From its iconic Dry Garden to exciting new features, our Essex garden goes from strength to strength. From its iconic Dry Garden to exciting new features, our Essex garden goes from strength to strength.

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Herbaceous Border

Running downhill from the Farmhouse, the Herbaceous Border offers an impressive variety of plants arranged in a series of colour-themed bays

Looking its best in...

Summer Bursting with an abundance of colour-rich blooms
Autumn Enjoy dahlias, chrysanthemums, asters and anemones

Planting for appeal

Always a favourite with visitors, the Herbaceous Border contains a mix of woody and herbaceous perennials, trees and shrubs, divided into six colour-themed bays enclosed by scalloped yew hedges.

Each bay is a creative exercise in the use of a limited colour palette across a broad range of plant types, resulting in appealing and dramatic displays.

Colour impact

Starting nearest to the Farmhouse, the six bays run in the following colour order:

1. Soft tones of purple and orange dominate with key plantings of Symphyotrichum (asters) and Dahlia ‘Moonshine’.

2. The hot bay offers strong, bright tones of red, orange and yellow. Highlights include Crocosmia ‘Spitfire’, Chrysanthemum ‘Royal Command’ and Solidago ‘Goldenmosa’.

3. The most recently refreshed bay has a striking theme of burgundy, hot pink and silver. Ricinus (castor oil plant) offers its dark red and black foliage, while at a lower level, the tender succulent Aeonium ‘Zwartkop’ adds architectural contrast – it stays in its pot and is plunged into the ground in summer.

4. White, lemon and lime green hues form a cool, calm palette in this bay, where the white arum lily Zantedeschia aethiopica ‘Crowborough’ and the huge blooms of Papaver orientale ‘Perry’s White’ draw attention.

5. The pale blue and soft pink bay includes a huge, pollarded specimen of Catalpa – its large, dark green, purple-flushed leaves form a spectacular backdrop to a range of perennials, including Paeonia lactiflora ‘Sarah Bernhardt’.

6. Next to the Rose Rope Walk, the final border is awash with purple, mauve and lilac. Key plants include Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’, with its deep purple flower spires, and Aster x frikartii ‘Mönch’, providing a mass of pale purple flowers from late summer into autumn.

Plants in the Herbaceous Border

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