Two years ago, my parents had their garden completely redesigned. Some sections of the garden look lovely - there is a swathe of lavender in the middle of the garden, and the colour is gorgeous. The west-facing border has taken off so well that my mum probably has enough Alchemilla mollis to supply every garden in Nottinghamshire. However, some of the designer's ideas were, umm, bewildering, to say the least. Where Mum said she loved every colour of flowers except yellow, she now has a load of Euphorbia and the aforementioned Alchemilla. The ground underneath the lawn was not levelled properly, and it will never be able to double as an impromptu croquet lawn or putting green, as my grandfather's lawn used to.
We don't talk about the chamomile lawn. It used to be where the recliner now sits:
And in an east-facing border, we have a Camellia. As far as I remember, it's pretty much the only advice given on the label when you buy a Camellia: Don't plant in an east-facing border, and don't feed after midnight.
The east-facing border is a bit of a problem though. You can probably spot it from here - it's the ruddy great big copper beech tree. So it's shady, dry and really crappy soil. My mantra when talking to my mother has become "More manure, more manure, more manure", but it's clear that the plants need to be sorted a bit.
Doesn't look great, does it? The Cotinus hasn't grown at all in the two years it'd been in, nor, really, has the Mahonia. Fatsia japonica seems happy enough, as does the Buddleja, but there's a lot of miserable looking soil.
Both Rob and Victoria have made some suggestions. Sarcococca could be a winner, as could Brunnera - I think Mum would like some bigger shrubs though, to hide the fence a bit. I also mentioned Liriope muscari, and perhaps many of the plants listed on the Plants for Shade website, but she might prefer to hear it from you lot.
Any more ideas? I know what's in the books, but personal experiences are always something my mother takes notice of. They live just outside Nottingham, so it's pretty much USDA zone 8, and the house is on the south side of the garden.
We don't talk about the chamomile lawn. It used to be where the recliner now sits:
And in an east-facing border, we have a Camellia. As far as I remember, it's pretty much the only advice given on the label when you buy a Camellia: Don't plant in an east-facing border, and don't feed after midnight.
The east-facing border is a bit of a problem though. You can probably spot it from here - it's the ruddy great big copper beech tree. So it's shady, dry and really crappy soil. My mantra when talking to my mother has become "More manure, more manure, more manure", but it's clear that the plants need to be sorted a bit.
Doesn't look great, does it? The Cotinus hasn't grown at all in the two years it'd been in, nor, really, has the Mahonia. Fatsia japonica seems happy enough, as does the Buddleja, but there's a lot of miserable looking soil.
Both Rob and Victoria have made some suggestions. Sarcococca could be a winner, as could Brunnera - I think Mum would like some bigger shrubs though, to hide the fence a bit. I also mentioned Liriope muscari, and perhaps many of the plants listed on the Plants for Shade website, but she might prefer to hear it from you lot.
Any more ideas? I know what's in the books, but personal experiences are always something my mother takes notice of. They live just outside Nottingham, so it's pretty much USDA zone 8, and the house is on the south side of the garden.
Defo Brunnera 'Jack Frost' and Bob Brown (of Cotswold Garden Flowers nursery) was extolling the virtues of Sarcococca in precisely those conditions at a talk I went to last Tuesday.
ReplyDeleteI have Pulmonaria in my shady bit of the garden - if you go for the ones with the silvery bits, they'll brighten up the gloom and they're really good for bees at the beginning of the year.
Dicentra spectabilis does well for me too. I've decided my shady area is a mainly spring garden - taking advantage of the extra light before the leaf canopy kicks in.
How about white foxgloves? Though with the Alchemilla your mum might get self seeding overload.
Thanks for the ideas VP - Rob had mentioned the silvery leaves too. I like the idea of white foxgloves - I don't think Mum will mind self-seeded nice coloured flowers! :)
ReplyDeleteFor clothing walls, I swear by Fatshedera lizei, which doesn't take over like ivy, but will grow fairly quickly. I have 'aurea maculata' but the RHS recommends 'Annemieke' which gives the same impression of dappled sunshine. It needs support though.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, Libertia grandiflora is fairly shade and drought-tolerant, with white flowers like small orchids in mid-May and evergreen strappy leaves like a mini phormium. Rampant self-seeder, I'm afraid, but easy to keep under control as the seedlings are so distinctive.
And the hebe I told you about is listed by Architectural Plants as Hebe parviflora angustifolia (a.k.a. H. stenophylla). It's brilliant in dry shade, and you can prune it if you like - AP prune it into big globes.
Some heucheras are more drought and shade-tolerant than others. 'Electra' does well for me, as does Heucherella 'Sweet Tea', which would pick up the colour of the copper beech without being too dark.
I'd forgotten about the Hebe, Victoria! And the Heucherella. Thanks for all the other suggestions - I'm going to send Mum the link to the post and comments so she can read them. She might even comment (stand by your beds!).
ReplyDeleteAnd I forgot to say how nice your mother's garden looks! I love the intersecting circles. If I was her, I would treat myself to one of those big Cretan pots for the far left-hand corner. It would stand out well against the fence and lead the eye round the circles up to that corner, which would make the garden look bigger and give another area of visual interest.
ReplyDeleteWe have a similar dry/shady spot, though with two horrid Leylandiis growing in it. Soil therefore silty dry and very poor. It may be a tad wild, but we have comfrey in our 'dry' patch and its just lovely. Great filler and tough as old boots. We have the blue, pink and white varieties growing very well under the two trees. In addition we have a super hardy geranium (magnificum 'Rosemoor'). Super dark purple colour and prolific flowerer. They fill out brilliantly and easy to maintain. After flowering we sheer the entire lot and up it comes again for a second showing. May be of interest.
ReplyDelete