Plants to suit your home

1930s-1950s

Before and after World War II, plant breeders served a rising demand for plants to fill the gardens of newly built pre and post-war houses. New varieties of plants such as lupins (pictured right) and new scented viburnums were being bred, and Geranium 'Johnson's Blue' appeared. Roses were also very popular.

With the rise of Modernism around the 1951 Festival of Britain, architectural plants were needed for minimalist gardens, and yuccas, cabbage palms and New Zealand flax made bold design statements that complemented new materials such as concrete. This was also the era of the 'island bed' filled with hardy perennials, pioneered by plantsman Alan Bloom, in his gardens at Bressingham.

Suggested plants:

• Lupin
• Viburnum eg Viburnum x burkwoodii
• Geranium 'Johnson's Blue'
• Yucca eg Yucca recurvifolia
• New Zealand flax (Phormium tenax)
• Cabbage palm (Cordyline australis, pictured right)
• Roses eg Rosa spinosissima

1970s

With the publication of garden designer John Brookes' book The Room Outside in the late 1960s, the idea of a garden as an extension of the house was born.

The emphasis was on more low maintenance plants with interesting shapes or textures, such as hostas, Japanese aralia, mahonia, phlomis and euphorbia, and Adrian Bloom (son of Alan) filled island beds with low maintenance conifers and heathers which looked good all year round.

The idea of 'groundcover' came in using plants such as junipers to cover large areas. There was also more interest in hard landscaping such as patios as people sought to emulate their relaxing holidays in the Mediterranean. Traditional plants still had their place, and breeders were coming up with new plant varieties, including clematis.

Suggested plants:

• Hostas eg Hosta 'Enterprise' or 'Captain Kirk'
• Oregon grape (mahonia, pictured right)
• Jerusalem sage (Phlomis fruticosa)
• Spurge eg Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii
• Japanese aralia (Fatsia japonica)
• Castor oil plant (Ricinus communis)
• Conifers eg Juniperus squamata 'Blue Carpet'
• Clematis eg Clematis 'Walter Pennell'