cottage gardens peaked on visits to England in the 1970s. Her first vis-
it was to Wiltshire and the Cotswold country. A few years later she vis-
ited Oxford.
"When I saw what could be done with perennials, I didn't want just
to buy flats of annuals every spring and stick them in the ground like
so many people do. This is not what an English garden is all about."
Her Cotswold cottage boasts two large gar-
dens of perennials, one in front and another
on the side. In addition, the native beech-
maple woods surrounding the house boasts
wonderful Michigan wild flowers: spring beau-
ties, trilliums and Jack-in-the-pulpits which
stage their big show in the spring. At the
same time, thousands of daffodils bloom un-
der the trees in true English style.
Fox works in her garden almost every day
she's home if the weather is right She waits
until 9 a.m. when everything has had a chance
to dry out She spends half an hour clipping
off the deadheads, faded flowers and stak-
ing plants. She performs dozens of other
tasks including dividing perennials. She does
all the work herself, except the mowing and
trimming of shrubs.
When Fox first moved in, she was warned
not to do anything in the garden the first year.
"Luckily I didn't," explains Fox, because
plants kept opening and blooming all summer and fall. I keep find-
ing new things all the time even all these years later."
Fox explains that one of her big problems is where to put new plants.
She confesses: "I don't label them like I should and tend to put them
on top of others. Then, as the season progresses, I have to keep mov-
ing things around!"
Interest in perennials started booming in the mid-1980s, and sales
continue to grow at a rate of 20 to 25 percent annually.
Martha Hoffert, who's been designing perennial gardens for about
six years, fell in love with these plants because "they're old-fashioned."
She remembers many from her grandmother's garden and now sees
them while working in her mother's yard. "Passing plants along from
one generation to another," is part of the fun.
How does Hoffert come up with winning perennial combinations?
She drives around as the season progresses, studying other people's
yards. When she sees something dramatic, she writes the combina-
tion down and tries it out herself.
Sometimes while working with potted perennials in the nursery, she
sees a wonderful combination, like Siberian
irises next to fuchsia red peonies.
Hoffert suggests thinking in terms of cre-
ating a smashing bouquet with a variety of
contrasting colors, shapes and textures.
Some people don't feel this type of garden
needs repetition of color, shape and texture,
but Hoffert does. She points out that most
flower shapes seem to be either daisy-like or
spike-shaped. She likes to use both.
She also suggests grouping about three of
the same kind of plant together in a border.
Too much massing, however tends to become
too formal.
Most perennials, like yarrows and salvias,
need sun and well-drained soil. Even if the soil
is not the best, most traditional perennials like
sedums and poppies are relatively easy to
grow, as are peonies.
Proper soil preparation is important, says
Hoffert. If it is done right to begin with, peren-
nials will almost take care of themselves. They will need weeding and
watering but not much, if any, feeding.
Hoffert suggests a method known as double digging, when prepar-
ing a bed or border. It's a lot of work but worth the effort for the results.
When preparing a bed or border, first remove about four inches of
soil and mix with Canadian peat moss or composted cow manure or
both. Then spade the next four inches, prepare in the same way and
return the first four inches to the bed. Most perennial roots don't go
much deeper than eight inches.
Once planting is finished, apply a mulch two to three inches deep to
hold moisture and discourage weeds. II
Interest in perennials
started booming in the
mid-1980s and sales
continue to grow
at a rate of 20 to
25 percent annually.
This English garden features many romantic flowers.
Clockwise: blue lupines; beauty-bush; pink coral bells
and Oriental poppies; purple bearded iris.