How Does Your Garden Grow?

Plants for the shade, plants for the winter, plants for the long haul.

I seldom love plants that just up and croak after a few years. I save my deep emotions for those that are with me for decades in some cases and, in others, will see me out. In 1986, my new garden was choked with weeds. But beneath the detritus, one plant survived the neglect to thrive ever since. It was, of course, a wonderful old peony that had been there since the house was built in 1904. Choose plants as carefully as a spouse, one who will last through the decades and plan for permanence.

What follows is a prejudiced guide to plants that, like a good wine or a splendid mate, will bring ever more pleasure as they age.

3. Phlox paniculata ‘David’ doesn’t get mildewed. It will rebloom with deadheading and is a gorgeous clear white (a change from the more common boring slightly lilacy hue) and makes a really good clump (75 cm) that seldom needs dividing. Pairs with everything, particularly the asters that bloom soon after – in the late summer and early fall. Zone 4

4. Penstemon digitalis ‘Dark Towers’ Always a surprise because they look a bit like foxgloves but have a mystique of their own. Bronze-y foliage (80 cm) with nail-polish pink blooms in mid-summer. Zone 3

5. Lespedeza thunbergii ‘Gibraltar’ I’ve been obsessing about this plant for several years, and it never disappoints. It looks like a dead stick in spring, which needs cutting back the minute you see growth at the base. Then it leaps to 1.5 by 2 metres with glorious blue-green foliage and, in September, bursts into bloom with pink-magenta flowers along the stems. Absolutely ravishing. Leave them alone, and they will look appropriately theatrical in winter. Zone 4

8. Helleborus spp are magnificent. Plant lots of them in shade or sun (check the tag) or put them in raised beds or containers in colder areas. Some species (H. niger; and H. foetidus) bloom in winter; others are spring bloomers and all are evergreen. Though they start slowly and spread glacially (30 cm to 45 cm), they can provide four seasons of grandeur. Zone 4 to 5

9. Fothergilla gardenia is a perky (2 metres) shrub without a flaw. If it gets too big after about 15 years, whack it back (coppice) to within 6 cm from the ground. It will grow like a rambunctious teenager and begin life again. The bottlebrush white spring blooms have an indefinable scent; and the autumn fire of its foliage is staggering. Zone 4