Natural-looking gardens are terribly popular now. They are fashionable, wildlife-friendly and practical, ideal for the not-so-tidy person or for anyone who is too busy for a fussy kind of garden. Wild roses and single-flowered shrub roses should be planted with perennials and grasses chosen to create a more natural, old-fashioned look. Examples include globe thistles (Echinops bannaticus), monkshood (Aconitum), and salvia (Salvia nemorosa). They also make good companions for many of the ornamental grasses such as blue oat grass (Helictotrichon), Festuca scoparia and F. ovina, which are also suitable as underplanting for floribunda and hybrid tea roses.
To create a really overgrown, natural feel to your garden, try combining wild roses and other shrub roses with perennial grasses such as Molinia altissima and M. caerulea (16-32 in/ 40-80 cm), Panicum virgatum (20-40 in/50-100 cm, with beautiful reddish-brown leaves that turn much darker in the fall), and Chinese fountain grass, 32-36 in/80-90 cm. Stipa barbata (12-36 in/30-80 cm) is a very elegant ornamental grass, as is Stipa capillata (12-36 in/ 30-80 cm).
Molinia in the natural-looking garden
You can’t expect to take the whole of your garden with you when you move house, and you’ll probably have to bid a fond farewell to much of it. In most cases it’s less trouble simply to his new plants when you arrive in your new home. But many people are particularly fond of their roses, and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t transplant them.
Globe thistles
If at all possible, start preparing for the move in the fall by carefully digging up the roses. Cut off any damaged roots and then plant the rose at the same depth as before. Mix the soil around the plant with coarse compost, tread it down after planting the rose, and water it well. You should cut back all hush and shrub roses before starting to move them.
With the right combination of plants and proper care, you can create a very natural-looking garden.
