I passed a gentleman sat with his wife.
“There’s not much colour” he remarked to her.
I looked up, I looked one way and the other, I looked down. Colour everywhere.
That colour was green.
An exuberantly green scene along this shaded path
Green is the most exciting colour to me. It’s the colour of life, at least in the plant world that means so much to me. It’s a colour of rich bounty.
It’s brown that I fear. Sure, some plants are brown in order to appear dead to passing herbivores; it’s a good strategy and serves them well. Other plants are brown because they’ve died of disease, neglect, or even the bad luck that sometimes befalls even the most committed gardeners.
Seeing green in my garden is enormously comforting; it means that all is well.
Yet I’m aware that for others a green garden is as dull as a monochrome photograph. Our modern world is vibrant and colourful, and deviation from this doesn’t sit well with some people.
A pocket of summer colour in the blazing sun
Abbotsbury
What better place to celebrate green than at Abbotsbury Subtropical Garden on England’s south coast. This is a very popular garden, and definitely one that I would recommend to anyone looking for late summer gardens to visit.
I admire the fact that Abbotsbury doesn’t slavishly chase visitor numbers; Abbotsbury has its identity and focuses on keeping high standards, rather than becoming a ‘garden theme park’ like some of Britain’s other iconic gardens. Abbotsbury is iconic because it’s comfortable with its identity.
Plants, all green, growing happily together
Abbotsbury provides a tranquil environment to enjoy rather than trying hard to be entertaining or [please no!] ‘trendy’. This is a place to be among the plants. It’s a very intimate garden, thanks to a high canopy of trees and narrow winding paths that make their way through exuberant planting. The plant collection here is quite exciting, even for someone who lives in an area of rich horticulture. This is partly down to the very benevolent climate of this part of the UK, but also pays testament to the adventurous approach of the gardeners.
Some gardens want to dazzle you and show you how good they are, begging for your approval; Abbotsbury just wants you to relax and enjoy yourself.
Green
Abbotsbury is a masterclass in being confident using green.
The skilful use of shape and texture here is about as good as it gets. ‘Exotic gardens’ are often encountered as elements of larger gardens, along with ‘rose gardens’, ‘edible gardens’ and other themed areas, so to have a whole garden that runs with one idea is a welcome novelty.
Banana, bamboo, Rhododendrons and native ferns
To have this idea executed so well is a delight.
For plant nerds like me there is an extra layer of interest in the collection itself, an interesting and diverse collection of plants from around the world.
Layers
The planting in this garden is intricately layered.
A red bridge stands out against a green backdrop
There are the big trees, remnants of the old garden that was laid out in the 19th century, with younger trees below. Among the trees there is a shrubby layer, with climbers threading through where appropriate, and herbaceous plants of all sizes and scales found throughout.
I found this layering and attention to detail fascinating; the gardeners have created and nurtured an intimate community of plants, with things growing through, over and under each other as they would in nature.
An avenue of ‘cabbage palms’; visually arresting but nature wouldn’t be this structured!
Plants rarely exhibit themselves neatly in ways that we can all enjoy them; it’s logical that this intricacy of planting would work in a garden that takes its inspiration from that sort of habitat.
Colours (other than green)
The late British ‘exotic gardener’ Will Giles was an advocate for very careful use of colour in the exotic garden. Rather than fill the garden with a mix of colourful plants, focus on building a garden of strong textures and forms in green, then add some very carefully chosen colour. When you look at photographs of jungles you see lots of green, lots of textures, lots of light and shadow, but very little strong colour.
A ‘painted’ Tradescantia lightens the ground in a dark corner
What colours there are tend to be quite strong; if you’re a flower you must stand out against your background if you want to be pollinated!
Avoiding using lots of colour garden can be very challenging, especially when the nurseries tempt us with so many beautiful plants. However where the discipline is followed it can make for a harmonious, yet interesting, garden.
A purple-leafed Canna (possibly one called ‘Australia’) is the only non-green element in this stretch of garden
On the move
My friend asked a very interesting question: “how do people just walk around and never stop to look?”
In a garden as complex at Abbotsbury there is no doubt that the contemplative gardener is rewarded; taking time to absorb what you’re looking at means that you enjoy more of the detail of the garden.
An American Persicaria and a Himalayan Strobilanthes are supported by a yellow Hibiscus
However when visitors are used to having plants arranged in such a way that everything is obvious at a glance, they well might miss the fine detail of a garden that is more nuanced in its approach and beauty.
Of course others, like the gentleman quoted at the start of this piece, might simple not like this sort of garden. Some people prefer gardens that are aimed at a different audience, preferring big blocks of colour instead. This is fine; there are plenty of gardens around to cater for different audiences.
A theatrical display of bananas with a carefully chosen range of companions
The thing I took away from Abbotsbury is the interest of intricate layering. I find the idea of a very three-dimensional garden appealing.
