ok so my gardening began on sunday , never before have i done it but i liked it and was proud with what i achieved, not content with the back garden i did the front last night and planted a few alpines.
Now i have this area of grass/muck/crap which is very very shaded hardly any light gets there at all i was just wondering if you had any tips on what plants/shrubs i can put there that will grow and hide the unsightly muck:thumbsup:
ok, it might be an idea to test your soil before spending any money out. You can pick up kits for under a fiver from any DIY place
Also, it's a good idea to find out if it's 'dry or moist' shade as this will have a bearing on your chosen plants
Here's my list for you:
Dog's Tooth Violet (Erythronium)
Snowdrops
Ferns
Hellebores
Hardy Geranium (Cranesbill?)
Heuchera
Hosta
Digitalis (Foxglove)
Aqueligia (Granny's Bonnets)
That lot should see you from early spring to late summer, perhaps into autumn. Hope it helps :)
Is there anything you can do to alter the light? perhaps trimming a hedge or thinning out a tree?
eeek soil testing ?? its not really like soil its more ike a clay rocky mess with some grass on t lol
now iv checked the area this morning and the sun did hit a bit of it, theres no way to get extra light because the shadow from my garage is in problem, i have found some moss growing around this area if that gives any info on the damp or moist shade.
cheers for the list of plants and your help so far
i could make a rockery or am i being overly ambitious for a newbie gardener?
A rockery would be a great idea, but I wouldn't go for traditional alpine plants as it sounds like damp shade if there's moss growing.
Ferns would love it. If you could afford it, a few different types of fern would look magical, and lift the gloom. All they need is for you to leave all the old growth on it over winter, and come the spring (I did mine only last week to give you an idea) Cut off all the old stuff to reveal bright fresh new fronds.
I'd probably punctuate it with a few dwarf narcissi (mini Daffodils) and snowdrops as they'd lift it in late winter while you wait for the new growth to start.
If you have the inclination, you could fork in a bit of an improver of some kind like manure or garden compost (not mulitpurpose - but you can buy it from the garden centre, along with manure in bags like multipurpose)
All plants you grow would thank you for it.
The soil testing is really simple. The one I've got from Homebase has 5 little capsules of premeasured chemical, you tip 1 into the container provided with two capsules of soil from your chosen area (different parts of the garden may be different) pipette full of water shake and wait for the colour to emerge.
Then you plant suitable plants. Some plants enjoy specific conditions to perform to it's full potential.
thank you very much for your help haley im going to look into all your ideas cheers il update u on how i get on :)
Haley is there any fruit plants that would be any good in these conditions? or herbs?, i have a rosmary brush which i use and love but id quite like a herb garden would it be a good area or not?
thanks again
typically herbs like sunny spots, but Mint would grow (it can be very invasive though, so keep an eye on it).
Chervil, chives, lemon balm, parsley and thyme should be worth trying. As is dill, and lime balm
The lemon balm I know to work in damp shade, but it doesn't like it 'wet' as in a bog garden...I'd try to buy it as a plant rather than sow seeds of Lemon Balm though a they're fussy little things.
fruit generally needs sun to produce. You might get a bit of a yield from rasberries if you're lucky. Gooseberries, red and black currants might work too