Perennials are plants that flower in the spring and summer, die back over winter and then repeat the process the following year and for years to come. They are the backbone of any planting scheme, and I love them!
They do need to be planted in the right spot and in the right type of soil so If you’re a beginner gardener or nervous about making the right choices here are 5 that I’m adding to my borders this year, to get you started. I reveal where you should plant them in the garden and tips on how to look after them. Treat them well and these plants will give you pleasure for many years to come!
ALAN IS USING:
Plants from Blue Diamond Garden Centres – https://rb.gy/0ehb4p
Tools by Spear and Jackson – https://rb.gy/6wl4lh
Bench by Forest Garden – https://rb.gy/bor549
ALAN’S FIVE CHOICES ARE:
Scabious “Pink Mist”
Pulmonaria “Twinkle Toes”
Fern (Dryopteris)
English Lavender “Vera”
Geranium “Wargrave Pink”
ALAN’S GARDENING BOOKS
https://www.penguin.co.uk/search-results?tab=books&q=Alan+Titchmarsh&x9=author&q9=Alan+Titchmarsh&categoryLabel=PW-200000
My name’s Alan Titchmarsh, and I’m absolutely delighted to welcome you to my YouTube channel! I’ve been a gardener for over 60 years and I can safely say that gardening is one of life’s greatest joys, and I can’t wait to share it with you.
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Oh, lovely. Good old lavender. No garden should be without [Music] it. Perennials are the backbone of any garden. Plant them well and they will grow and come up every year. Here are five that I’m putting in my garden this year. [Music] [Applause] First out of the barrerow, Scabius pink mist. Scabius is a lovely summer flower. Well, spring and summer, it’s starting early. And all these yet to come. Ping cushion flower is its common name. Look in the center there and you can see exactly why. Good green foliage. And this is a plant for sunshine and really well drained soil. Whenever you’re choosing a plant, find out what it likes best. Give it that and it will grow in spite of you because it’ll have all the conditions it needs. So sunshine, well drained soil, and you’ll enjoy these beautiful pink mscabius flowers right the way through the summer. I’m going to pop this one in the kitchen garden in the veg patch because it’ll attract the bees in which will help to pollinate the peas and beans. So, it’s a kind of multi-purpose flower really. Great at the front of a border, great in the veg batch. Next up, Pullmania, the lung wart. In the old days, and we’re going back to the Middle Ages, they used to think that plants gave you a clue what they were good for by the shape of their leaf or their flower. This leaf looks like a lung apparently. I’ve never had a closer look at mine. So, they called it lung work and decided it was very good for diseases of the lung. Don’t try it at home. It’s a beautiful, beautiful early spring plant, not least for the leaves because they expand and they’re covered in these white spots, but also in this variety, which has the lovely name of twinkletoe, you get flowers which are both blue and pink. Very early flowering, but the leaves will then take over and be interesting themselves. And again, like the scabas, bees love this. Now, this is a plant for fairly moist soil and dappled or even heavy shade. In full sun, it tends to wilt a bit. So, try and give it a little bit of shade. And you’ll have several weeks of these glorious flowers to be followed by a summer of spotty leaves. And it’s going in a shady part in my garden. This [Music] one in at number three, a group of plants that are really good for shade, ferns. Don’t disparrage them because they got no bright flowers. These are really useful ground coverers in quite dense shade. If you have a spot where very little will grow and it’s a bit rooty and only ivy seems to do well there, do try ferns. You’ll find some of them are evergreen and these leaves or fronds as they are really with ferns will stay on right the way through the winter. Others die down and in spring and cut off the dead fronds and as these new crosers, these little shepherd’s crooks of new leaves come through. The whole plant is refreshed every spring. Some ferns are very good for dry shade and that’s one of the most difficult parts of the garden to get things established in. How can you tell which ferns are good for dry places? Well, rather nicely, the botonists have called this particular genus Dryopterus. Just remember, Dryopterus, good for dry shade. This is going in a shady spot under some trees in my garden. It’ll be happy [Music] there. Every garden should have this lavender. the foliage which is almost evergreen. Ah, smells like mentholyptus sweets. Really good for clearing your tubes. And then in summer, the flowers which are lavender or pale pink or white, but I prefer the original lavender colored lavender, purple flowers, beautiful and beloved of bees. This is another great plant to put in the veg garden where it will attract your pollinating insects. But anywhere else in the garden in a really sunny spot, it will make a lovely low border. It only grows about a foot 18 in high. That’s about 45 cm in the lower varieties. There are one or two taller ones, but I don’t like things like Hkcut Giant only because the flowers flop over. But get Hkcut or Monstead, and you’ll find they’re about that tall. The flowers make great lavender bags to sing among your smalls. Well drained soil, bright sunshine. Lavender will suit you down in the ground. This is going again. I’m going to pop this in my veg patch because then every time I walk in in those raised beds, I can Oh, lovely. Good old lavender. No garden should be without [Music] it. And finally, fifthly, a plant I would never ever be without. This is one of my all-time favorites, the hardy geranium. They vary in height between groundhoggers and this one, war grave pink, which will grow to about 45 cm, 18 in. Smothered with bright pink flowers right the way through the summer. Fabulous ground cover. Lovely leaves. Some of them are aromatic. This is a little bit. It will spread in clumps. Plant this where you’ve got trouble getting anything else to grow. It’s a really good do with the hardy geranium. Good for soil which is inclined to dry out though. Do try and water it immediately after you’ve planted a new one and keep it going until it’s established. But also in sun or dappled shade. It will thrive in either. And it’ll make this rug right the way across the ground. This is going in one of my borders underneath some shrubs where it’ll make fabulous ground cover gapple shade. There are loads of different hardy uraniums. I don’t know one that isn’t worth growing, but do try and plant them in groups of three, four or five to give yourself a decent sized mat. And then you will find come the summer this downy foliage and the slightly fingered leaf is absolutely plastered in the case of war grave pink with bright pink flowers. Absolutely fab. So there you are, five plants, the fab five, which will be good in any garden and available in any good garden center. They’re going to look smashing in my plot. I’ll be posting new videos each week, so subscribe to the channel below and let’s get gardening together.
