Planting a river bank any suggestions?

I am lucky enough to have a back garden that ends at a river (30 feet wide ish) with a steep bank on the far side thats 30 ish foot high by 50 foot wide

Today I got the nod off the councill and the environment agency to do what I want (barring jap knot weed planting ) with it, so I am looking for any good ideas as to what to do with it if anyone fancies chipping in please.

The river lets say rises and falls 6 foot in extreme rain/sun so the bottom 6 foot need to be submersible plants or rocks or something oh and its a fairly steep bank

 

Lily of the Valley, Campanula, Hypericum calycinum or Daffodils, Bluebells ( British ) or Cotoneaster horizontallis. Or a combination of all of them.

 

gunnera, perhaps a willow

 

Willow is so easy to grow from prunings. Just stick them in the ground and they will soon root but not too many - they will grow and spread their branches and become quite large quite quickly

 

"gunnera"

Hehehe ... I like the way you have stated that in the singular. one Gunnera should cover 50' wide and 30' high, eh?

I love them, but my DW started doing the "over my dead body" dance when I mentioned that we should have one for our new pond project. Heathen!

 

How about some wild primroses (is that what they are called the pale yellow ones?)
Daffodils a must and maybe some snowdrops.

 

Hi nelly.Like you im fortunate to have a stream running through my garden.Up to now all i have planted is gunnera x2 primroses,and other stuff sorry can,t remember the names.Heres a pic of the gunnera from early this year however i have since moved it nearer the water where it,s growing like mad lol.

 

Nelly here is the gunnera .This video was tacken on the 16.7.08.

 

Arundo donax, but only if you are diligent in cutting the dead canes to the ground in early spring or it becomes a hideous mess. Willows, poplars and gunnera are all good if you have much space. Chose only the nicest forms of willows and poplars though, they can look very boring else.

 

Pond Iris...or go and nick some from the local canal...there are plenty available. Or are they water lily's ? :thumb:

Oh Yea....Solomon seal above high water mark.

 

For the damp bits how about some coloured stem dogwoods (cornus)? If you want a fairly natural look maybe purple loosestrife, bog grasses, water forget-me-not, native iris as Tweaky suggests, water mint, marsh marigold etc. (Anything with the name 'palustris' is usually a good bet!) As long as it doesn't get too dry in the summer and the roots can still reach moisture.
I confess I haven't tried these yet, but they're all on the list for my forthcoming bog/damp garden!
I also recommend getting Beth Chatto's Damp Garden from the library - lots of ideas and honest plant assessments!
Good luck!
Sezzle xxx

 

Thanks all much to think about there