Along with a crisp, geometric layout, contemporary gardens need plants that fit with a strong, architecturally-driven style
Bamboo
Bamboos come in a variety of sizes, colours and vigour, so need careful selection. They make excellent screens that rustle in the breeze, adding a touch of the Orient.
- Grow them: generally, they prefer a sheltered spot with well-drained soil, disliking constantly wet or extremely dry conditions.
- Combine with: on their own or with bold-leaved plants such as fatsia or acer.
- Best for contemporary gardens: some AGM winners are: Phyllostachys nigra, an elegant black-stemmed, clump-forming bamboo that can reach 4m (13ft); for a similar height but different colour, there's the golden P. bambusoides ‘Castillonii’; Pleioblastus variegatus, a low-growing, tufted bamboo with narrow, green leaves that have creamy white stripes.
Echinacea![Echinacea 'Ruby Giant' Echinacea 'Ruby Giant'](/getmedia/f1501028-6f3f-49a8-9532-2b758f092308/EchinaceaRubyGiant2x3.jpg?width=520&height=779)
Great for dry conditions and for injecting colour into the garden, these upright, clump-forming perennials with attractive blooms, are great for pollinators. Their muted tones are often used in repeated swathes in modern naturalistic planting.
- Grow them: in deep, well-drained soil in full sun, though they will tolerate some shade.
- Combine with: they're particularly at home in herbaceous borders. Try them in 'rivers' with grasses and salvias.
- Best for a contemporary garden: pink cultivar, Echinacea purpurea ‘Ruby Giant’ reaches 60-90cm (2-3ft) tall; ‘Hot Lava’ has deep orange-red petals flaring from a bright orange centre; E. ‘Virgin’ has a large, green central cone and pure white flowers.
Grasses![Miscanthus 'Flamingo'](/getmedia/1eadc12c-d9b7-4f00-9395-1434be96493b/miscanthus-flamingo.jpg?width=520&height=779)
Creating volume for contemporary gardens especially in late summer and autumn, grasses add structure, texture and movement. Their panicles of flowers and bronzing tints are an added bonus.
- Grow them: grasses generally need sun and well-draining soils. Sedge and rush cope with damper conditions.
- Combine with: pure grass borders can be very effective or mix with naturalistic plantings.
- Best for contemporary gardens: For graceful feathery plumes in late summer try Miscanthus 'Flamingo' AGM; Festuca glauca 'Blaufuchs' gives blue tussocks of low foliage; Luzula nivea gives evergreen cover in moist, shadier conditions.
Phormium![Phormium tenax growing with clipped box hedge and tulips phormium and fern](/getmedia/cf522eec-4432-4086-8012-768ac7db2c24/phormium-and-fern.jpg?width=520&height=779)
Providing imposing, sword-like foliage, these evergreen perennials from New Zealand form clumps in a range of colours and variegation.
- Grow them: in full sun and fertile, well-drained soil. They're hardy down to around -12°C (10°F), so in colder areas protect with a deep, dry winter mulch.
- Combine with: on their own as a specimen or with plants of contrasting like the juvenile blue of pollarded eucalyptus for colour contrast.
- Best for contemporary gardens: Phormium tenax an architectural evergreen with striking red flowers; P. ‘Variegatum' AGM has cream-edged, variegated foliage; and P. cookianum subsp. hookeri 'Tricolor' AGM has multi-coloured foliage of yellow and green, edged with red.
Euphorbia
From running ground cover to rounded shrubs, many spurges have an acid yellow colouring that adds a contemporary zing to early summer. Choose species that make interesting structures. Note: avoid milky sap touching your skin.
- Grow them: requirements vary, depending on type
- Combine with: plants that contrast in form or colour such as phormium or vividly coloured tulips. They also blend with a range of herbaceous plants.
- Best for contemporary gardens: ‘E. characias subsp. wulfenii 'John Tomlinson’ AGM has rounded flower heads of bright green in spring, set against glaucous foliage; E. griffithii 'Dixter' AGM a rhizomatous perennial with glowing flowerheads atop funky pink, green and red foliage; E. palustris AGM, a perennial to 1m (3ft) with acid lime colouring in May.
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