'Steel the Best'

HYDRANGEAS ‘Steel the Best’ “There is no end to the uses of hydrangeas in pots...” extols extraordinary turn-of-the-century plantswoman Gertrude Jekyll, amongst the immortal pages of her ‘Colour Schemes for the Flower Garden’.

Described as the “first horticultural impressionist”, Miss Jekyll poetically translated the art of painting into the practice of gardening – drawing attention to her planting favourites and highlighting exceptional colour-combinations along the way. She continues of her favourite hydrangeas – “...a well-bloomed plant will give life and interest to many an uninteresting corner; the bloom is long-enduring and stands well in sun or shade.” A fitting testament from someone who had large tubs of mop-headed “Hortensias”, (Hydrangea macrophylla) placed for best effect, either side of her own front door.


Hydrangeas belong to a diverse genus, of numerous species, varieties and cultivars (modern garden hybrids). All are easily cultivated, and without exception, resent dryness at their roots. Preferring the ‘Good Life’ and a sumptuous, rich-living - hydrangeas as a group, appreciate heavily-composted, well-watered, moist soil but freely draining soil, in which to thrive; re-paying with plentiful buxom foliage and colourful blousy flowers that persist for months every summer.

Flower heads may be ‘flattened’ or ‘domed’ in shape, formed out of individual florets of two kinds - either small and fertile, or larger and sterile (made-up of conspicuous coloured sepals). These larger ‘ray-florets’ appear on the outside of the head, and in some cases, completely encircle the central fertile true flowers – giving rise to the quaint descriptive name of “Lace Cap”. Conversely, the popular mop-headed “Hortensias” have blooms composed almost entirely of sterile ray-florets, giving a bolder, shaggy football-like appearance.

 Just as in Miss Jekyll’s day, “Hortensias” still offer exceptional garden value, with huge flower heads lasting for months. Opening from leaf-green buds, they quickly colour-up as the sun strikes the edges of the florets, expanding to form huge globular heads of white, pink, red or blue balls.... By autumn the blooms have weathered to a metallic purple-grey or shades of parchment-white, before drying, still standing on the plant, during the course of the winter. Prized by floral artists, hydrangea heads provide wonderful ever-lasting flower material for sumptuous displays - however, if not needed for indoor arrangements, leave these large papery bracts in place until spring, to protect the pairs of expectant flower buds, hidden further down the stem.


As at home in pots as they are in the flower garden, Gertrude Jekyll made the most or her “Hortensias” by plunging them, still in their pots, in groups, into vacant spaces in beds and borders. “I stand a few paces off, directing the formation of the groups; considering their shape in relation to the border as a whole”, she relates, knowing how well their healthy foliage and bold flower colour will transform any tired or gappy planting. Buried up to half their pot-depth in soil, the plants will keep on blooming and expanding to fill any wanton spaces, fuelled only by regular watering and liquid foliar feeds.

A modern “Hortensia” that would surely meet with Miss Jekyll’s approval, for either pot culture or permanent landscape planting, is the all new ‘Black Steel Blue’. Selected for its striking “black steel” stems picked out in darkest gun-metal-black, Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Black Steel Blue’ joins last years’ stunning introductions of “-Steel Pink” and “-White” to complete a family-trio of garden-worthy hybrids.

Fitting in perfectly with Miss Jekyll’s thinking, ‘Black Steel Blue’ may be put to a variety of uses – either within the border or plunged, as she often preferred, amongst existing planting. Liking to separate out colours so they would flow harmoniously through the entire length of a border, Miss Jekyll advocated the use of “cooler” – whites, pinks, pale blues and lavender greys at the extreme ends of her plantings, saving the “hotter” oranges, yellows and reds for a stupendous fiery centrepiece.

Without a doubt, her exceptional design influence and practical writing is just as applicable today – as are many of the plants she used - brought alive by the gardens that she originally created, and the numerous planting schemes laid-out each year, that clearly reflect her inspired planting schemes and well-considered ideals.

OBSERVATIONS FROM THE GARDEN GATE... Gertrude Jekyll’s call for simplicity within her planting “pictures” is perhaps even more poignant for today’s busy gardeners, faced only with small spaces and the need for a restful haven.

The modern “improved colour hybrids” of our familiar garden plants, often require sensitive handling and thoughtful placement, in order to prevent raucous colour clashes, if they are to complete the harmonious plantings that became her trademark.

• Feeling that a border was “unsatisfactory” unless it delighted in its given season, Miss Jekyll devoted different borders or regions of the garden to certain times of the year – maximising their impact and ensuring that the area remained continually “bright” for anything up to three months.
• Believing also that a quantity of plants, unless “carefully selected with definite intention”, were merely a “collection” and did not, in themselves, constitute a garden -she likened choosing plants to painting a picture with the most diverse colour palette at ones disposal.
• As exquisitely subtle as her planting often was, Miss Jekyll never shied from using powerful colour intensity - cleverly separating out “hot” colours from “cold”, avoiding shocking combinations, while capitalizing on the harmonious flowing arrangements that were to immortalise her “dream of beauty; a place of perfect rest and refreshment of mind and body” – everything she believed a garden should be.