RHS Malvern Spring Festival

Maindee Unlimited: Greening Maindee Gateway Garden

There is a layered planting scheme to provide as much interest through the seasons as possible through colour and structure, from multistem and upright ‘streetwise trees’ underplanted with perennials and bulbs, to seasonal shrubs

Eryngium agavifolium – agave-leaved sea holly

Eryngium agavifolium
Eryngium agavifolium

“A statement plant with semi evergreen spiny rosettes that resemble agaves. Very hardy from our experience and towering flower spikes in summer make it a valuable drought tolerant statement plant with height.”

A handsome evergreen perennial forming a rosette of sharply toothed, sword-shaped leaves, with small, green thimble-like flower-heads on branched stems in late summer.

Acer platanoides ‘Globosum’ – Norway maple

“Streetwise Trees such as Acer platanoides ‘Globosum’ developed by Hilliers, are for urban spaces providing colour and good for wildlife without growing too large.”

A small to medium-sized tree, up to 8m tall, with a dense, rounded crown. Lobed, green leaves turn yellow in autumn. Small clusters of yellowish-green spring flowers are followed by winged fruits.

Acer platanoides 'Globosum' Norway maple
Acer platanoides ‘Globosum’

“Our ornamental grasses give long seasonal interest and are cut or comb through, so lower maintenance, such as Anamenthele (pheasant’s tail grass). Spring bulbs provide a burst of colour and early pollen and are a relatively low cost solution to increasing diversity in planting.”

Emily Crowley-Wroe – garden designer

Cotoneaster franchetii – Franchet’s cotoneaster

Cotoneaster franchetii
Cotoneaster franchetii

“A superplant for pollution absorption and good in naturalistic schemes.”

Clusters of red-tinted white flowers in June, followed by bright orange-red autumn berries, and long, grey-green leaves. This splendid, semi-evergreen (or evergreen in milder, sheltered situations) cotoneaster is ideal for a shrub border with moderately fertile, well-drained soil. Erect in habit with spreading branches, its stems can be tied onto a support and grown as a wall shrub.

Allium siculum – Sicilian honey garlic

Allium siculum is an exquisite and unusual ornamental onion, that produces an umbrella of subtly coloured bell-shaped flowers, which hang from the tips of stiff, upright stems in May and June. This tall, exotic-looking, bulbous perennial looks wonderful in mixed borders or more naturalised planting schemes, where it will add height, structure and colour. 

Allium siculum
Allium siculum

Euphorbia palustris –spurge

Euphorbia palustris
Euphorbia palustris

A herbaceous perennial with bright green leaves that radiate from delicately branched stems. In early summer, masses of soft, fresh, bright green flowers appear and last for several months. This lovely, but variable plant will brighten a sunny herbaceous border or the partially shaded edges of a woodland garden.

Plant lists are provided by the designer of the garden as a guide to the plants they hope to use in the garden based on the time of year, the location and the Client Brief. The plants that feature at the Show depends on a variety of factors such as weather during the growing season and availability. While the designers try to update lists where possible, the accuracy of the list cannot be guaranteed.

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The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.