Community 'civic' style garden

[Huw Wyn Jones]

Hello everyone,

I'm a councillor in North Wales (UK) hoping to 'revive' a local garden/park. I've got together a bunch of volunteers who'll do the planting and maintenance, and we're confident we can finance the project via donations. This was a 'formal' garden and ideally we'd like it to look like an old 'civic' garden back in the day!

Our first project will be the four flower beds in the middle of a large grassed area, and I came here to ask for your collective advice on what to plant there?

Soil is fertile and reasonably well drained. Garden is 100m from the sea so frost not a huge problem. We get A LOT of rain, and it can be windy.

Ideal plant(s) would be:

• perennial
• low maintenance (prune once or twice a year)
• long flowering (or otherwise colourful)
• not too big

Thank you in advance for anyone who takes the time to respond. Diolch yn fawr. Huw

 

[Marck]

Hello, and welcome to the Forum.

As always, so many options. One idea I often advocate is the use of local native plants, particularly those that may encourage local butterflies, bees, and other beneficial insects. Such plants are usually quite attractive, sometimes in more subtly refined ways than modern ornamental cultivars. Of course, you can blend native and exotic plants together, as long as culture is similar. Add an interpretive sign and you have an opportunity to teach the public about their local botany and ecology.

If you are truly interested in recreating a historic style, you might find old photos or paintings of the park kept in local libraries or historical societies. Of course, first pick your period; gardening styles change considerably by decade and century.

 

[Nicolas]

One idea I often advocate is the use of local native plants, particularly those that may encourage local butterflies, bees, and other beneficial insects.

Amen! I tried Eupatorium cannabinum here in Nottinghamshire this Summer and it was a huge success with the butterflies. Not smothered with them in large numbers like some plants, but great in terms of species diversity. It attracted Small Coppers, Common Blues and Green-veined Whites to the garden for the first time and got the many Holly Blues I always get (due to the Hedera helix) to regularly come down and feed, which is lovely as they are usually a high-flying species and therefore can't really be appreciated! So far I'm up to 17 species of butterfly in total, which I think is rather good for a small suburban garden! Although non-native, hardy salvias might be an idea as they are floriferous, great for bees and moths and will produce more flushes of flowers with a well-timed trim! I had a visit from a Hummingbird Hawkmoth on my S. 'Icing Sugar' which was pretty magical and also another species which I'm struggling to identify visit the same plant and another two cultivars.