This gathering of terracotta pots on the steps to Benton End’s old wooden door celebrates three of Cedric Morris’s iris ‘inventions’. Cedric bred and named around 90 bearded irises in the 1940s and 1950s. Today, we are indebted to the tireless work of plantswoman Sarah Cook for recollecting as many Cedric Morris irises as she could find from around the world, and bringing them back into popular horticulture.
You may also like
- An easy way to bring colour and style to your spring garden
- Bring spring colour to the garden with the vibrant pot design
- Discover how to make this stunning spring pot using powder blues and peachy oranges
How to achieve the look
Container and composition
Cedric Morris’s irises are revered for their unusual colour palette and their delicacy. The colours of these three range from a velvety nut brown through deep violet to a smoky pale-lilac iris suffused with lemon and bronze, which was posthumously named in Cedric’s honour by the British Iris Society. The foxgloves bring vertical shape at the back, while simple flowers such as the white chives, allium and double sea campion skirt the arrangement in a relaxed manner. Brushing between the irises is a pot full of fringed pinks.
This style of clustering terracotta pots has a timeless charm and the steps create a theatrical stage. I particularly like the shallow pan dishes, which are old Sankey Bulwell, a Nottinghamshire company that made terracotta pots from 1895 to 1976.
The diameter of the pots used are all approximately the same; larger pots wouldn’t sit comfortably upon the depth
of the step. If I were making this arrangement on a flat terrace, however, using different sized pots would benefit the arrangement.
Cultivation and care
All these plants, aside from the foxgloves, like a hot and dry situation. But because they are being grown in a pot where water is sparsely available, they do require a good loam-based potting soil that won’t dry out frequently. At the height of summer, in dry spells, these pots will require water at least every other day.
Plants
Allium schoenoprasum ‘Wallington White’ Needs deadheading as seedlings revert to purple. 25cm x 10cm. RHS H6, USDA 4a-8b.
Iris ‘Benton Caramel’ Cedric once gave this maroon iris away as a raffle prize. 90cm x 40cm. RHS H6, USDA 3a-10b.
Silene uniflora ‘Robin Whitebreast’ Trailing, double-flowered sea campion. 15cm x 30cm. RHS H7, USDA 3a-8b.
Dianthus superbus Spectacular wispy petals. 25cm x 30cm. RHS H7, USDA 3a-8b.
Iris ‘Benton Nigel’ Named for Nigel Scott, who gardened with Cedric in the 1950s. 90cm x 40cm. RHS H7, USDA 3a-10b.
Digitalis purpurea f. albiflora Elegant white spires. 1.4m x 60cm. RHS H7, USDA 4a-8b.
Iris ‘Benton Farewell’ Selected from Benton seedlings. 95cm x 40cm. RHS H7, USDA 3a-10b.
Allium ‘Eos’ A short, clumping perennial allium from North America. 30cm x 30cm.
Suppliers
• Beth Chatto’s Plants
& Gardens
Tel 01206 822007, bethchatto.co.uk
• Fibrex Nurseries
Tel 01789 720788,
fibrex.co.uk
• Great Dixter Nurseries Tel 01797 254044,
shop.greatdixter.co.uk
• Special Plants
Tel 01225 891686, specialplants.net
• The Plantman’s Preference
Tel 01379 710810, plantpref.co.uk
• Woottens of Wenhaston
Tel 01502 478258, woottensplants.com
Here's another of James Horner's elegant pot designs