Plants to suit your home

With the help of the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens (NCCPG), Gardening Which? suggests plants to compliment the look of your home

Thatched Cottage

In Tudor times, plants were often used for medicinal purposes. Rosemary, for example, was used for 'weakness of the brain'. Lavender (pictured left) edged paths and was used in the knot gardens of grander houses along with box and cotton lavender. Flowers such as caraway thyme were used for flavour, and pinks added spice to wine.

Today, the cottage garden is informal and packed with plants, often mixing flowers, herbs, fruit and vegetables (traditionally, gardens were used to supply food too). Hard landscaping is minimal and in keeping with the house. Paths can be made from old bricks, for example. Key plants include hollyhocks, honeysuckle, rambling roses, phlox, achillea and alchemilla.

Suggested plants:

  • Rosemary eg Rosmarinus 'Sudbury Blue'
  • Lavender eg Lavandula angustifolia
  • Box (buxus)
  • Cotton lavender (santolina)
  • Caraway thyme (Thymus herba-barona)
  • Pinks eg Dianthus 'Pheasant's Eye'
  • Hollyhock
  • Honeysuckle
  • Delphinium
  • Phlox (pictured right)
  • Achillea
  • Rambling rose
  • Hardy geranium

Victorian and Edwardian

Queen Victoria's reign saw a huge influx of plants such as camellias, magnolias (pictured left), rhododendrons and ferns, brought back by globe-trotting plant hunters. Colourful exotics such as pelargoniums, lobelias, dahlias and cannas were used in bedding schemes in parks and gardens, and evergreens such as spotted laurel were popular. The invention of the lawnmower meant that gardens could have manicured lawns.

From the turn of the century, the garden designer Gertrude Jekyll was influenced by the Arts & Crafts movement and used perennials like elephant's ears, Madonna lilies and delphiniums to create relaxed but carefully orchestrated and colour-themed borders. Furniture and landscaping materials were rustic brick or stone, and layouts were formal with paths, clipped hedges, pergolas and pools.

Suggested plants:

  • Camellia and rhododendron
  • Magnolia
  • Ferns
  • Wisteria
  • Pelargonium
  • Lobelia
  • Canna
  • Japanese laurel eg Aucuba japonica 'Picturata'
  • Elephant's ears
  • Madonna lilies
  • Delphinium
  • Iris
  • Lamb's ears
  • Gladioli
  • Catmint (nepeta)
  • Astrantia eg Astrantia major var rosea 'George's Form'
  • Hyacinth

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'

New builds

We still see our gardens as outdoor rooms that are used as much as a place to socialise in as they are to tend plants. They're also increasingly havens for wildlife.

Our outside spaces are getting smaller, which means breeders are coming up with more compact plants for borders such as smaller versions of the butterfly bush. The 1990s saw the rise of decking and garden makeover shows, which introduced the idea of plants such as tree ferns for instant impact.

Meanwhile, Christopher Lloyd dug up the rose bed at his influential garden, Great Dixter, and replaced it with exotics such as dahlias (pictured left), bananas, cannas and Verbena bonariensis. Recent influences include 'new wave' planting from Germany and the Netherlands - a relaxed, low-maintenance style using grasses and perennials.

Suggested plants:

  • Butterfly bush eg Buddleja 'Silver Anniversary'
  • Clematis eg Clematis 'Angelique' (pictured right)
  • Grasses eg Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Hameln'
  • Verbena bonariensis
  • Perennial wallflowers eg Erysimum 'Apricot Twist'
  • Dahlia eg 'Bishop of Llandaff'
  • Canna
  • Banana
  • Tree fern

30 years of the NCCPG

The NCCPG (National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens) conserves and promotes the huge range of plant varieties that exist in the UK.

One way of finding plants that match the age of your house is to ask a National Plant Collection® holder - a person or group who maintains a comprehensive collection of a particular group of plants. They're experts in their chosen plants and can give you a wealth of advice on them.

This year, the NCCPG and the National Plant Collections are celebrating 30 years of conserving our plant heritage. There will be special events held throughout the year. The first of these will be hosted by Cambridge University Botanic Gardens on 8 June where you can buy and learn about plants from 25 of the National Collections. Many of the 650 Collections also have open days for the public. Visit www.nccpg.com or call 01483 447540 to find out more.

Gardening Which? is a subscription-only gardening magazine published 10 times a year by Which? For details on how to receive three issues of Gardening Which? for £3, telephone 01992 822800 or visit www.which.co.uk