Fabulous foliage

Above: Pots make a feature

Above: Cosy courtyard

Above: Beautiful bluebells

Working with a small garden space does not mean a limit to your imagination. The defined boundaries allow you to think on all planes, you can divide the space into different garden rooms and add your personality in the details. Importantly also, attention is drawn to the combination of plants that you use.

Combining foliage and flowers well enhances any landscape, especially in a small space where all the elements are easily seen. Think beyond the colours of flowers to the greater variety of form, texture and indeed colours of foliage - both evergreen and herbaceous. Various shapes and sizes can be used in groupings within monochromatic to polychromatic schemes. Foliage adds both year-round and seasonal interest from an enormous palette of possibilities.

Take inspiration
A visit to Sue and David Ward’s garden at 53 Ladywood in Eastleigh offers dozens of inspiring ideas for small gardens. This harmonious oasis gleams under dappled shade with every space planted to perfection. Sue’s masterly use of foliage combinations and in-depth plant knowledge is obvious from the first glance.
The garden has developed over many years in parallel to Sue’s increasing interest and knowledge of plants. Originally, when they moved in 29 years ago with a young family, the priority was to create a play space for the children. For the first ten years or so the space was laid to lawn with a couple of borders. It was also rather over-shady with a lot of trees and backed by additional woodland behind.
After the storm of 1987 and an attack of honey fungus, many of the trees were lost, which opened the canopy of the garden allowing a wider variety of plants to be used. A small pond was put in at one side with foliage planting and small bulbs surrounding it. “It looked good from its first season and I then started to make more and more beds,” explains Sue.
The bottom corner of the garden became a shade garden; trellis was put up to separate areas and different surfaces further delineated sections. Gravel paths softened by plantings were designed to meander from a paved patio to a small circular lawn or to hidden secret surprises, to increase the sense of space. Learning to work with the micro-climate of the garden with its dappled shade in the mornings and more intense sun in the afternoon, along with improving the heavy clay soil has resulted in appropriate plant choices that thrive in the conditions.

Foliage and form
“I treated the garden as a walled garden, however where traditionally fruit trees may have been espaliered on walls I have trained shrubs flat on fences and used climbers to accentuate the vertical space,” Sue comments. Being a small garden where you can see most of the garden at once meant also that plant groupings needed to be interesting.
“Keeping the shady conditions in mind I realised that foliage would be much better, as flowers are more fleeting and foliage is with you so much longer,” Sue explains, adding “I use around one third evergreens in groups to make their own pictures. However I love to see the seasonal changes so I don't use too
many evergreens.”
It comes as no surprise to learn that Sue paints botanical pictures as she has an innate understanding of colour and form. Knowing which plants to use to create her artistic vision became the learning curve. “I learnt by experience from experimenting, reading avidly authors such as Beth Chatto and Christopher Lloyd and by joining the local group of the Hardy Plant Society,” remembers Sue.
The resulting plant palette is kept fresh by moving and changing the herbaceous material around. “I am not a plant collector, I buy or propagate plants that do well in my space. I have no particular favourite plants, I love plants anyway and experimenting with combinations,”
Sue comments.
Throughout the garden there is an enormous range of greens - from astringent limes, through rich greens to blue-greys - with highlights of burgundy. Some foliage is variegated, adding light to dark spaces, and there is a variety of form with feathery ferns, bold hostas and strappy grasses. Over 1,800 different labelled plants include trilliums, heuchera, brunneras and miniature hostas. 53 Ladywood is a tranquil haven, resplendent with a vast array of plants and charming vignettes that is guaranteed to inspire.

 Small space tips

• Work from the bones/boundaries of the garden.
• Create different rooms or spaces.
• Use all levels, including vertical space.
• Draw attention to the combinations of plants.
• Define your personality on the space with the details you add.
• Foliage offers colour, shape and seasonal drama.
• Using different tones of greens creates depth.
• Contrast foliage colour and texture.
• Different hard landscaping materials add interest.
• Use around one third evergreen and two thirds herbaceous.
• If very shady, have some pots with interesting foliage that can be left in the shade for a while and then moved for more light.
• Train shrubs along fences.
• A small water feature is very restful and can mask outside noises in an urban area.
• Work with your conditions - improve the soil and collect plants that
  will thrive.
  
  
  
  

Garden open

53 Ladywood, Eastleigh
Sunday, June 22 (11am - 5pm)
Monday, June 23 (2pm - 5pm)
Cost: £3. Children free
Visitors welcome by appointment to July, groups 10+
Tel: 023 8061 5389
The National Gardens Scheme
www.ngs.org.uk