Conjuring up different, imaginative planting schemes for small areas in city gardens is a challenge that Jane Brockbank relishes. It might be tempting to roll out the cliched easy wins for these gardens: Fatsia japonica and Choisya ternata for shade; lavender and roses for sun. But Jane enjoys pushing the boundaries and devising unexpected, unique planting schemes for each client.
In a recent project in Hampstead, she has been working on a planting scheme that combines interesting and varied foliage around a small courtyard area, which was originally filled with overgrown laurel. The owner wanted to retain the dappled shade the laurel had brought to the space so Jane replaced it with a new collection of trees that she envisaged in layers of contrasting foliage. A top storey of Betula pubescens and Ginkgo biloba casts light, fluttering shade, while an under-storey of bold-leaved smaller trees includes Acer palmatum, Cercis canadensis 'Forest Pansy' and Catalpa bignonoides 'Aurea', which is cut back hard each year to keep it as a shrub. Beneath, the layering effect continues with a collection of woodland-edge plants that are happy in this cool, leafy situation.
At this year's RHS Chelsea Flower Show, there was a noticeable focus on shady, woodland planting - reflecting the climate-driven need for us all to plant more trees - so this garden feels very on trend. 'There are so many gorgeous plants for shade and in this garden I wanted to experiment with bold foliage shapes to give it an exotic woodland feel,' says Jane. It is easy to find woodland bulbs to provide spring colour in shade but she was more focused on plants for all-season interest, as well as those that would peak in autumn, keeping the display going late into the year. 'I always think about plants first when I design a garden,' she says. 'I start by writing lists of the plants I think will work and that will create the atmosphere I want. Then I divide the list up into three seasons, to make sure I have at least one or two plants that will be looking their best in spring; summer or autumn.'
From the ground up, the layers of plants in this scheme knit together to form a lush tapestry of foliage in different shapes, textures and shades, from apple green to deep bruised purple. Rubus tricolor, the Chinese bramble, is an excellent ground-cover plant in dry shade, with glossy, evergreen leaves and white flowers in summer followed by red edible fruits in autumn. 'It's an underused plant and is pretty much bombproof,' observes Jane, who placed it to cascade over a low wall in the Hampstead garden.
Bergenias also make very useful ground cover for shade. Jane planted two types: the evergreen Bergenia ciliata, which has large, rounded, olive-green leaves edged with tiny hairs; and the more unusual B. pacumbis, from the Beth Chatto nursery, with red-tinged foliage. The glossy, deep purple leaves of Ajuga reptans 'Catlin's Giant' scallop the edge of the front of the border, their colour echoed by the rich foliage of the cercis above.
The purple was also picked up in the dark blotches on the leaves of Persicaria virginiana, a key plant in Jane's border and one of the few members of this family to thrive in shade. In late summer and autumn, it produces wispy, ethereal spikes of deep red flowers that hover over the leaves to provide a hint of movement. Two ornamental grasses were used to link the foliage plants together - palm sedge Carex muskingumensis, which is happy in light shade, and Miscanthus sinensis 'Cindy', a compact cultivar from grass specialist Knoll Gardens. This has formed large, statuesque clumps in the more open areas between the tree canopy, along with lime-green Euphorbia ceratocarpa. 'It may be the case that the plants that need more sun will start to fade out as the canopy of trees becomes more dense over time" explains Jane. 'We created a new microclimate in the garden and the conditions will always be changing as the plants grow larger. As designers, when we finish a project, we know that this is just the beginning of the evolution of that garden. It requires constant work and adaptation to take it forwards.'
In a small space, you need only one or two signature plants to draw the eye, especially in a scheme like this, where the aim is understated elegance rather than exaggerated exuberance. Jane used striking Tetrapanax papyrifer 'Rex' as her star, its huge, exotic leaves contrasting with the lime-green foliage of Catalpa bignonioides ‘Aurea’ and arching fronds of the miscanthus. A fast-growing woody shrub, tetrapanax needs a sheltered spot in sun or light shade and may require some winter protection in colder areas. Opposite this, in a slightly sunnier spot against the wall of the house, she is trying out Amicia zygomeris, which she remembers seeing in Nymans garden in West Sussex several years ago. This unusual Mexican perennial has beautifully shaped emerald-green leaves and purple-tinted bracts. Slightly tender, it can sometimes get knocked back by frosts but, given some protection, it will grow back from the base the following season.
'Some London gardens have a lovely secret-garden feel, and I wanted to create the element of surprise with a few unusual, interesting plants,' explains Jane. 'My advice to anyone tackling a small, shady space is not to be a slave to flowers. Focus on leaf texture and colour - and it's amazing what you can do'.
Jane Brockbank Gardens: janebrockbank.com
