![]() Hard work never hurt anyone? Seriously they are not hard work if grown correctly and allowed to prosper. All that lifting, dividing, staking are they all like that. I always think of perennials as rather hard work. Our garden is a conglomeration of plants left over from various exhibits, usually Hampton Court Daily Mail Gardens. Rob is a maniac with the lawn mower and attacks what can become a hayfield when he can. If we had some free time during the growing year we would be vegetable growers but sadly not to be… but I do have a gravel garden, which gives me pleasure and I find can be easily maintained with my busy schedule. So are you and Rob into gardening in the broader sense? Do you grow your own vegetables for example? We were allowed to lift and split and propagate from there to build up our collection. My sister-in-law Anne Liverman has an amazing garden, with a collection of superb perennial varieties, Dove Cottage, Ashbourne, Derbyshire. Everyone loved the perennials and so it started. A few positions down the line I ended up digging up my garden and selling plants at carboot sales in Ascot. I studied at Writtle Agricultural College doing Commercial Horticulture specializing in vegetables. Even better for being able to pick the odd plum out of reach from anyone else! Also being a nosy person horseback is an amazing place to be able to peer over people’s walls and hedges and see what they are growing. The latter being my first place for this interest as I rode either my pony or horse around the countryside. I have always loved flowers from early on in life and loved wildflowers firstly, knowing all their names wherever we lived: Russia, Scotland, Hampshire or Northumberland. Hooked on perennials more by mistake than design. How did you get into perennials in the first place Rosy, and how long have you been hooked? I’m really delighted to welcome her as a guest to the My Garden School blog I invited Rosy to share her love of perennials and gardening with us, and to give us a few tips on how to achieve success with them. Wherever Rosy has been she leaves gardeners inspired and they all talk about how much they gleaned from spending a couple of hours with her, and they rave about the wonderful perennials they bought! Rosy and I do lots of talks to gardening clubs and horticultural societies, and we seem to follow each other on the lecture circuit. One day I promise myself that I’m going to learn more. Of course I do grow lots of perennials, but in my garden they take their chances amongst everything else. This is a much softer, world where plants drift together in charming associations. As a bit of a shrubby, used to dealing with woody plants I so admire the delicacy, colour, texture and grace of perennials. I always enjoy catching up with Rosy and her husband Rob at Chelsea Flower Show for an indulgent tour of the Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants exhibit. Rosy Hardy is well known as an authority on Herbaceous Perennials. Rosy Hardy on Herbaceous Perennials, Chelsea Flower Show and Champagne An Interview with Chelsea Flower Show Regular, Rosy Hardy
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