At the very front of the garden members of the Glasshouse team have been planting up the traditional carpet bed display in front of the Laboratory building. This 14ft square is the most intensely planted part of the garden, with approximately 10,000 plants here. Lucinda Lachelin, Senior Supervisor of the Glasshouse created this year’s design. With the help of many from the Glasshouse team it is now finished – as I’m sure you can appreciate, it’s a somewhat time-consuming task.
Carpet bedding was a favourite of Victorian gardeners, when labour was comparatively cheap so the rich could indulge their taste for intensive horticulture. Here, Lucinda had help from one of our friendly resident blackbirds!
Dwarf plants with coloured foliage such as Alternanthera and Sedum spathulifolium ‘Purpureum’ are chosen to form intricate patterns and motifs. We have to have a frequent clipping and pinching program to maintain the pattern over the summer season.
I hope you enjoy this feature, and value the hard work and dedication that goes into this small but perfectly formed showcase.
