Gardening Dilemma - Part 8

Welcome to the eighth in our new series where Head Gardener Åsa and Head of Horticulture Steve share their expert advice on tackling your gardening and garden design dilemmas.

'Would be grateful for thoughts for some plants to place in our gravel driveway.

As you can see from the picture, we have an 18^th century barn that has been recently restored.  The area at the front faces north, and in the summer still receives a good amount of afternoon sun.  When we designed our front garden, we decided that we would focus on a white garden – which would stand out against the black barn.

We are looking for some advice on plants to go in the gravel driveway from the staddle stone around to the water trough.  Ideally of a cottage nature that look like they have just self-seeded in the driveway – obviously, any varieties of plants should have white flowers.

Look forward to hearing your thoughts and suggestions, and if you need any further information, please let us know.'

- Clare and Martin

Looking at the gravel area, I think your instinct is exactly right: it doesn't need large islands of planting. It needs the impression that a few plants have gently wandered out from the borders and made themselves at home.

Rather than filling the whole driveway, I'd plant with plenty of empty gravel between them. The negative space is what makes the barn so striking.

For the most natural effect, I'd repeat just a handful of species.

Airy self-seeding annuals and biennials:

• Orlaya grandiflora – perhaps the perfect choice. White lace-like flowers that often self-seed gently.
• Ammi majus or Ammi visnaga – taller, more architectural umbels that catch the light beautifully.
• Digitalis purpurea f. albiflora – allow a few white foxgloves to pop up unpredictably near the borders.

 Airy perennials:

• Oenothera lindheimeri (gaura)– almost looks as though butterflies are hovering above the gravel.

• Verbascum chaixii 'Album' – elegant white spires.
• Melica uniflora f. albida – suitable for sun or part shade
• Lotus hirsutus – great spilling from the borders edge
• Erigeron karvinskianus tucked where it can spill naturally.
• White Campanula poscharskyana around the staddle stone and the trough.

Digitalis purpurea f. albiflora

Oenothera lindheimeri

Verbascum chaixii 'Album'

Melica uniflora f. albida

Lotus hirsutus

Erigeron karvinskianus

The one thing I wouldn't do is fill the gravel with lots of flowering plants. One of the joys of the space at the moment is its calmness. Too many plants would compete with the architecture.

From the photograph, the gravel looks deep enough to support this style of planting, but if there's a weed membrane underneath, I'd cut generous planting holes through it where each group is to go. The plants will perform much better when they can root directly into the soil below.

A restrained palette of white umbels, airy foxgloves, verbascums and gaura, repeated lightly across the gravel would create exactly the feeling you describe - plants that seem to have found their own place over the years, perfectly at home beside an eighteenth-century barn.

Be the first to hear about our next Gardening Dilemma invitation by subscribing to our newsletter HERE

Head of Horticulture Steve