Читать книгу The Organic Garden - Allan Shepherd - Страница 27

After about two years of being in my current garden I’ve really started to appreciate all the wildflowers that come up. I haven’t had to do anything to encourage them – just leave them be. In fact, in large parts of my garden I’ve developed a policy of editing what’s there naturally rather than buying and planting seeds. This means digging up those weeds that will become invasive (see pages 190–207) and leaving those wildflowers I know I want. Foxgloves (Digitalis), cambrian poppies (Meconopsis cambrica) and red campion (Silene dioica) are all mainstays in my garden and they’re all fantastic for pollinating insects. They are also resistant to attack from slugs and snails. Editing is a good way to learn about the differences between weeds and wildflowers if you’re just starting to garden.

But editing has obvious limitations. You can’t edit yourself a vegetable patch. Or an orchard. Or a perennial flower border full of your favourite plants. If you want to grow the plants you prefer, rather than those the soil throws up, you have to write your own story – not edit nature’s. This means working out what sort of planting schemes you want, what shape beds to make and how much room to give to each different element within the garden. You’ll also have to decide how to enclose your boundaries and where to put your paths. If your pencil skills are like mine – only fit for French caves – don’t feel you have to draw everything. Keep it in your head. For once it may be better in than out.

Hopefully as you read this book, you’ll get an idea of what sort of plants you might want to put in your garden. If you’re like my mum you’ve probably already overstocked it in your imagination to Kew Garden proportions. Remember to leave room for all the other things you need: paths, seating areas, hot tubs. The last one is optional, obviously, but unless you’re in possession of a Harry Potter broomstick you’ll need the first two. A balance has to be struck between plants and infrastructure. And if you’re starting with a clean sheet you need to plan both at the same time.