Garden WISDOM
Great Dixter
FERGUS GARRETT
“It starts with the plant. You fall in love, you buy it and then try to make it live, and if lucky it starts loving you back. ‘Right plant, right place’ is the foundation to happiness. Once in our possession, we constantly try to get the measure of our new friend, weighing it up tip to toe – from foliage to flower, seed head to skeleton. We also think how it, as an individual, can be used in a wider sense. Is it architectural enough to be a dot plant or a full stop? Is it loose enough to be a weaver or has it got the drama and the tank to be an ingredient in a main display? What other qualities does it have? Will it be the backdrop to lighter colours? Will it have the texture or form to spark a reaction? Is it a spike, a flat top or a ball and which, in composition with other shapes, will make the