I’ve come to value gardens with personality, and the warm embrace of Abbotsbury is something I treasure.
I don’t remember if there were succulents in ‘Alice In Wonderland’, but here Alice seems more interested in the trees…
What a delightful article!!! I’ve said for years, I like the different shades of green as much as flowers, perhaps more! Flowers put on a show but wilt and die and fall to the ground. Green plants just keep on growing and greening!
You are, of course, absolutely right, Ben. Though I’m ashamed to admit I love the other colours and crave them in the garden come winter.
I remember going to a hardware mega store one spring and seeing people pouring out with their hands full of colourful bedding plants, and thinking then – people love those colours.
And of course, it’s what this lot believe and try to bring to urban settings in the UK: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/landscape/research/ecology
I love colours too, where appropriate. Funny you should say about colours in winter; the colours of quite a few of the more ‘overt’ Camellias would be horrific in summer, but after the long grey winter we’re so starved of colour that we’re glad to see horrific pinks!
Periodically I come across people in my work who say they “love colour”. In most cases what they’re saying is that they don’t want their gardens to be too green, which is fair enough, but I have come across people who absolutely insist that the only way their gardens will look good is to have a horrible mix of contrasting colours. The result is terrible and they know it, but they’ve been brainwashed into thinking that a garden like a fairground is better than green and there’s nothing I can do to stop them.
I should add, re winter colour: https://gardenrant.com/2021/02/winter-colour-in-the-garden.html
Thank you for sharing. Looks to be a wonderful place to spend the day. Perhaps this is a place for people to try forest bathing? The colorful Professor James Hitchmough & his lot did some interesting research that indicated that people find green spaces with less than 10 percent flower coverage to be restorative and relaxing. I think Christopher Lloyd would enjoy this garden. He wrote an excellent book on foliage that is well worth seeking out.
Yes I think that could be right for Abbotsbury. I wonder if the same people who don’t really ‘get’ Abbotsbury would be the same sorts of people who wouldn’t really ‘get’ forest bathing?
There’s enough in the world to agitate; I’m all for tranquility myself.
I was at Abbotsbury today for the first time in probably nearly 50 years. A fabulous, richly planted garden. It knocks the Cornish gardens , which I grew up with and find totally overrated , for six.
As I live close to the Cornish border and am involved with a professional horticulture group in Cornwall… I think I’ll remain diplomatically quiet on that subject.
I most certainly would enjoy visiting this garden. But nothing gets my heart racing like a cottage garden full of riotous plants of all colors. It is precisely the fact that flowers are transient that (for me) makes it so special to stumble upon them in their glory.
Colourful plants do indeed get our hearts racing, which is why the tranquility of green is also important.
A beautiful garden, and green any time of year is wonderful, but I had to laugh at “as dull as a monochrome photograph.” My husband enjoys black-and-white film photography and is an admirer of Ansel Adams, so I’ve seen quite a bit of monochrome – and the shadows can be as dramatic, subtle, moody, or narrative as any color anywhere. Just to emphasize your points about composition and tint!
When I’m checking planting combinations I use a trick I learnt from Dan Hinkley: photograph the combination with your phone, go to ‘filters’ and convert the image to black and white, and see if the planting still looks good. If it does then you’ve got good structure.
The lack of colour can really be eye-catching, and I love it. However there are many for whom only bright colours are good enough. Do you remember the 2011 movie ‘The Artist’? It was a ‘silent film’ in black and white; there were stories of people leaving the screenings because the movie wasn’t in colour!
, Ben,
I just returned home after a very stressful day and opened my email to find your article. The pictures themselves are so relaxing. After reading your prose, I had to go back and soak in the beautiful pictures. I love the look of a “restful jungle’.Thanks for the needed uplifting.
Ken Warren
I’m delighted to be able to help out.
I have always loved the soothing green and leaf shapes more than the flowers. Had to laugh at “how do people just walk around and never stop to look?” In my case it’s the spouse who wants to do something for/with me but I know is bored out of his mind so I am rushed.
He will deny this but he radiates suffering!
I’m lucky to go garden visiting with a friend who also loves to really look at things.
I guess if you’re not into gardens they must be very dull places (although the idea of a garden being dull is virtually beyond comprehension for me!).
I may be too late on this one, but thinking about Susan’s comment above about cottage gardens, having been working on creating a version of one myself recently, I realized that for all its color, a cottage garden does rely on green to separate the dots of color. If there are big solid chunks of color with no relief, it stops looking like a cottage garden. At least to my eye. I have found that new varieties of old plants that are too squat (not enough green stem and leaf) or with flowers that are too large (again upsetting the green to other color ratio), are very hard to use in a cottage garden.
Green is a wonderful backdrop colour for garden plants; a colour that goes with everything!