Right plant, right place

The flower bed above is filled with plants that like free-draining soils and sunshine.

Most of us understand that if you want a cactus in this country you are going to have to grow it indoors to keep it warm enough. And most of understand that a water lily needs to grow in water.

But not everyone manages to carry on the lesson: every plant has specific needs in order for it to survive and thrive.

Getting to grips with this is an absolute game-changer in your gardening life.

No more buying random plants, taking them home and watching them slowly die.
Work out what the conditions are in your garden and you can tailor your selections to what has the best chance of succeeding.

These factors include temperature, rainfall, soil type and levels of sunshine.

Get it right and you’ll have borders full of healthy, happy plants. Get it wrong and you could be sending a lot of plants to their early deaths, as you garden under a cloud of frustration and failure.

If you’re not a confident gardener, the easiest tactic is to copy your neighbours. They are going to have the same climate and weather as you, very probably the same soil too, so all you have to do is pay attention to the areas of sunshine and shade in your own garden.

If you keep seeing the same plant appearing in your neighbourhood there is a very good chance it will grow well in your flower beds.

If you don’t know the names of any plants that catch your eye, take photos to show at the nursery, use a plant finder app, or use it as an opportunity to chat to your neighbours: complimenting their gardens is a great way to break the ice!

Working to the conditions you have can help your borders feel cohesive. The plants you end up using are likely to be natural bedfellows so it will be easier to avoid the hodgepodge look.

Silver-leaved perennials generally like sunshine and free-draining soils, whereas many gold-leaved plants will scorch or bleach in full sun.

A sun-loving plant in too much shade will either flop towards the light or barely flower at all.

Consider too which areas of your garden catch the wind and which are more sheltered, and don’t put tall, brittle plants in those more exposed areas where they are at risk of snapping over.

Place Delphiniums where they won’t get blown about in the wind and where they are less likely to get knocked

Perennial Lobelias (above) do best in damp soils

The type of soil you have makes a big difference to which plants will do well for you.

Wilting plants often throw people off course, as they assume it is always caused by insufficient water. In fact it can just as easily mean the plant is water-logged, so dig down to check moisture levels a few inches down from the surface. If puddles form on it, it’s poorly drained, whereas sandy soils can lose all moisture within hours of rainfall.
Plants can also wilt from getting hot and bothered in too much summer sunshine.

Wildflowers often fail to come to anything in lawns and gardens as they favour low-nutrient, unimproved soils. On the other hand, ‘hungry’ plants such as Roses and most climbers need soils enriched with manures and composts to really thrive.

Plants in the wrong place are more susceptible to problems with bug infestations and fungal diseases, in much the same way we are prone to catching things when we are run down.

But a plant in the right place will grow strong and sturdy, flower well and need much less help from you.

• See plant lists at www.katiesgarden.co.uk/advice

Some gardens have extra challenges: Geraniums, Hydrangeas, Roses and Lavenders are all slug-resistant