I noticed which plants grow best

And it's not the ones I weed or water!

I’ve been boasting for yonks, how great the plants grow in the long border.

The long border in late June

Established in 2019, the plants have taken several years to proliferate and snuggle in shoulder to shoulder.Every spring, until the last two, there was a huge weeding and cutting back job. The last two years this has been quick. This year it only took one day, for the whole 30m plus length.¹

A mish mash of plants, but with no watering, they are still growing well in late July

This bed never gets watered, but does get some run off from two sheds along its length. It must spread along the length with the fungi networks in the undisturbed soil. Or perhaps it’s the super resilient planting there. Or maybe both.

Have you noticed that if you gently rub off the pollinated seeds off the echinops, the bright blue globes are revealed again? The lysimachia firecracker (purple leaves and small yellow flowers) grows much better with other plants. This usually likes moisture but seems to cope so long as its feet are cool.

There are some spots that are weedy, and those are the open positions where salvias are struggling to take up their space where perennial poppies have been cut back.

This hole in the bed. I cut back the Royal Wedding Poppies, and little has risen to fill the space, bar speedwell and other little weeds.

Out in the walled garden, you might remember me lifting grass, replanting hundreds of tiny perennials and grasses with a few shrubs for good measure. They are alive. But only just after going in, in late May and very little attention. There are a huge amount of pioneer weeds (read oppotuntistic annuals). The new plants are there, but in the open south position, dry soil and little watering, they are struggling, not really doing much.

But I noticed the other day, a bed that is in completely due south position, absolutely no watering by me or attention, slightly higher than the hot slabs that form the terrace, planting that is utterly thriving.

I realised what the difference was.