One of the questions designers are often asked, and one which is almost impossible to answer is, what are your favourite plants? 

 

Generally speaking I’m more drawn to dramatic shape and form rather than colour. I love anything with angles and architectural structure, especially if it’s self seeding. Over the years my tastes have evolved and favoured plants have risen and fallen on my scale of appreciation. As time has gone on, I’ve come to value plants on lots of different levels; ability to thrive in tough conditions, return for investment, memory and meaning, talent for reproduction, drama, variety of characteristics, longevity...not to mention line, shape, colour, texture and all that other important stuff.

Of the hundreds of plants that i’ve experimented with over the years, a few are probably favoured more than others.

 

Here’s a small sample of some of my more preferred species 

 

 

Echium various

Echiums have a special place in my heart and mind. The great plantsman, Dr. David Robinson, who gave me my first lesson in landscape design and encouraged me to go on to Writtle, was a huge fan. His garden, Earls Cliff, is home to a large selection. While on a visit to his garden back in 1997, i collected a few seeds of Echium Pininana and still have descendants in my garden today.

 

I am a particular fan of wildpretii (hard to find in Ireland, I get seed from the UK), Pink Fountain, a cultivar of pininana, which is a little smaller, and candicans, the star leaved biennial shrub form. 
 

 

 

  
































E. pininana
 

E. candicans
 

 

 

    

 

Echium Pink Fountain 
 

Colletia paradoxa cruciata 

Not a plant i’ve ever put in anyone’s garden but one i love. A South American Native, paradoxa is grown for it spectacular geometric leaves (modified stems) with painfully sharp thorns. It’s very slow growing but will eventually reach a height of between 2-3 metres. In autumn it produces beautifully scented white flowers. I originally propagated it from a cutting as a student at Teagasc Research facility.
 

Nigella damascena

A beautiful annual plant for almost any border. I grow it for it’s soft fennel like foliage, cracking blue flowers and dramatic seed heads. One of the best gap filling plants around.
 

 

The striking Nigella flower 
 

Berkheya purpurea,

A wonderful South African plant that matches Colletia for contrast. I love it’s thistle like thorny foliage and wonderful, lilac/purple flowers. It loves to be treated rough; hot, dry and poor nutrients. Original plant bought from KIlmurry Nurseries. 
 

 

 

Salvia involucrata

Lovely North American Salvia with gorgeously scented leaves/stems and large magenta flowers. Original plant bought from Kilmurry Nurseries. I since taking a mass of cuttings and shared it with friends. (sorry Orla!)
 

The gorgeous magenta flowers of Salvia involucrata

Arundo donax versicolor 

Variegated form of the giant reed, Arundo is a great, deciduous alternative to bamboo with canes growing upwards of 3m metres in a season. I love it because of its foliage and the limited horizontal space it takes up and like most grass species, when it starts to outgrow it’s space, it can be divided. Original plant bought from Tully Nurseries.
 

Arundo donax versicolor

 

Astilboides tabularis 

A wonderfully dramatic herbaceous perrenial that’s great for creating a tropical feel. It’s leaves can reach a metre across and contrast brilliantly with fine foliage plants such as ferns. It looks amazing when it’s up lit from beneath.
 

The expansive Astilboides leaf
 

Miscanthus giganteus  

Of the many grasses that i grow, Miscanthus giganteus is by far my favourite. Growing up to 3m in height, it provides a dramatic backdrop for any large border, and like most of the plants i’m drawn to, it looks amazing when lit up. I’m always amazed to watch it come back after being cut down to the ground, no wonder it’s one of the most important biomass plants. Original plant bought from Mount Venus Nurseries. 
 

A fountain of foliage, Micanthus giganteus
 

Acer griseum 

I love trees and debated whether to include any as i could probably write a book on the ones i love most. Acer is the genus i’m drawn to most and i particularly like griseum – the paper bark maple. A wonderful tree for small gardens, it is primarily grown for it’s peeling bark, which increases in density and colour as the tree ages. I’ve used more griseum than any other tree.   
 

Rebarkable texture!
 

Polystichum setiferum

Like trees, i’m mad about ferns, but i have to admit that i’m not so good on naming them. I could probably name five of the ten species i have in my own garden but even at that i wouldn’t be confident. I’m drawn to the evergreen Polystichium because it has a strong, year round structure. And while its new fronds do not have the vibrancy of Dryopteris, it’s compact glossy form more than compensates.

 

Nepeta Nervosa

While i grow the more common Six Hill Giant, KitKat and Walkers Low, my favourite Nepeta (thus far) is Nervosa. Why? I love the colour, form and the way it attracts butterflies. Great plant for any herbaceous border. 
 

Nepeta nervosa in flower.


Come to think of it, this list could go on forever...Digitalis, Papaver, Humulis, Eupatorium, Hosta, Agave, Aloe, Crassula, Monarda, Pseudopanax, Lagarus, Pennisetum, Persicaria, Stipa, Thalictrum.....