We were asked to design a border full of colour which was half in shade throughout most of the day. The client wanted to attract wildlife as well as making the front of the house attractive.
We were instructed that the client would like to see some of the wall as a nice backdrop to the new planting and that some small trees were requested. We needed to create a new edge to stop the soil from eroding onto the drive and clear the very large established shrubs that were taking over and overwhelming the area. These shrubs made the whole front garden feel dark and small.
In a mild November we started work.
Our solution to these problems was to create an angular sleeper edge set slightly in from the edge of the drive to stop the soil erosion. this also created a small bed for the lavender to be planted.
We introduced some fresh compost to reinvigorate the soil after removing the old shrubs. We saved some smaller shrubs and cyclamen which were buried among the larger shrubs and replanted these in more appropriate positions.
We then brought in the trees, the client had chosen from a list we supplied, Amelanchier lamarckii. This lovely little tree grows to between 1.2-1.8m, so is perfect for a small garden, as well as producing beautiful star like blossom from March to April. As well as being good in full sun or part shade it is known for the Autumn leaf colour making it a good year round tree.
Below is a full plant list:
- Agertina artissima chocolate 120cm white July-October Good for Butterflies
- Ajuga Caitlins Giant 30cm Blue May-June good in shade
- Anaphalis t Sommerschee 25cm White July-September Everlasting flowers good for drying and groundcover in shade
- Anemone Prize Heinrich 65-100cm rose-purple August-October Long flowering part shade
- Anemone Multifida Rubra 30-40cm carmine red May-June long flowering part shade
- Cirsium Atropurpeum 90cm deep purple thistle-like May-June magnetic attraction to bees/butterflies
- Cornus red stemmed 2m Cream flowers May-June good winter colour
- Cyclamen (hardy) 10-15cm pink January to March early colour
- Digitalis Lanata 60cm creamy yellow with purple tints May-July good for bees/butterflies and other pollinators part shade
- Epimedium grandiflorum Red Beauty 35cm large red flowers April-May ground cover in shade
- Euphorbia a robbiae 45cm green with flecks of red June-July good for pollinators
- Geranium sanguineum striatum (cranes bill ) 25cm soft pink June-September good for pollinators long flowering
- Helleborous winter sunshine 40cm creamy white flowers February-April early flowers part shade
- Hosta blue angel 80-100cm prolific white flowers with lavender mid rib July-August good for bees good for shade
- Lamium maculatum White Nancy (dead nettle) 30cm white May-June good for pollinators ground cover for full shade
- Lavender Munstead 60cm tall 45cm wide purple July-September good for pollinators and butterflys will tolerate part shade
- Libertia grandiflora 60cm pure white saucer shaped flowers May-September evergreen for partial shade
- Liriope muscari 30cm purple with black berries August-November birds love the berries good for part shade
- Monarda Squaw 100cm scarlet July-August good for pollinators part shade
- Polygonatum xhybridum (solomans seal) 75cm white bells May-June good in shade
- Pulmionaria cottom cool (lungwort) 25-30cm silver leaf with blue flowers March-May fantastic for bees great early flowers
- Rosa Rugosa pimpinellifolia 90cm by 90cm wide white spring flowering attractive to bees and wildlife will tolerate shade
Six months later we completed our garden check up and took some photos of the border in full flower.
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Created with Nokia Smart Cam
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Plant growth in 6 months
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