Colour highlights in a natural setting

A corner site with a secluded seat beneath a blossom-filled tree has a romantic feel. The soft outlines of lilacs and other fragrant flowering shrubs enclose the space, while the view from the bench opens out to a winding pathway that has been mown through grass studded with bright tulips, fritillaries and bluebells. Flowers naturalised among fresh green grass are the essence of spring.

Preparation and planting
1. Any section of lawn could be used as the meadow, so you don't have to start from scratch and sow seed. Plant bulbs randomly among the grass in autumn. Tulips will probably need to be renewed each year, whereas the bluebells, Camassia and fritillaries should naturalise.
2. The Amelanchier and Prunus should be planted in autumn or winter if large specimens, but container plants can be planted at any time, as long
as they are watered and cared for until established.
3. Dig and prepare the ground before planting the shrubs. Leave room in front of the syringa and rhododendron to put in erythroniums, either as bulbs in autumn or plants in early spring. The area for the ferns should have humus-rich compost added to the soil. Mulch all the plants.

Spring plant list
1. Amelanchier canadensis
2. Prunus avium 'Plena' (ornamental cherry)
3. Syringa vulgaris 'Madame Lemoine' (lilac)
4. Rhododendron luteum
5. Sambucus nigra 'Marginata' (elder)
6. Syringa x persica 'Alba'
7. Viburnum x burkwoodii
8. Syringa vulgaris 'Primrose'
9, Erythronium 'Pagoda'
10. Asplenium scolopendrium
11. Matteuccia struthiopteris (fern)
12. Tulipa 'Ballerina' and T. sylvestris
13. Camassia leichtlinii subsp. suksdorfii Caerulea Group
14. Hyacinthoides non-scripta (English bluebell)
15. Fritillaria meleagris (snake's head fritillary)

APRIL 2005
ORIGINAL IDEA JANE NEWDICK
ILLUSTRATOR SOPHIE BLACKALL