Border Problem

Any suggestions appreciated ....

The border in my front garden which is along the fence with my neighbour is full of roots from various shrubs and trees on neighbours side and although I have a few shrubs and spring bulbs in there I cant really plant anything cause cant dig even the smallest hole.

Was thinking about buying some small ground cover plants and maybe some summer flowering bulbs and squeezing them in ... will this work ?

The shrubs that are in there are ok, not their best which is probably due to the state of the ground and the competition for any goodness in the soil.

What to do ???

 

How much sun does this area see?

 

It gets the sun in the morning and some of the afternoon

In there is ...
Buddleja, Pieris Forest Flame, 2 Hostas, 1 Hardy Geranium, 2 Spirea, 2 Lavenders and some daffodils.

There is a larger border along the house line about 3ft wide x something lol
It has the sun in the morning and loses it about 1pm .... its looking a bit sparce and needs planted up more. I want the front garden to be filled with easy plants that dont require a lot of work.

We completely changed the layout of the front garden 2yrs ago and last year had planned to sort out the planting but last year wasnt a good year and I didnt do much in the garden. Daffs and Tulips were a stunning display then nothing... and I mean nothing was done after that.

Any suggestions on planting would be appreciated. I dont want it to look formal, just natural

I spend more time in back garden which is a little sun trap and will be looking for ideas for there later

Anyway, have sneaked on here while at work... so better get back to it LOL

 

I would ask your neibour if you can trim the roots of his shrubs, if he/she says no, do it anyway. There should be enough roots still round their side to support the plants. After that insert a barrier of galvanaized tin sheeting down into the soil to stop a re accurance. We had leylandii roots coming up in our greenhouse, a quick word, now the tree has gone. Fingers crossed. Cheers, Tony.