Wild Garden

Wild borders

Wild gardens can have borders, but they need to look natural. So hybrid tea rose bushes, and neat shrubs are out - rather plant annual and perennial flowers that are found in nature. Foxgloves are a natural woodland flower that makes a lovely border perennial, and are available in all kinds of colours. Particularly striking is this 'D.Purpurea alba' pictured - seeds available from Plant World. It's a beautiful white variety that will happily establish itself in competition with its wild neighbours, but to keep it white, you need to weed out any seedlings with reddish leaves so they produce purple flowers. You can also plant yellow and white daisies ('anthemis') and columbines ('aquileagea') - they look old-fashioned and so are perfect for wild gardens. Anthemis 'sauce hollondaise' is available for £2.50 + p&p from Cottage Garden Plants.

Grow it tall

Other flowers that look good are ones that are either wild in other parts of the world, or are related to wild plants. Try planting the tree Lupin lupinus arboreus. This fabulous perennial grows wild in California, but does perfectly well in this country. Flowers vary from pale lemon yellow through lilac, purple and blue. Although tall and imposing, it looks lovely near the front of the border. Seeds for both aquilegia and tree lupins are available from Plant World, tel (01803) 872 939.

Wild boundaries

If you need hedges either for privacy or as a backdrop to the garden, plant natural-looking beech rather than the much more formal yews or privets. Beech hedging is available from Buckingham Nurseries and costs about 45p for a 1ft seedling or 85p for a plant 2-3ft (based on buying 5 - 49 plants). Alternatively, if you want a hedge that will attract the wild-life, how about a Cotoneaster Simonsii that produces lovely white flowers in spring, attracts bees and has beautiful red fruits in the autumn for the birds. It costs £1.15 per plant (based on purchase of 5 - 49 plants) from Buckingham Nurseries.

Over-arching

Add height to your garden in a way that will fit in with the wild theme with this 'gothic arch' (£188) from the English Hurdle Company. It's a perfect framework for climbing plants like honeysuckle.

Busy as a bee

Finally, no wild garden would be complete without a beehive. Except that this is no ordinary beehive - it's in fact a composter. It comes in four finishes: natural (£115) and three fashionable colours (£140). Buy online from Nicky's Nurseries.