You no doubt will have seen that grasses, the ornamental ones, not the plant that make up our lawns, have been in vogue for a while now.  In my humble experience, they are hard to place in a border, especially among the shrubbier plants like roses and hardy fuchsias.  The so called ‘prairie style’ of planting seems to suit them best; particularly accompanying umbellifers. This is a large family of both perennials and annuals that have flat topped umbels made up of hundreds of tiny flowers that gives them a soft, gentle look.  The family includes astrantias, sedums and fennel. Much gardening respect to the gardener on Tollerton Lane who has planted a lovely, long-lasting combo in their front garden of grasses and verbena bonariensis: it makes me smile every time I drive by.  Piet Oudolf is the renowned advocate if you want to know more about prairie planting. I have several of his books, including ‘designing with plants’: it really is inspirational if a tad daunting!

Sanguisorba has become one of my all-time favourites and looks well in this planting style.  It is tall but doesn’t need staking, has a lovely colour range mainly in the red/pink/purple shades and is dead easy to grow.  In fact, it can take over in the perfect damp conditions it likes, but it is a gentle, graceful presence.

Now is the time to cut down the deciduous grasses such as Miscanthus to allow the new leaves to come through. It’s a messy business, so try tying some string round each clump first and then cutting as low down as you can get to the ground with a pair of shears or even hedge trimmers works well.  It can then be carried more easily to the compost heap.  Evergreen grasses such as Stipa need their dead leaves removing.  The best way I’ve found is to strip them out is to use a heavy duty pair of rubber gloves.  Just watch out for wildlife such as hibernating hedgehogs though. We were delighted to count 5 hogs in our garden in the Autumn and are now anxiously waiting for spring and their successful re-emergence.

We were lucky enough to have a holiday in Madeira last month, and the blue skies and warm sun were a huge tonic.  You may not be surprised to hear that we visited some gardens, my favourite being the Palheiro Gardens, home of the Blandy family who make that delicious drink. The planting is lovely but unremarkable, but it has a kind of calm and graceful sense of place that I swear is more restorative than most medicines. As you walk down the old, cobbled path into the garden there are big meadows of orange crocosmia and yellow oxalis either side of you. I’m not mad keen on camellias, but in that natural woodland setting and left unpruned to do their own thing they did look pretty.    

Whenever I go away to warmer climes, I’m reminded how many of our houseplants grow happily outside in other parts of the world. Sometimes I find it really helpful to look up where a plant hails from if it’s struggling; that way you can try to mimic it the conditions it needs to thrive more easily.  Misting many houseplants regularly seems to keep them happier, especially the ornamental figs, peace lilies and spider plants.  Seeing a healthy row of spider plants (see photo) used as bedding plants in a park in Funchal told me everything I needed to know about looking after my little plant at home!

Many of us struggle through the winter months. I certainly hate the seemingly endless grey, wet days. But spring is now on its way, the snowdrops are out and we will soon have daffodils, crocus, early iris, bluebells and tulips (if the squirrels don’t eat them all) to bring us cheer. 

So take care and all the very best for whatever 2023 brings you.