Shade problems???

Good morning gardening guru's I am again asking for advice, I am a bit stuck as to what to do with my front garden as I have a 120 year old Lime tree thats about 90ft tall and casts a lot of shade, last year I planted shade mixture grass under it but its not taken, The soil is very dry and quite Sandy, my garden is registered with the Royal Society foe Nature Conservation as a wildlife garden so I would like either british natives or butterfly/bee plants. I cant cut back the trees lower branches because I got a TPO on it and now have to apply for permission to cut it.

Any ideas? btw even weeds dont grow under my tree and it is surrounded on each side by a mixrd native hedge

Thanks T2T

 

Also I'm having trouble with 2 borders right under the windows of my house, these are also very dry but do get sun because they face west...

I'm sure if it was someone elses garden I would come up with some ideas but as its mine and I've been here 16 years I seem to have gone blind

 

You could try growing shade tolerant plants in tubs thereby controlling moisture. I have a simmilar problem with a privet hedge and I use large tubs/ pots on slabs. good luck.

 

Grass is not good in shade, but there are some plants that are tolerant of dry shade - depending on how dry and how shady. Hostas are an example - but the key may be too look at the woodland plants, bulbs that flower before the tree leaf canopy develops or after it falls.

 

For your sunny, dry border you could try mediterranean plants, such as lavender, artemisia, geraniums, rosemary depending on your winter temperatures. Or use containers again!
I have got a very dry area at the back of the garden, shaded all year round by an enormous cypress. There is quite a lot of ivy growing as ground cover, and a few snow drops, muscari and [which surprised me] lots of celandines, which are really pretty. I have added some white wild anemones, which flowered last year., so I think Fran is right.

 

Thankyou for your advice, I have a lot of foxgloves I suppose I could put them in and woodland plants is a great idea, I like to collect british natives.

With the sunny border a lavender is the obly thing that grows well there at the mo, do you think it might be worthwhile to change the soil there, it is surrounded by concrete on all sides with the house wall and paths. I have top dressed it with my own compost but had pretty poor results

 

Maybe it is the lack of water rather than the type of soil. If you have your own compost it would be worth putting some more in.
Have you got room for a Buddleia bush? There are some very pretty varieties including a variegated one, and they seem to come up in places you wouldn't even think there was room for a seed...

 

I would agree with Liz - if lavender is doing well, and nothing else, it is likely to be water problems as well feeding - so tis either change the conditions by irrigation plus organic matter or grow the kind of plants that thrive in sunny dry conditions but add still add some feeding- and there is a large range.

For spring the poached plant should do well(darn I can't remember the horticultural name) bulbs and corns even dahlias should do OK if treated as annuals and fed - even roses (subject to feeding) they love the sun and their roots go deep and therefore can tolerate quite dry conditions.
Kinda depends on what you want to look at.

[ 21. October 2005, 09:23 PM: Message edited by: Fran ]