In this extract from AG 13 January 1968, Christopher Lloyd, of Great Dixter fame, on tiny plants that won’t swamp each other
Perfect mini partners
Christopher Lloyd looks at miniature plants that grow well together
IT is not too difficult to find places in the garden where tiny plants will grow without being swamped. The trouble may start, though, when you try combining these innocent-looking tinies so as to get an interweaving pattern of flowers and foliage. There is always a danger of one partner turning out to be a thug in disguise, ready to do a cuckoo-in-the-nest act on its neighbours. But if you can achieve a balance of forces, the result is very satisfying.
Often there is with the little New Zealand fern – its name is simple as fern names go – called . This is a creeping carpeter with slightly tanned leaves, only 1-2in (2.5-5cm) long, but in spring it doubles its height by throwing up dark-bronze, fertile fronds – the fern equivalent to flowering. These hold the stage until August, when the cyclamen rouses itself from aestivation, first by flowering and then arraying itself in marbled foliage of different shades of green that last until the following spring. These two plants manage to rub shoulders in perfect amity.
