I hate staking plants. It looks ugly, especially early on in the year. And it’s hard work (always best avoided). So I have one or two tricks to save me the bother.
One is stuffing plants so tight together that they are self supporting. This works well, especially if you don’t feed them (never spoil a plant, it’ll never let you in peace afterwards). But edges of paths get problematic, unless you’re a great big institutional garden with paths ten feet wide. We’re not and if we don’t do something some paths become impassable, especially after heavy rain has flattened things a bit.
So in the front garden we added rails to try and confine the rampagious creatures. See here:
That’ll show them.
or here –
OK, they escape too..
You can see that some escape but that just softens the line and it’s not enough for them to begin to get in our way.
Delinquent daisies
Though sometimes I’m a bit soft. I’ve let those daisies go all over the entrance here just because they look great like that.
We started with just a top rail but last winter added two further rails below to catch the little buggers that didn’t grow tall enough to get stopped by the top rail.
Next trick? Well, you know all about the Chelsea Chop. I’ve just been doing the Hampton Court Chop, it being the end of June. I’ve made a right old mess in places but sometimes we’ve just got to tolerate that for a few days.
Like these Helianthemum:
A bit shocked but bravely fighting back.
Looking perky again already. I just cut the front ones down so they won’t sag over the path. And, if I’m lucky, it will stagger the flowering. Same here with some Persicaria.
They should recover well enough as long as we don’t get drought, and then they do this kind of thing:
Classic floppers.
I’m concious that, as usual, I don’t seem to be doing what I should, which is the famous Chelsea Chop, but this seems the right time to me for these plants. The next couple of months will tell. Interesting, I think.
AW
A timely post, Anne, thanks for sharing your secret. I dither about chopping things down, but hate the sight of awkwardly trussed up herbaceous perennials. Knitting plant supports is not my forte! Your black railing solution is pleasing and elegant in its simplicity ….
Thanks, Kate!
I have this internal debate every year about this time. I have some asters, October Sky, which are so pretty this year, just foliage, but profuse and the right size. Come August they are Amazons taking over and overshadowing everything nearby. BUT every year I can not bring myself to snip them back now, when they are so pretty, eventhough I regret it every August through October. I know, I know, there is nothing to say.
Perhaps cutting some of them down would be easier? What I like about my chops is that it leaves some flowering/tall but promises me more later. XX
I planted 3 Helianthus lemon queen which grew together in a solid block and looked rather ugly so I chopped them off at different heights which looked much more interesting. It is so easy to experiment with perennials – if you don’t like the effect you can change it next year.
I visited with a friend for the first time yesterday, we both loved it. You appear to have fun with your garden, it has so many appealing aspects, we look forward to seeing it at a different season next year.
Thank you for writing – and so glad you liked the garden. And yes, spring is very different – the meadow is doing its thing,for example. Like the idea of different heights – I begin to think the idea of a ‘Chelsea Chop’ may be creating its own rigidity, given the possibilities beyond that.
I’m glad I found you – absolutely stunning photos! I’m heading over to outwit the squirrels now đ
Great – thanks for telling me and I hope the squirrels are at least entertaining. Xx
I, too, hate staking so much that it just doesn’t get done. The worst offender is galega but, now I think about it most of the other tall plants seem to grow quite happily, uprightly and unbendingly even in our windy site.
Good. We’re doing something right then!