Use native plants to create the feel of a British garden

Many gardeners dream of an English garden. And then the delphinium dies.

You can translate inspiration from those fabulous English estate gardens to your small suburban yard without creating a maintenance nightmare, insists Bob Streitmatter, manager of Luthy Botanical Garden in Peoria.

He's talking about the spirit, flavor and feel of an English garden, not the plant materials. But there are even some English roses that don't require too much extra effort, he allows.

Streitmatter, who spoke at the recent Mid-America Horticultural Trade Show in Chicago, admits most of our yards are better suited to inspiration from the cottage gardens of the Cotswolds than the fabulous estates of tourist fame.

English gardens can be ecologically friendly because they utilize lots of plant material and stone pathways and walls rather than turf or bluegrass. This is true especially if you plant natives that don't need a lot of water and fertilizer to grow robustly.

In fact, planting a lavish display is Streitmatter's first rule for creating your English garden. That basically means “squeezing more plant material into a smaller space.”

He envisions your garden with two layers of bulbs that bloom at different times in the spring, then the perennials come up and maybe the hostas, and finally something that booms in the fall. And of course, don't forget shrubs and different heights of trees.

“It comes down to having something going on all the time in the beds,” he said. “And The best things about layers, your plants display themselves at different times. You get a lot more interest out of that square footage.”

Besides making sure you plant something for each season, you want a variety of textures, too, in this garden plan that mimics nature.

Mid-Am is sponsored by the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association, the Illinois Green Industry Association, and the Wisconsin Green Industry Federation.

Here are Streitmatter's tips for gardening Anglophiles.

ŸPlan your garden so you can enjoy it from your deck or patio and through the windows, too.

ŸDivide your garden into manageable portions or “garden rooms.” The “wall” can be a hedge, grasses or a mixed border, which means lots of different types of plants.

ŸYou need focal points. But they don't have to be old stone ruins or follies. You can choose a fountain, sculpture, bench or a great tree.

ŸUse vines on walls or fences. These are often overlooked in garden centers, he said, maybe because they seem to be tangled messes. He likes the idea of clematis and climbing hydrangea. In England he saw a single arbor with roses, clematis, wisteria and grapes.

ŸMonochromatic beds can be fun — white for a nighttime garden or red for glorious drama.

ŸUse native plants that give you the same feelings of the English garden. He suggests purple coneflowers and other echinacea, solidago or golden rod, black-eyed Susans, and eupatorium like the popular, very large Joe-Pye weed. Other plants that might work are baptisia australis or blue false indigo and white wild indigo, which is baptisia leucantha.

ŸDon't forget the plants for water's edge like iris and marsh mallows (honest).

ŸWoodland flowers are important under those trees. Favorites include bluebells, bloodroot, Mayapples and Jack-in-the pulpit.

ŸBig, bold foliage is great. You might have to use containers and take tropical plants like elephant ears and gunnera, which is a waterside plant, inside for the winter.

ŸVegetables and herbs can be decorative and help create the cottage garden feel. Rosemary looks great by the front door, for example. Try lettuce, cabbage and peppers in containers. It's just not a genuine cottage garden without vegetables.

ŸStreitmatter's delphinium story shows why he thinks native plants belong in our prairie state gardens. “Delphinium bring you heart ache. I had one that was about 5 or 6 foot tall. I was so excited. I staked it. The winds came through and snapped it off exactly at the top of the stake. I was devastated.”

ŸRoses are a different story. Rugosa shrub roses or the famous Knockout or the new Home Run or the series called Carefree probably are the easiest. But Streitmatter says some David Austins are not bad. They probably need more attention than many plants, but imagine what roses will add to your English garden! Midwest Groundcovers is now growing David Austin roses in our region, and you should be able to find them in area garden centers. Maybe growing locally will help them be hardy. Streitmatter says if you want a Gertrude Jekyll, go for it.