39 Comments
Please insert automatic translator voice.
Somebody called “Cleve Conn” seems to be re-transmitting your videos! This could be costing you ‘views’ figures.
❤❤❤ thanks 👍👍👍
Will any of these perennials Thrive in southern Spain ?
Today I've planted what (I hope!) will turn into a lovely lavender hedge at the front of my house (west-facing). It was an absolute impulse decision. I was digging up the old gravel to replace with a different stone and as I felt the soil underneath, I realised it was really sandy and light. Cue a mad dash to the garden centre for some hidcote, planted it up and put the new gravel around to mulch/make a gravel garden. As someone that has never gardened in my life, I'm so pleased to have made a start ❤
Hardy geranium (cranesbill) is a cousin of the coriander family, as betrayed by the scent of the leaves. I agree with Alan, I wouldn’t be without it and its many varieties.
Hello! I just found your site and will make sure to "hit and subscribe"!!
Could you tell me,please, what is the lovely plant (you did not showcase it on this segment) that was to your left by the bench. It can be seen, among other views, but for sure @ timestamp 6:11.
It was all green, tall and spindly with some cool green bonnets atop their heads!
Thank you!
Love you Alan! Such a sweet, kind and humane man!
Such a lovely, gentle voice and commonsense tips for gardens. I have been a fan of his for years. He has a brilliant sense of humour, too, which lifts all of his programs.
Wishing i knew all this easy propagate methods. I been going nuts planting past 3 years. Break in fall n winter..
Five great plants, hardy geraniums are one of my favourites as well. Loving your YouTube channel thanks for sharing all your knowledge 👍
Lavender is definitely a favorite. They do ok in pots here but have to use sparingly in the garden as they’re susceptible to Phomopsis
So glad you mentioned Munstead lavender. I’m in Minneapolis and Munstead is the only reliable perennial lavender here. Love your videos!
❤❤❤
Fabulous thanks
Thanks Alan, I've been watching you for years. I have planted all of these plants (Zone 8 Seattle area USA).
Thanks for the post 🎉
I just love lavender. Sadly I am unable to grow it in centurion SA 😢. I have lost 4 plants trying different areas, potting mediums, watering methods and intervals. All 4 lost 😢😢😢😢
My next option is indoor lavender 🤞🤞
Love this guy. Straight talking advice with no faff👍
Got all of these in my garden.
I could have listened to 20 plants
Hi Alan was wonderful to see you yesterday opening the marvelous new Ilkley Fountain and to hear about your Ilkley roots. We have something in common as I was born in St Winifreds too. look forward to your latest advice.
Thank you ❤so helpful I'm just a beginner do you cut back at the end of September so they come back
Great bloke ….no “airs or graces” 👍
I love your presenting and your garden knowledge Alan, but I think this is more like five plants to avoid in the garden. I think they’re very drab and not something I would want in my garden.
Many thanks for all the plants and where to put them. I’ll be off to the garden centre. 😊
I want ferns just so I can eat the hooks. We call them fiddle heads where I’m from and they are delicious!
New subscriber here Alan. Do you have any advice on what type of plant/s would be best for heavy clay soil. Just moved to Somerset and I'm sure I could build a house with the soil here, it's so dense and compacted.
Such a thoughtful selection — these perennials feel like the quiet, dependable friends of any garden. I love how each plant you chose brings lasting beauty year after year. It’s a reminder that patience and care can create something timeless. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and love for gardening.
Whats the best bamboo to put in your garden, or leave in pots, so it dosemt spread? Needed for some screening to prevent some on looking and lovely movement and noise. Thank you.
Mr. Titchmarsh, you are a wonderful orator to listen to: so much love for the diverse plants you Transfer! I thank you very much. I am a German stranded in hungary with badly drained soil and Love IT to listen to your pleasant english! Katharina
HI Alan you are amazing love your video so special Margo Clacton on Sea Essex 🎉🎉🎉
😅😂❤🎉 🌈✋😎🌹 my aloe vera plant 😮mess up by underprivileged people 😢😅 ❤😂
Yes i love lavender but it doesnt do well long term in our Scottish climate so I’m shifting a bit to dwarf versions of nepeta for containers this year!! The overall content is fantastic , a master gardener’s distilled wisdom !
I’ve just discovered this little treasure of a podcast, what a gem! Wholeheartedly agree with the top 5 perennials, they’re always a solid favourite in my garden, even though I only have a tiny coastal garden. These episodes are such a joy to watch I might even have to watch the one about lawns and I don’t even have one! Thank you for sharing your joy 🪴🌳🌻💕
We just returned from a lovely trip to England. Your gardens are incredible. My Texas climate and soils are so different but I am determined to amend my soil until I can have some garden areas that are pleasant and colorful. Native plantings are a must. Love your videos and I hear you often on a podcast. Thank you for all you do.
Thanks very much.. I have three of these perennials in my garden.
Geranium Ann Folkard is a hardy and beautiful plant. The light green leaves can take full sun, its blooms are deep shade of pink, it blooms starting mid spring and continues till frost. It’s not invasive.
Thanks Alan
Geranium on my shopping list 😂
So many memories of watching Gardeners World in the 90s as a child. I’m now 34 and finally giving it a go myself, so glad to have Alan back on the screen helping newbies such as myself ❤