What plants should I buy?
What plants should I buy is a good question to ask before you visit a Garden Centre or Nursery.
It may have prevented the familiar scenario of you wandering around and around, picking plants up, putting them down, picking them up and putting them down.
Eventually some will end up in your trolley, and inevitably you will have to face the checkout and the astronomical bill!
Now you’re home and the mind fog has cleared, only now do you wonder if you’ve done the right thing.
Doubts creep in and threaten to dampen your spirits.
I’m going to try and help you understand how plants are grouped, and more importantly, to avoid costly mistakes.
So… What plants should I buy?
Plant types
Annual
Annuals live for one season in the UK climate, these include bedding and hanging basket plants. They are often fast growing, and free flowering. They will usually die in the first frost.
Biennial
Biennial plants produce growth in the first year and flower in the second year. They usually die off after this point, having set seed for the cycle to repeat.
Perennial
Perennial plants live more than 3 years and usually die back over winter, returning the following spring to do their thing. Sometimes referred to as Herbaceous, this simply means non-woody.
Shrub
Shrubs are woody perennial plants, they don’t die back to bare earth like herbaceous plants and can be deciduous or evergreen and everything in between.
Climber
Climbers can be any of the aforementioned type of plant, which is why I always keep my climber labels as an aide memoir. Essentially a climber is a plant which grows up a structure or another plant by means of many cunning tricks, such as tendrils, hooks, roots, suckers, and twining to name a few.
Tree
Trees are woody perennials which generally have one discernible stem, and are pretty tall. When buying trees you sometimes need to understand root stocks, as these determine the height and vigour of grafted trees.
Links to these terms at the end.
There are more sub-types of plants within these groups, like bulbs and corms, but this is a blog not War and Peace!
Take your time, think a lot
This is (my friend) Laura's border, I am in no way implying that she doesn't plan her purchases. x
Before trotting off to the garden centre and piling your trolley full of plants, spend a little time planning and writing a shopping list.
Consider the aspect of your garden, (N.S.E.W)
How much shade a fence might cast?
Is the soil very wet, or very dry?
Is the spot very windy?
How much room is there?
Only after you have thought about all of these carefully should you think about colour and pretty little flowers!
The RHS have a brilliant find a plant tool on their website, which allows you to tick all the above boxes and more, they then give you a list of plants which will suit the space.
Don't care how, I want it now!
A beautiful Acer Palmatum Dissectum.
So you’ve been very good, and researched your plants.
You now know exactly which plants you want and you’re off to the garden centre to buy them.
Shock horror, they don’t have that specific plant in stock, or it’s so rare they would never have it. What should you do?
Be a plant snob, and order it online?
Visit Kew Gardens and dig it up?
Buy the suggested alternative?
It’s up to you, there are some plants it’s worth being picky over, and some where it really isn’t.
Getting all hot and bothered over a particular shade of purple leaved Heuchera is daft, especially when there are hundreds to choose from.
Whereas stomping your feet after being offered an Acer Palmatum, when your wanted an Acer Palmatum Dissectum is totally acceptable!