Meadow garden created by Tracey Fleischner in Sydney

Last week I had the joy of visiting one of my favourite gardens, that belonging to Tracey Fleischner in north-western Sydney. Brimming with hundreds of roses, teamed with beautifully chosen perennial companions in wonderful colour schemes, it is a gardener's delight. I have seen the garden evolve over the past few years and this time a new feature stopped me in my tracks. At the entrance to the garden in a raised bed retained by a lovely stone wall and edged with a stone path, Tracey has created a dreamy meadow-inspired effect this spring.

Larkspurs and Orlaya mingle with roses in the meadow garden

Larkspurs and Orlaya mingle with roses in the meadow garden

This bed previously held a stunning hedge of Salvia 'Blaze', which sadly died during the very wet weather Sydney experienced last year. The bed was replanted with some Ceratostigma (Chinese plumbago) shrubs and roses, both of which are cut back hard in winter. This left lots of available ground around them, into which Tracey planted an array of spring annual seedlings. These all grew up and intermingled with numerous self-sown Orlaya, which has made itself at home in various spots in the garden, with its enchanting white umbels of bloom. The annuals include many old-fashioned favourites that reminded me of flowers my parents used to love to grow: tall larkspurs, cornflowers, feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium), Linaria, Nemesia and poppies with lower-growing violas and annual Dianthus closer to the edge of the retaining wall.

Poppies and cornflowers in the meadow garden

Poppies and cornflowers in the meadow garden

The diversity of flower forms - spires, umbels, daisies, fluffy buttons, and fringed circles - all merge together into a glorious tapestry, and a variety of foliage shapes form an undulating sea of green. The roses and Ceratostigma have started to grow back in recent weeks and their flowers add extra colour and bulk to the scene, and seemed also to help support some of the taller annuals.

Cornflowers growing in the meadow garden

Cornflowers growing in the meadow garden

Tracey explained that she had originally tried to make a meadow garden in the traditional way of growing the annuals in grass as is done in England. However, the grass grew too quickly in our warm Sydney spring, swamping the annuals. Growing the annuals instead in the garden bed has allowed them the space to flourish without that competition. Interestingly, the foliage of the cornflowers is quite linear, giving an effective sort of 'grassy' look to the planting, and contrasting with the lacy and ferny forms of some of the other annuals' leaves.

Violas and Ceratostigma growing in the meadow garden

Violas and Ceratostigma growing in the meadow garden

A backdrop of tall shrubs behind the bed provides a great foil to the billowing softness of the annuals, and the low retaining wall and path also provide a firm structure to contrast with the wild flowery profusion, in a way that reminded me of how a crisply mown path through meadows I had seen in England added so much to the scene.

Dianthus growing in the meadow garden

Dianthus growing in the meadow garden

It will be fascinating to watch how this border changes over time - whether some of the annuals planted as seedlings might start to self-seed like the Orlaya. Elsewhere in the garden, bluish larkspurs have self-seeded from previous years' plantings, as have violas and Nemesia. Dianthus planted from punnets can last several years in the garden, making them an excellent stalwart in Sydney. The idea of creating a meadow look with spring annuals in an area of the garden where shrubs are cut back in winter seems an excellent one, and for those of us who live in areas where many of the traditional cottage-style perennials don't do so well, using annuals in this way could be a very satisfying alternative!