throw
purple tufts of flowers into the sky.
Pure brazenness comes in the form of Rudbeckia
‘Herbstsonne’ up to seven feet high, with its yellow daisy like
flowers during late summer and autumn.
Architectural foliage is the specialty of the
moisture-loving Gunnera manicata, with individual leaves
sometimes over five feet across on a single plant.
Spring sunshine is warming the soil and soon the race
will be on to get those flowers up and out, not just under our noses but
sometimes even over our heads! If you can plant these tall players
in big groups, you don’t have to worry quite so much about staking
either as their safety in numbers means they protect and support each
other.
Just remember all that growth needs to be rewarded
with a good application of organic compost.
