My first two summers at Benton End have given me a potentially misleading idea of its climate, with unusually high rainfall in East Anglia – a region of the UK that is commonly the driest of all.
In future we expect drought in spring and summer, and when this is coupled with the garden’s sandy loam soil that drains well, we will need to grow plants that like it lean. In this arrangement, which you can start off outside, shape has been key to composing a boxful of drought-tolerant plants.
Even though these metal containers have an aged patina, which I like, their simplicity of shape gives them a clean and stark quality. To create greater depth, I’ve placed the two boxes perpendicular to one another and continued the graphic aesthetic with the choice of plants, including a needle spiked yucca and a young agave, which brings an important touch of dark green to the other shades of apple green.
These plants have been grown from seed and will get much larger as they mature, but it’s fun to be playful with them while they’re small. I’ve softened the edges with a small fragrant-leaved pelargonium, which tumbles over a corner of one of the boxes, as well as the grey-leaved Mediterranean coastal plant Jacobaea maritima. The tubular, bright-scarlet flowers of the pineapple sage Salvia elegans ‘Sonoran Red’ strike through a tapestry of greens.
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The plants used
Salvia elegans ‘Sonoran Red’
A salvia that may flower too late for many but great for milder areas. 90cm x 60cm. RHS H2, USDA 9a-10b.
Agave montana
Can be hardy if given sharp drainage in winter. 1m x 1m. RHS H4, USDA 8a-11.
Pelargonium x fragrans
Tiny shrubby pelargonium with foliage that smells like Old Spice. 30cm x 40cm. RHS H1C, USDA 10a-11.
Aeonium spathulatum
A branching, evergreen succulent with rosettes that flush red in bright light. 40cm x 20cm. RHS H1C, USDA 9a-12.
Aeonium haworthii
A green-leaved compact aeonium species from the Canary Islands. 20cm x 30cm. RHS H1C, USDA 9b-12.
Jacobaea maritima
Hardy evergreen foliage plant for full sun and dry areas. 30cm x 50cm. RHS H4, USDA 7a-10b.
Yucca angustissima
A yucca I’ve grown from seed acquired from the Colorado-based seed seller Alplains. 1m x 1m. RHS H5, USDA 5a-10b.
Cultivation and care
All these plants require sharp drainage and will be damaged by prolonged water-logging, so they need drainage holes and a soil mix made up of loam-based compost, sharp sand, 2-8mm grit or a similar waste aggregate.
For both aesthetic and cultivation reasons, topping the container with 20mm of grit or waste aggregate will keep the collars of the plants dry and also help to prevent any weed seeds germinating. If the weather does quickly get colder, as it can at this time of year, these shoe box-sized containers can easily be moved inside and enjoyed for longer.
