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Problem Area

Last post 26-06-2009 1:30 PM by Celtic Heart. 2 replies.

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  • 26/06/2009 11:50 AM
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    I have one problem area border and would like any advice on suitable plants.  I've tried the RHS and various other plants for places with no suitable success because of the size constraints and because of lack of availability of suggested plants in my locality.  So, I'm open to more suggestions if anyone would be kind enough to help me.

    The area in question is a 24' long border that is no more than a yard deep.  It is north facing and is backed by a 6' high wall and on the other side are some sort of evergreen (possibly leylandii) that are kept to about 8' high all year around.  The border is on a slight slope, the top end is fairly normal drainage, the bottom end is quite boggy most of the year, but does sometimes dry out.  I think there is a soakaway there, but next door has put in a concrete slab on thier side of this which makes my side more boggy than normal now.  The current planting is sparse and spasmodic to say the best.  There are two camellias, one on more or less each end and the removal of these is non-negotiable (I would chop them down).  There is an established peony by one, and the boggy end is full of self-seeded native ferns and aquilegia.  The middle has some geraniums (suggested by various sites as suitable) but they are getting very leggy, so I think perhaps the shade is deeper than I originally considered.

    What I want is to disguise the wall, preferebly with plants not paint, and get some things in there that give some height (not over 6') and a splash of colour as it is the first thing people see in my garden as they come around the corner.  Most of the suggestions I've had are generally way too tall and don't offer any colour interest.  I have a few cyclamen but they will only work during the winter, I'm thinking about letting the alchemilla mollis loose there, and hostas are just out of the question as I have a burgeoning slug and snail population.  I'd love to put a rambling rose and some honeysuckle there, but am afraid there is too much shade.

    I'm beginning to think I am expecting too much and that I should be more flexible in my approach, but I want something I like and that I can live with.  Any help gratefully accepted.

    One is nearer God's heart in a garden than anywhere else on earth.
  • 26/06/2009 12:33 PM
    In reply to
    • RogerBee
    • Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire
    • 14 Jan 2009
    • 84
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    I have a NNE facing, very narrow border backed by a 7' high fence. The end nearest the house is in permanent shade and is on asoil with a fairly high clay content. So far I have found tha Aucuba japonica (spotted laurel) thrives in the very shaded end and has grown from being 18'' tall to 5'6'' in the last 2 years. Although it doesn't have any flowers to speak of, the evergreen foliage which is spotted with yellow flecks and the red berries give it colour. Further along (but still in permanant shade I have a perennial sunflower (Helianthus divaricatus major - I think) that also grows to 6 - 7' and has yellow flowers in late summer/early autumn. The third main plant I have is a passionflower that took about 3 years to get itself established but now smothers the top of the fence with foliage from mid-spring onwards and has just started flowering. Admittedly it is at the further end of the garden which gets some summer sunshine. I've also just put in an astilbe which is meant to like shade or partial shade and will grow to about 4', according to the label. It's only been in a week so too early to tell how it will do.

    Hope some of these ideas might be of some help.

    Give it a go - it might just work!
  • 26/06/2009 01:30 PM
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    Thanks Rogerbee.  I'll be looking at those suggestions soon.  The sunflower really appeals to me, but I suffer dreadfully from wind damage all year around because I am surrounded by higher buildings and trees.  Even so, I am learning different ways to stake the more susceptible plants.  Astilbe would most definitely fit in with my cottage garden theme, and they come in a reasonable variety of colours too.  I always thought of passionflower as a sun loving plant, but that would give me something to ramble through the neighbour's trees (which she is all in favour of happening).

    One is nearer God's heart in a garden than anywhere else on earth.