Could u recommend plants for shade and heavy clay damp soil thanks!!
James Denvir
4 years ago
Jd77
Fulham Garden 3 · More Info
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R Hughes
4 years agoRelated Discussions
Garden of clay
Comments (6)How to improve clay soils Five steps to improving clay soils: Make raised beds to assist drainage and to reduce trampling of the soil Consider adopting a ‘no-dig’ regime, especially in raised beds, as these suit clay soils well Some, but not all, clay soils respond to extra calcium, which causes the soil particles to flocculate (clump together). Where the soil is acid, lime can be applied, but elsewhere it is better to add gypsum. Gypsum is the active ingredient of many commercial ‘clay improvers’. Test on a small area in the first instance to ensure it is effective on your type of clay Dig in plenty of bulky organic matter such as manure or, ideally, composted bark, as this can make a noticeable improvement to the working properties of clay Apply organic mulches around trees, shrubs and other permanent plants as these will reduce summer cracking and help conserve moisture Adding grit, sand or gravel to clay soils: Clay particles are amazingly dominant in a soil. This is explained by the relative size of the different particles (clay, sand and silt) that soil contains. Clay particles are very small but, because this allows more particles to fit in any given space (say 1cm cubed), they have huge surface area that dominates the physical properties of soil. In comparison, sand and silt particles are larger, so fewer particles are needed to fill a space (say 1cm cubed again). As a result, the overall surface area of sand and silt is smaller and so much less influential on determining the characteristics of a soil than the clay particles. In practice what this means is: to dilute the proportion of clay in a heavy soil requires very large volumes of grit or other material. It is seldom feasible to do this on anything but a small scale and, for most gardeners, other options such as raised beds, adding organic matter and choosing plants that thrive in clays are more practical. Even where a clay soil contains for example 40 percent clay particles (a relatively modest content compared to heavy clay soils), the proportion of clay in the top cultivated part of the soil would have to be reduced by half to make the soil easy to work. This would require 250kg per sq m (460lbs per sq yd) of grit or gravel. Adding materials to clay can also make the clay less stable, so the soil becomes harder to manage. Experimenting on a small scale at first is recommended to be sure that any additions are worthwhile and won't have damaging effects on workability of the soil. Plants for clay soils - RHS link...See MoreGarden Fence Gap advice :)
Comments (10)Hi Dom. Agree with Forza, gravel boards are the best option. You can also get concrete ones that usually slot into concrete fence posts but it may be possible to site them below the fence or just in front. Obviously a bit more work than a wooden one but would be much better if you’re building the soil level up. Legal height for hedging and shrubs? There is none unless it’s facing a public highway where I think it’s either 1.5m or 2m, can’t remember, but in a back garden there is no limit. Saying that I don’t think your neighbours will appreciate trees 20ft high:) don’t plant conifers, particularly Leylandii, you’ll regret it;). Other options are trellis panels on top of the fence and grow climbers....or pleached trees and shrubs which can be expensive to buy and are a little more maintenance as they would need regular pruning to keep them in shape. Since your border is fairly narrow I’d go for the climbers option. Climbing hydrangea would be good if it’s in partial shade, it grows fairly thick but has lovely white blooms. P.s. I think the compost you ordered is little pricey tbh although it looks very good quality. I usually get ordinary multi purpose compost, our local garden nursery sells it for £3.75 per 75litre then I mix it with anything really, top soil, bark chips, manure, then yep....let the worms do their stuff! Hope this helps a little and best of luck with your garden....See MoreGarden layout ideas for bottom of garden/advice on waterlogged area
Comments (14)Hi Suzy, It is a very good idea to have a final plan for the garden and do it bit by bit as budget allows. Sometimes people try to do it all at once and it can lead to compromises in the quality of materials to make the budget go further. I think that raised beds will be a very good addition to your garden. I always say that amending a heavy clay soil should be the last option as it is time and money consuming and you need to repeat the procedure overtime. I think that either putting the planting in raised beds (which, if well thought of can be great additions to the garden, creating vertical interest, maybe acting as sections division and seating) or selecting the planting so that only plants that can tolerate this condition (roses are a good example) are used are much better options. Trellises in your case could not only work as sections divisions, but could also screen out the two sheds that you wish to have in your final garden, so probably a good idea. Layout-wise, in my opinion your curved borders do give your garden a nice shape, and creating paths that follow it somewhat would be a good idea. If you need any further help, I offer a completely online range of garden design services from sketches to garden plans with planting plan and 3D visuals. Do not hesitate to contact me in case you are interested to learn more about it. I wish you all the best with your garden, Deborah The Rooted Concept Garden Designs...See MoreAdvice needed please to see what plants to use
Comments (12)Id probably keep it simple with just a couple of different type plants. A couple of shrubs I would use are choisya which is an evergreen with white scented spring / early summer flowers. It’s a slower grower but in a couple of years you should have a decent sized shrub, & hydrangea, which although it isn’t evergreen has lovely summer flowers. If you go for a paniculata variety, like ‘Limelight’ or ‘Vanille Fraise’ the flowers change through to autumn & can be left for winter interest. These are quite fast growers too & will grow to 6-8 foot. If that’s too big, there are smaller versions, eg Little Lime’ is the dwarf version of Limelight, which would probably grow to 3-4 feet. Either alternate them along the border or have the hydrangea at the back with choisya slightly forward. Another popular shrub is Ceonothus or California Lilac which I think is evergreen too. Agapanthus would be great at the front -available in blues, purples & whites. Look for the evergreen varieties rather than deciduous. You could infill with bulbs such as alliums or tulips for spring / early summer colour or snowdrops /crocuses for some winter colour....See MoreJames Denvir
4 years agoR Hughes
4 years agoJames Denvir
4 years agoR Hughes
4 years agoJames Denvir
4 years agoR Hughes
4 years agoJames Denvir
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