Beyond borders

Tulips herald the arrival of spring in the flower garden at Malverleys. The bulbs for these floral illuminations are bedded out in cold December between sleepy perennials. We also make sure valuable early flowering perennials are included in the plantings. The precocious sends up sprays of scented, white flowers tinted with icy-mauve before its foliage has fully developed. Another favourite is the pink-flowered cow parsley, ‘Roseum’, with delicate, pink umbels on long stems. Forget-me-nots, angelica and woad are early volunteers that naturalise through theand lupins (for the fresh foliage), which are bedded out to combine with the tulips, but all of this would look flat if not for the trees and shrubs that add much-needed height and presence at this time of year. They play a vital role in providing shelter to protect those early blooms from strong winds that could otherwise cause considerable damage.