Behind this border is a area of abandoned garden, full of long grass, neglected fruit trees and thistles.Beyond that are good views to pasture and woodland. I wanted to create a wild look to this border, using single-flowered roses, ornamental grasses, natural-looking perennials and ornamental thistles such as Eryngiums and Echinops. (If you love the look of grasses in the border, but don't know where to start, why not try Gardening With Grasses )

An unexpected bonus is that many of the plants used are attractive to butterflies, and during midsummer the border is alive with them. Butterfly attracting plants are marked with an * in the plant list below.

Plant List:

Deciduous trees and shrubs: Pyrus salicifolia 'Pendula', Rosa glauca, Rosa 'Wedding Day', Sorbus sorbifolia, *Buddleia 'Black Knight', *Buddleia fallowiana 'Lochinch', Berberis thunbergii 'Harlequin'

Evergreen shrubs: Salvia officianalis 'Purpureum', Euonymus fortunei 'Emerald 'n' Gold', Cistus x purpureus, *Lavendula stoechas

Ornamental grasses and thistles: Eryngium planum, Eryngium variifolium, *Echinops ritro (top right), Stipa gigantea, Poa labillardieri

Perennials: Penstemon 'Purple Bedder', *Verbena bonariensis (right), *Sedum spectabile, Leucanthemum superbum, Catanache caerulea, *Lychnis coronarius (above right), Sanguisorba officianalis, Astrantia major (top left), Knautia macedonica (above left)

Bulbs: Chionodoxa luciliae, Ornithogalum umbellatum, Allium 'Purple Sensation'