any ideas plse?

Hi, I'm completely new to gardening and am sorry if this is an obvious question!
I have a north facing garden with a clay soil and have no idea what plants would do well in these conditions, any ideas plse? :confused:

 

What sort of garden do you want?.
Veg, shrubs, perennials,annuals , flowers or foliage. Probably a mixture of these most people do, but it also depends on how much time you have or are prepared to spend
pete2255

 

Hi Pete,thks for your reply.
I have a few shrubs and trees in already, i would like to work more on the flower beds and create a nice flowering garden for the spring and summer with some winter colour (probably like most people), spending about 3-4 hrs a week on it.
Many thks for your help.

 

one idea is to look around in your neighbours gardens and see what is growing there.i have quite a lot of clay in my garden and just dig in a lot of multi purpose compost into the planting holesand they seem to do fine.good look and let us know how you get on

 

When anyone says a shady garden on clay the reply always involves Hostas and Ivy. Both good if you pick good varieties. How about clematis if it can grow up into the sun and a good foliage plant is Fatsia japonica one of my favorites.

 

Hi, I have found that dogwoods (Cornus) seem to do well in my garden which is on clay. They are nice at the moment (bright red and orange stems) when everyting else is a bit gloomy.

 

thks very much for your help guys, will let you know how i get on.

 

We all started as novices Mike! The more you read the more you learn. Try joining your local garden club or use the web - the info is out there you just have to find it. Ideal plants for your site are shade/woodland and moisture loving plants such as Actaea, Aruncus (Goatsbeard), Astilbe(False Goatsbeard, Filipendula (Meadow Sweet), Persicaria (Fleece Flower), Rodgersia (Rodger's flower). Evergreen ferns do well if its not windy and the wood geraniums, Geranium phaeum and Geranium sylvaticum are very tough.

 

virburnums thrive in clay and dont mind shade, there are also many types with flowers in the winter months