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Renovating DIY Gardens

Making a garden bedding

3 years ago

I have a corner of my garden, that gets mostly shade in summer, I had turf laid last year (new build) and the grass hasn't taken at all so i'm looking at making a bedding with some shade loving plants. Any advice on how to go about this?

I've liked the look of bedding topped with stones/with topiary trees, but have no idea where to start.

I've attached a couple of links to some that I like.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/621707923548545544/

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/621707923548545548/

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/621707923548437581/

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Comments (4)

Sonia
3 years ago
There are several plants that love shade so it’s certainly achievable. The link you shared shows hot climate plants so not ideal, but plants that will thrive in shade are things like ferns, Anemones, Brunnera Jack Frost, hardy Geraniums, some Hebes and Euonymus. Topiary will also do well, but you will need to keep cutting and shaping them. You can certainly use cobbles or gravel to cover the bar soil, although it may go a bit green in the winter. A lot of people mulch shady beds with bark as it marries better with shade loving woodland plants.
Sonia
3 years ago
This is a nice shady bed
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KRF96
Original Author
3 years ago
Thankyou so much for your help, i'm completely new to this !
tamp75
3 years ago
The second link you provided shows box (buxus) plants. I have them in sun & in shade & they seem to be fine in both. I give them a trim to shape them once or twice a year. They’re fairly pricey to buy as a larger plant & unfortunately lots of people have problems with a disease called box blight which can kill the plants off. I tend to buy them as very small plants & they fill out after a few years. There are other plants you can use that are similar for topiary - I’m sure someone on here will be able to recommend some. Hostas (shown on Sonia’s first photo with the red tree) are great for shade although I’d recommend keeping them in pots as slugs & snails love eating them.

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