garden border question(S)

Hi all,

New to this site and I'm an absolute beginner when it comes to gardening but really enjoy it!

Now i have a soiled area in my front garden in which i recently put a membrane down and laid some large blue slate chipping over the top.

However it looks a little bare and i would like to add some evergreen shrubs to it to give it some life.

My plan was to remove some of the slate and cut a hole in the membrane and then plant the shrubs and put the slate back in place. Would this work and would the water drain readily through to the soil?

The shrubs i was looking are something like the ones on this website.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Ten-Top-Shrubs-For-a-Colourful-and-Evergreen-Border&id=1845453

Does this sounds like a feasible plan?

Thanks in advance for your input and advice.

Louis

 

Good evening Louis and welcome to the site.:thumb:Assuming you`ve used proper weed control fibre and not polythene, then yes, what you suggest is correct. Cut a cross in the fabric, plant the shrub, then bring the cut ends up to the stem and re-cover with the slate.:gnthb:

 

Welcome to the forum Louis.

Yes, your suggestion would work very well. The rain will drain quite happily through the membrane. I am not a shrub man myself - so know little about them. But I am sure that others will.

Just one point. You need to take into account how big they will grow, and their vigour. For instance Pieris, mentioned on that site, is very slow growing. Mine is over 20 years old and still only about two feet high, whilst others are thugs.

 

thanks for your kind advice folks, much appreciated.

Another question i have is of the type of soil that i have in my front garden.

I am not sure if this is acidic or not and i have read that some shrubs like acidic soil and others do not.

Will this have a big impact on growth if i plant the immediate area in some good compost first?

 

Hi Louis, welcome.

My advice would be, first and foremost, to pop down to your local 'shed' or garden centre and get yourself a soil-testing kit - you can get them from as little as about £4 (or nearly £100 if you want a 'professional' one!!). They're simplicity itself to use, watching them change colour is kinda fun too. That will tell you what type of soil you have, then, if it's acidic, you'll want to buy acid loving or to given them their proper name 'ericaceous' plants - rhododendrons/azaleas and heathers amongst others. If it's alkaline, then something like viburnum, rosemary or osmanthus. It's easy then to buy with confidence, knowing you have, so far as possible, got the right plant in the right type of soil.

That's not to say you can't grow a plant in the 'wrong' type of soil, but the colour of something like hydrangea will vary - it'll be blue on acid soil whereas pink on neutral or alkaline soils - and other plants, put where they're not suited, will in the main be poor specimens, or at worst - die.

Another thing to consider is the location. If the garden gets a great deal of sun, don't choose something which prefers shade or semi-shade it won't appreciated being cooked and conversely, a sun loving plant might not thank you for it's brief hour in the sunlight each day.

If you're going to spend a 'few quid' - and it might be a lot of quids! - on shrubs that you'll want to look at and enjoy for several years without having to worry about, pamper or have to replace then it's better to get it right at the outset (not that even the most experienced gardeners get it right first time, every time).

Picking the right plant might sound complicated, but once you know your soil type and location, it's just a matter of matching it up with your 'wish list'. Then you get to the fun part - you've got sandy soil in an almost desert-like plot so you go to the garden centre or nursery and look at the plant label which says, 'Best in full sun on light, sandy soil' and before you know it, you're wishing you'd hired a van to take all the stuff home :lollol:

 

Hya Louis1985 welcome.
A tip I recently found out to test the soil, is to take a dry bit of the soil (about a teaspoon) put in a small container and then pour vinegar on to it (enough to half fill the soil), if acidic nothing should happen but if alkaline you should see fizzing.

 

once again thanks for your great advice, it's much appreciated.

Now i think i've narrowed my search down a little.

I am planning:

Some 'common box' in a row at the front to form a small hedge (about 6 of them i think)

Some Hebes (purple shamrock, red edge and quicksilver were the ones i liked) dotted around the main area

And maybe also some 'spotted laurels' or something similar to go with the hebes.

Now i have chosen these because i have heard they like most types of soil & also sun or shade, and are very low maintenance.

can anybody see any flaws with myplan or would like to give me any more important info. before i go ahead with it??

thanks all