This year’s weather has been challenging, but the garden is still looking remarkably good. Some plants even thrive in these conditions. Verbena bonariensis continues to flourish, and the achilleas are perfectly at home in the hot, dry spells. As our summers become increasingly warm and dry, gardens across the country may well shift towards this style of resilient, drought‑tolerant planting.
We are fortunate that East Lambrook Manor Garden is so well established. Next year marks 90 years since Margery Fish began creating the garden, and many of the shrubs and trees she planted are now mature and deeply rooted. The trees, in particular, have transformed the garden by providing essential shade. That combination of long cultivation and cooling canopy means the garden stays fresh and colourful throughout the summer and well into autumn.
Our years gardening in Seattle taught us something similar. Summers there often reach 40°C with little or no rain, followed by hard frosts and relentless winter rainfall. Yet our garden thrived beneath mature trees that sheltered us from wind and heat. The plant palette we used there is very close to what we grow at East Lambrook today — proof that, with thoughtful care and the right structure, this kind of garden can flourish even in the more extreme weather patterns now appearing in Somerset
Summer borders are popping with colour at East Lambrook including the verbena, achillea, and many more summer favourites.