I was drawn to Succession Planting for Year-Round Pleasure by Christopher Lloyd the minute I clapped eyes on the title. The photographs showing one of Lloyd’s borders in every month during The Green Season propelled me to the cash register with it in my arms. From those photos, you can see how his garden changes over spring, summer and fall. In each, you can see how Lloyd has staged his perennials and annuals so that there is always plenty either in bloom or showing off colorful foliage. And that was an inspiration to me.
Lloyd is a gardener of some standing in Britain. He’s been featured on BBC gardening shows and has written numerous books, including the appealing sounding Colour for Adventurous Gardeners. His writing is reminiscent of Julia Child’s; he talks right to you, encourages you, and explains what must be done to achieve your goals:
“Using your eyes is critical and you need to study your border year-round, pretty well every day in fact, ever criticising, ever assessing and working out how things might be done better.”
And he delivers his opinions straightforwardly:
“I believe in working with the acidity or otherwise that is natural to your soil. Let someone else grow the rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias that you could only provide for with a specially made bed, having imported acid soil.”
(After rather unsuccessfully trying to grow blueberries in the naturally acid free soil in several different states over a number of years, I can only say, bravo!) I like his style. His exhortations make me feel as though he’s here in the garden with me. If I choose to pose it to myself, I can always answer the question, what would Christoper Lloyd do? What would he do with these Johnson’s Blue geraniums in my front garden that have been looking like crap for 10 years? With the sickly tulips that really don’t get enough sun? Pull them out!
The first part of the book covers general principles:
- Good gardening practices
- Starting your planning from the high point of the season and working to expand bloom and interest toward either end
- Choosing plants that will make your job easier
- Designing “multi-layered” borders, by which he means interplanting perennials and annuals that shine in one part of the season and then can be cut back or removed with plants that are at their best later
Each of these principles is illustrated with photos and examples from his border. He also includes some sample multi-layer garden plans.
The remainder (and bulk) of the book covers plants that he recommends for succession-ready gardeners. Each chapter begins with overall suggestions and guidance, then is followed with specific recommendations.
Is this a good book for northern gardeners? On the whole, yes. Many of the plants he grows are too tender for our gardens. But the techniques and plant combinations he uses to illustrate them supply plenty of ideas that could easily be transferred to our climate. (Beautiful pictures too!)
