[babkalinda]

I have now cut back all the acanthus in this bed which divides two driveways. It now looks rather bare. Any suggestions as to what I could plant, not necessarily now, that would come up after the acanthus have died back? Would summer flowering bulbs work?

[Fleur Pavlidis]

This is a bit of a problem because if you start irrigating the bed for summer flowering plants or bulbs then the Acanthus might steal the water and stay green as they do in the north. I see you have something planted in the far corner, though I can’t tell what it is, but anyway my suggestion for accompaniment to acanthus would be a little tree for summer interest - acanthus is perfectly happy in shade. If you don’t want too much height then you could train a shrub into a tree. My first thoughts would be: a small variety of pomegranate, Caesalpinia gilliesii, Yucca elephantipes with its lower trunk exposed or even a single-stem Nerium oleander, but with a single flower because the scented double types droop terribly. None of them need water after the initial settling in year or so.

[Bolanthus]

Very nice ideas coming from Fleur. I will just add to the suggestions the caper bush (Capparis spinosa) if you would also like  to go for a bush/creeper.  Caper would be dormant until mid-spring when acanthus would be full bloomed, and it would gain ground in the summer, when acanthus disappears . In the winter its Caper's turn to die back, when Acanthus starts to grow, so the two plants have rather complementary cycles. And the caper bush wouldn't need a drop of water either.
This is just an idea of mine... I haven't seen in in any garden yet (But I am also new in this so there are many many gardens for me to see)

[oron peri]

Bolanthus,

This is an interesting option, accept that  i dont envy the gardener that would have to remove out the dry leaves of the Acanthus  
By the way most capparis are very difficult to germinate and transplant later on...

[Fleur Pavlidis]

Oron, when I visited Sparoza a few weeks ago Sally and Miyon were just finishing clearing away all the leaves of the many acanthus plants in the garden. It took them a morning but it was clearly worth the effort. Perhaps Acanthus is only suitable for disciplined gardeners since keeping the seedlings under control is also a lot of work.

[Alisdair]

Bolanthus's capers idea, and Oron's comment on trying to germinate them, started quite a discussion of capers more generally. I've now split that off into the Trees and Shrubs section as a new capers topic.
So thanks, Bolanthus and Oron!

[babkalinda]

Thanks for all your advice. I'll try the small trees ideas while I get to grips with the capers which I love. I've always had in mind to get some going in the natural rock face at the end of the swimming pool, they would look so beautiful. There are some plants hereabouts, high up in the castle rock walls! I'll look for some lower down so I can try for some cuttings later in the year. And yes, it doesn't take long to clear the dried up acanthus leaves, a pair of gloves helps!

[MikeHardman]

This is a bit of a problem because if you start irrigating the bed for summer flowering plants or bulbs then the Acanthus might steal the water and stay green as they do in the north. I see you have something planted in the far corner, though I can’t tell what it is, but anyway my suggestion for accompaniment to acanthus would be a little tree for summer interest - acanthus is perfectly happy in shade. If you don’t want too much height then you could train a shrub into a tree. My first thoughts would be: a small variety of pomegranate, Caesalpinia gilliesii, Yucca elephantipes with its lower trunk exposed or even a single-stem Nerium oleander, but with a single flower because the scented double types droop terribly. None of them need water after the initial settling in year or so.

Might I suggest Myrtle (Myrtus communis) as another small tree/shrub that can be grown as a small standard.
We have discussed it here.