The big secret for starting a garden? You’re going to kill plants

While lots of Semmler’s thinking about plant-driven gardening and all-season interest is detailed in this book, she also includes enough information about climatic considerations, plant biology and soil ecology for readers to choose their own path forward.

She interviews nine women gardeners – including designers and nursery owners – on their “life with plants” and profiles – with beguiling photographs by Sarah Pannell – more than 72 plants that suit a range of climates and conditions but with a special focus on those that will stand up to dry heat.

Semmler laments that some of these plants, like pelargoniums, have been “relegated to only being something for terracotta pots” when they have “so much more potential”. Other plants she would like to see more of include all sorts of Phlomis species, which she describes as “architectural marvels”.

“The more the better” is her view on poppies and, as for roses, she says there are so many different ways to experiment with them that “your imagination is your only limitation”. But if she were only allowed to grow one group of plants, she says “it would absolutely be Slavia”. “Oh, the bliss of a long flowering Salvia?”

And in this book, bliss is paramount. “Too often gardens are defined as a list of chores,” Semmler writes. “If it’s ‘too much work’ and not enjoyable or satisfying, perhaps change how you are gardening.”

Other advice she gives for newbie gardeners is to start small, to be observant and to bring a sense of curiosity to how well your plants do.

Good news for those only now coming around to the idea of starting a garden, this is the time of year to do it. Semmler says you can plant a lot of salvias now and still get an “incredible show” over summer. This also the season for sowing the seeds of Californian poppies, globe artichokes, zinnias and many of the other plants profiled in the book.

But if somehow they don’t germinate or if some plants fail to thrive, consider it part of the journey. “Gardening is progressive, it doesn’t need to be perfect,” Semmler says. “The garden is a teacher. It also provides a sense of personal wellbeing. There is something deep and meaningful about these everyday domestic connections with nature. You don’t need to go into the bush to find moments of wonder, you can find them in a pot on the windowsill.”

Super Bloom: A Field Guide To Flowers For Every Gardener, Thames & Hudson, $90.

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