Full shade dry spot

Hi,

Looking for ideas on ground cover for an area under the small weeping willow tree in my garden.

It sits directly opposite my kitchen window and looks sad every year as there is a 1.5m circle of pretty dry soil that gets little to no sun all year round.

Is there anything you can recommend to plant there that will thrive and spread in such conditions? Doesn't need to have full flowers or anything too exciting. I'd just like it to cover the bare ground.

It might be worth noting the neighborhood cats seem to like doing their business in there too so any deterrent welcome.

Thanks again, Ric

 

Ouch, a hard one!

No groundcover plant is likely to grow there, or if it does, it will quickly smell the better conditions in the surrounding lawn and spread there. The soil is full of willow roots so it's hard to go downwards.

Humble spring bulbs might do ok, think of Snowdrops, Scillas, native Bluebells... bulbs are cheap so worth a try.

For a year round interest a group of attractive containers with permanent and seasonal planting might look nice from your window. Grouped together rather than dotted around the tree is probably better, but all depends on your style and preferences. Large containers look better and are much easier to manage than small ones.

A small water feature in a container would fit in too, and perhaps some nice big rocks around to soften the transition from the containers to the ground?

For the containers there is a lot of choice of shade tolerant plants, and seasonal bedding dotted between a permanent (evergreen) framework should do just fine for the while they are there.

Evergreen ferns, Ivy, Vinca Minor, Hellebores, Gaulthera, there are all kind of nice plants out there just waiting to be bought

Oh, and a set of solar string lights of course- they will hopefully get charged if you fix the panel on top of the tree. Looks magical all year round.

 

I'd create a circle of either bark or gravel, gravel best to stop the cats maybe, what kind of weeping willow is it, as they grow massive.

Or is it a Kilmarnock willow?

 

I'd dig some holes, improve the soil with organic matter and plant Vinca minor. There are several cultivars with white, blue or purple flowers, some with double flowers, some with variegated leaves. If you're prepared to give them a splash of water to get them established, and from time to time in the summer, they are the best ground-cover plants that I know of for dry conditions.