[PerkymiteParticipant]

Hi all, I am trying to revamp my garden for my wife. Normally I plant over 300 Geraniums alone so you can perhaps get some idea of scale.

My first area is in the front of the house. The house faces directly north so the area is generally always in shade. The ground is heavy clay although I have lightened it a bit over the years and the area is generally damp the lawn tends to drain down to that area, again I have put in some ground drainage but I did not want to dry the ground completely. It is a stretch of ground 7.5 metres long.

What I want to do is put in some shrubs to form a barrier between the path and door and the lawn. I would like all the same shrub, evergreen, and not more than half a metre high that need no pruning or attention. I then intend to put in front of these shrubs a ground cover shrub that covers the base of the main shrubs and links it to the lawn. Thinking of light green with a back ground of a flowering dark green shrub behind it.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Kindest regards ? Vasbyte

David

[HelenParticipant]

Hi David
What about a mixture of viburnum, spirea, hebe and a couple of hydrangea. You have a lot of space there. We can grow all of these shrubs on our heavy clay soil and it will give you a variety of flowering phases all through the year. Or just stick with viburnum, dark green leaves lots of varieties generally with a tiny pink flower, needs little attention just a haircut with the shears every other year to stop it straggling.
Good luck with it. I've just come in from the garden, pruned the pyracantha and cut down the dead heads, first gardening I've done for over a year, so this is a major improvement and I feel jolly pleased with myself!
Love Helen

[PerkymiteParticipant]

Hi Helen, Thanks, Yes I have been out in the garden for the past two mornings, just soooo nice to get out there. I will have a look at the plants you have suggested.

Have you any thoughts on Leucothoe, Skimmia or Photina (Little Red Robin) I intend to put in one shrub type and make a low growing fence out of it. Otherwise everybody feels they can take a short cut across the lawn which leaves a track! I thought of putting the fern Polypodium Vulgare either side to cover the base. At the moment I am thinking Photina and Polypodium hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?

Kindest regards ? Vasbyte

David

[HelenParticipant]

Hi David
skimmia and photina would be good too, I don't know leucothoe, in fact photina would be very striking, don't know how expensive to plant a whole hedge mind! Viburnum is cheap and you can strike it easily, but it's much less organised as a hedge and can be straggly. We will need to see photos of these gardens when planted.
Love Helen

[PerkymiteParticipant]

Hi Helen, Yes, Photina – little Red Ruby (I think it is) has super red leaves on a base of dark green. I have written to a company that specializes in Ferns to ask their advice on a good ground cover light green fern for my site. I will let you know what comes back.

I am only redesigning this part of the garden at the moment. I will plant my geraniums in the borders again for this season and then shrub the car port area with the same plants, in September/October time, that I eventually pick for the front of the house. The last two years I have used a mass of bright red geraniums (my wife's favourite colour) backed by two lawns with shrubs. It really hits you in the eyeballs!!

I have already tamed the back gardens, taking out vegetable plots and borders and lawning in the main areas. I have left three smallish raised borders with very good soil, you could dig it over with your fingers he he. And I have planted a host of daffodils around the lawn and remaining border edges which, if the slugs do not get them, should come up every year. Yesterday I finished clearing my compost bins and breaking them down ? there was some good stuff in there, never seen so many worms. Finally, if all goes well, I intend to plant I Love You in crocuses in the rear lawns, wifey does not know this. Then, it will be job done!

Kindest regards ? vasbyte

David

[HelenParticipant]

What a romantic! I think it sounds absolutely fabulous, i can just imagine the expression on your wife's face.
Love Helen

[PerkymiteParticipant]

Hi Helen, I finally decided on Skimmia Japonica – SubSp Reevesania.

Two main reasons : one the height and spread, maxinmum after many years 1 metre X 1 metre, and secondly NO prunning, apart from nipping of dead branches in the spring. There are several other advantages but if you type in its name in google you will see the plant.

Start planting in in April.

Kindest regards – vasbyte

David

[HelenParticipant]

Hi David
Very nice , good all year round by the look of it, it's not one I've tried growing. I just bought some snakes head fritillaries and some alliums to brighten up the pots on the terrace. I'm going to have flowers out side the window all the time now! Even if it's expensive, it makes me smile. Even when the blackbirds uproot the bulbs
Helen:-)

[PerkymiteParticipant]

I know excalty where you are coming from Flowers have the same affect on me. I have my Daffs up at the moment flooding the garden with yellow, only problem is I have several bare patches, slugs ahhhhhhhhhh.

I potted on 360 Geraniums yesterday, two large pots of Sweet Peas and stuck up the bamboo wigwam for them. They are in my green house at the moment but the Sweet Peas will go either side of a garden seat I built some years ago.

Kindest Regards – Vasbyte

David

[Author]

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