It is so hard for any gardener to narrow their favourite plants down to just three! We may say that we would have different plants in different seasons, but when put on the spot and asked to narrow it down, it is very interesting to compare which three plants our podcast guests chose.
Liz Stewart is CEO of Scotland’s Garden Scheme. She is passionate about the wonderul gardens open around Scotland for charity, her own garden, and, of course, all the ways you can get involved with Scotland’s Garden Scheme. These include opening your garden, volunteering to help at an opening, or by visiting inspirational gardens across the country. But what are her favourite three plants? When asked as part of our podcast, the Scotland Grows Show, this is what she had to say.
“I love ferns. They’re probably the thing I love best in the garden. I’ve got so many of them and I’ve actually just created a new big bed in quite a shady spot. So I’ve been dividing all my ferns, which is very exciting, I’m hoping they’re all going to spring to life, but all sorts of different kinds of ferns are just wonderful. I would definitely choose all of them. At home, I’ve got tree ferns and ostrich ferns as well, they’re so vibrantly green.
“Another one is an amelanchier. I have a couple in my garden: I’ve got an old one that’s been there since the house was built in the 60s, and I put one in about maybe three or four years ago. That was such a worthwhile thing to do. It wasn’t very big when I put it in, but it’s just now at the point where all of a sudden it’s there, and it’s creating quite a presence in the garden. The early leaves are really pretty and that white pinky flower is gorgeous. I’m growing it as a sort of multi-stemmed tree, so I’ll probably clear out the lower branches when it gets a bit bigger. I think it’s a really nice one as a kind of small tree or kind of stately shrub for your garden.
“And then the third choice is quite difficult, but I’m very fond of Verbena bonariensis. I know it’s not terribly hardy where I am, but I discovered I could grow it from seed quite successfully, so I grow quite a lot of that each year and then I lose quite a bit, but quite a lot still comes back, so I just try and keep it going in the garden. I always think it’s quite surprising that you can grow something that feels a little bit exotic and a bit unusual, but has a real wow factor. It’s quite robust as well, it’ll stand up to the wind, and is nice to put into grasses. I like the fact it’s got these little square stems, and it’s not a difficult one to grow, but you’d think it would be, so I would highly recommend that.”
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Catch up with the rest of Liz’s chat on episode 2 of the Scotland Grows Show.