Planting combinations for June

The colourful combination above shows Eremurus ‘Cleopatra’ growing in the Beth Chatto garden with what I think are the ‘Ligtu’ alstroemeria hybrids shown on the Beth Chatto website. Also in the mix is the soft Stipa tenuissima, Eryngium bourgatii and a pink opium poppy.

When I go round other gardens I take endless photographs of planting combinations I like. Sometimes these vignettes stay buried in my mind for months or even years before surfacing again and making me want to try new things in my own garden. Lately, I have become obsessed with soft orange Eremurus ‘Cleopatra’ after seeing a photo of them growing spectacularly in the Beth Chatto gravel garden (thanks, Carrie), and I remembered I’d also seen them several years ago in a show garden designed by the former head gardener of the Beth Chatto garden, David Ward, at Hampton Court - and had also coveted them then. The main border in my back garden has been looking a bit green and uninspiring and I reckon a few ‘Cleopatras’ will bring it to life in late May and early June, before the campanulas and phlox get going towards the end of the month. Foxtail lilies need full sun and a reasonably rich soil, so I’m hoping they will do well here. Now all I need to do is order them.