This week, I thought we might look at some perennials that hold the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit, just in time for summer. AGM holders, you might remember from last week’s column, are tested thoroughly by the RHS before the gong is bestowed upon them, so when shelling out for these plants you can be sure that you are giving your garden the best possible chance of reliable, healthy blooms.
The terraces in November, now awaiting replanting in spring
Credit: Anna Omiotek-Tott
It is now more than 20 years since I moved to Sandhill Farm House, near Petersfield in Hampshire. I was immediately attracted to the one-acre property, divided into two halves, as it had the potential of being turned into several different spaces.
Sandhill is my fourth real garden. Having been a tenant of a National Trust property – Stoneacre in Kent – for 11 years, I wanted a change and the freedom to create a new, smaller garden that would need less maintenance. The thin, sandy soil would be easier to work than heavy Kent clay and I imagined that the garden could be managed in about two days per week.