Great plant displays at Tatton

I was impressed by an unusual mix of colours in one association on the stand by Barnsdale Gardens of Rutland. Hot coloured Helenium; warm yellow H. ‘Wyndley’ and red H. ‘Rubinzwerg’ were backed by the superb grass Miscanthus sinensis ‘Zebrinus’ its blades marked with horizontal yellow bands but also mixed with bright pink Lythrum salicaria ‘Feuerkerze’.

Broadleigh Gardens bought a touch of South African sunshine top the floral marquee, using several plants that hail from that country. Dierama Barr Hybrid with pink bells held on arching stems mingled with the cobalt blue rounded heads of Agapanthus ‘Savile Blue’ all above an understory of whispy grass Stipa tenuissima. In the back, the warm yellow blooms of Lilium leichtlinii add a contrasting colour.

Caths Garden Plants of Cumbria produced a splendid display with several areas of interest. The most spectacular combination used a mix of so-called ‘transparent plants’ . Diascia personata ‘Hopleys’ with masses of raspberry-pink flowers mingled with the purple, finger-like flower heads of Veronicastrum virginicum ‘Lavendelturm’. Another good combination employed grass Molinia caerulea subsp. caerulea ‘Edith Dudszus’ with its dark flowerheads with splendid Digitalis ‘Spice Island’. This orange flowered selection has dark flower stems that match the flower heads perfectly.

A simple but effective combination could be seen on the Morton Hall Nurseries of Nottingham stand. Late summer-flowering evergreen tree Hoheria sexstylosa ‘Stardust’ with its lance shaped leaves and masses of starry-white flowers was combined with Clematis Petit Faucon (‘Evisix’), a purple flowered, non-climbing selection with its flowers produced atop tall slender stems.

A duo of plants that proved especially effective together were displayed on the corner of the stand of Primrose Bank of York. Magenta flowered daisy Brachyscombe Surdaisy Strawberry Pink ‘Bonbrapi’ with its numerous heads of arresting flowers was planted with Heuchera 'Midnight Rose', a coloured leaf selection with foliage of darkest purple, flecked liberally with magenta of almost exactly the same tone as the daisy.