A new perennial bed was designed and planted earlier this year by one of our fantastic volunteers. The redesign of Perennial Bed 31 (now called the blue and white bed) is part of the continuous development of the park where we are planning to give each of the perennial beds a refresh.

The overall brief was to create an elegant, perennial display based around a colour palette of blue/purple and white. Being attractive to pollinators and people is a must. Whilst the main flowering season is in the summer, it was key to create interest from early spring right through to autumn and winter.

The bed can be viewed from all sides so the design uses drifts of planting to draw your eye into and through the bed from different angles. These drifts sweep through to the centre where vertical height is achieved with layered planting using taller plants such as white Digitalis (foxgloves) and Campanula pyramidalis ‘Albus’ which can grow to 2.5m in height.

Going into winter/early spring, the display will start with Helleborus niger. These will be accompanied and succeeded by a spring display of blue and white bulbous flowers such as Laucojum, Muscari, Scilla sibrica, white Narcissus, and white Tulipa. At the same time, Dicentra alba will put on its spring show while the Hakonechloa macra forms into fresh cushions of grass as the other perennials emerge.

Next it’s time for the blue Iris to stand tall, with the white spikes of the Veronica longifolia ‘Schneeriesin’ hot on it’s heels, leading us in to the summer display of the blue Centaurea montana, Echinops, Eryngium and Agapanthus which contrast with the white Achillea millefolium ‘White Beauty’, Digitalis purpurea ‘Alba’ and the towering Campanula pyramidalis ‘Alba.

And if the bees and insects weren’t happy enough, you’ll find them all over the Agastache ‘Blue Fortune’ which takes us into late summer/autumn alongside the Aster frikartii ‘Monch’.

We hope you enjoy seeing this bed mature and grow over the years. See how many bees you can count on the Agastache come summer time.

Perennial list:
Achillea millefolium ‘White Beauty’
Agastache ‘Blue Fortune’
Agapanthus ‘Giant Blue’
Aster frikartii ‘Mönch’
Campanula pyramidalis ‘ Alba’
Centaurea montana
Dicentra spectabilis ‘Alba’
Digitalis purpurea ‘Alba’
Echinops ritro ‘Veitch’s Blue’
Eryngium planum
Hakonechloa macra
Helleborus niger
Iris
Veronica longifolia ‘Schneeriesin’