How to build a planting scheme

How to Build a Planting Scheme

One of the most important lessons we've learnt is that moving plants when you move house is usually a mistake. It is tempting for sentimental reasons, but most plants resent disturbance and can take years to recover. We have moved a mulberry tree more than once; it has survived, but it has never truly thrived or fruited properly again.

When we arrived at Ashington, we began planting from a few simple starting points: sunny beds in front of a wall that suited irises and our long-standing passion for old roses. Roses reward patience, but they do require it - our shrub roses took roughly four years to look established, which is often why people lose confidence early on.

To avoid the garden feeling empty while slower plants mature, we rely on what we call sacrificial planting: temporary, fast-growing plants that fill gaps, provide colour, and give height while the anchors build. Plants like fennel work well for this.

In this lesson you'll learn how we build planting schemes over time - using anchor plants, sacrificial planting, repetition and careful mixing to create gardens that mature well and remain manageable.

Key Principles

• Avoid relocating mature plants unless you have to; most take years to recover fully.
• Plant anchors first (roses, shrubs, evergreens), then build the seasonal layers around them.
• Use sacrificial planting intelligently to provide early impact while shrubs establish.
• Repeat plants in generous groups (5, 9, 15) rather than scattering singles. If something works well, go with it in numbers.
• Be cautious with vigorous fillers - sacrificial planting can smother slower plants if unchecked.
• Mix planting for resilience: diverse plantings are often healthier than monocultures.
• Accept that establishment takes time: a garden may need several years before it looks convincing.
• If something works, commit to it: strong planting depends on confidence and sufficient quantity.

Lavender as a Structure

One of our most structural planting decisions was to line the main westward paths with large, old-fashioned lavender, forming a tall, informal "sea". It provides scent, movement and a strong backbone to the route.

To keep it dense and prevent it from opening up and becoming woody, lavender needs to be cut back after flowering. This should ideally be done every year, as it won't resprout if cut back into old wood. The difficulty is that it is often full of bees at that moment - so you have to choose between perfect form and supporting wildlife.

To soften the lavender further and add vertical lightness, we introduced sweet peas between sections, grown up hazel wigwams.

Sacrificial Planting and the Value of Short-Lived Plants

Some plants are ideal sacrificial companions because they contribute drama but do not dominate long-term. Anchusa, for example, gives strong verticals and excellent colour, then tends to fade out naturally. That is often exactly what you want: temporary strength without permanent takeover.

At the same time, we have to guard against becoming overexcited by choice. Gardening can feel like a paintbox with too many colours. The more effective approach is usually simplicity and repetition, balanced by enough variation to avoid problems.

We learnt this the hard way by planting whole borders with peonies, only to see disease spread quickly. In many cases, mixed planting is healthier over the long term - though conditions always play a part.

Weaving and Timing

A garden is a series of moments. Irises flower, then disappear. Other plants take over - salvias, for example, are brilliant at filling the later part of the season. The goal is a continuous weave rather than a single peak. But weaving must respect plants' needs: we once sowed Nigella through iris clumps and it looked spectacular, but it was not good for the irises - their rhizomes need sun and warmth, and too much competition can weaken them.

The approach is always the same: experiment, observe, and adjust.

Further Reading

• RHS guide to growing and pruning lavender

Plant Directory

Morus nigra

Black mulberry

Hardy deciduous tree

Moraceae

Iris germanica cultivars

Bearded irises

Hardy rhizomatous perennials

Iridaceae

Iris × hollandica cultivars

Dutch irises

Hardy bulbous perennials

Iridaceae

Rosa (old cultivars)

Old-fashioned roses

Hardy deciduous shrubs

Rosaceae

Paeonia lactiflora

Fennel

Hardy perennial or short-lived herbaceous perennial

Apiaceae

Lavandula species, hybrids and cultivars

Lavenders

Hardy or half-hardy evergreen shrubs

Lamiaceae

Lathyrus odoratus cultivars

Sweet peas

Hardy annual climbers

Fabaceae

Philadelphus species and cultivars

Mock oranges

Hardy deciduous shrubs

Hydrangeaceae

Salvia species and cultivars

Salvias or sages

Hardy, half-hardy or tender herbaceous perennials or subshrubs

Lamiaceae

Nigella damascena

Love-in-a-mist

Hardy annual

Ranunculaceae

Matthiola incana

Brompton stock

Hardy woody-based perennial

Brassicaceae

Anchusa azurea

Garden anchusa

Hardy herbaceous perennial

Boraginaceae

Lupinus species and cultivars

Lupins

Mostly hardy herbaceous perennials

Fabaceae

Taxus baccata

Common yew

Hardy evergreen tree or shrub

Taxaceae