FRESH AND BRIGHT
BOTANICAL NOSTALGIA
Plants that remind me of my time in New Zealand always create a deep feeling of nostalgia. None more so than the dense copses of Leptospermum scoparium that used to grow on the hill farm where I lived. Here I’ve used the cultivar ‘Red Damask’ to stoke those fond memories. Grown for its bristly, rouge-tinted, evergreen foliage, it provides a perfect backdrop for white starflowers and nodding snake’s head fritillaries, before going on to bloom in early summer.
How to achieve the look
Container and composition
Antique kitchenware, such as this old copper cooking pot, can easily be acquired in vintage shops for a modest sum and they are a good alternative toand pendulous pink heads of complement the dark, metallic planter, while bright white ‘Alberto Castillo’ and the white fritillary brighten the combination and draw the eye. Plant the towards the back of the pot and the towards the front, so they won’t get lost among the dense foliage. The taller can be planted evenly throughout and will push through and nod peacefully above the others.
