New bed - help selecting plants

We are really loving the garden in our new house, and really enjoying reigning it in and making it our own - it is a bit of a project! But one of the areas we need a bit of help with is the back of the garden.

We have a south east facing garden and it is bordered at the end with an 8ft tall hedge made up of mainly hawthorn, ivy and some laurel. Infront of this we have decided to make a bed, not too wide, but far enough infront of hedge to not be overshadowed completely. It is in shade from approximately 1.30pm but gets sun until then. I'm guessing the soil will be dry because of the hedge, and it uphill to the hedge, so I'm also guessing the moisture drains down from there. To complicate things slightly we have two large lime trees behind the house, and according to our neighbours they drop the black sticky stuff in the summer, but I'm not sure how much this would affect the bed.

I've thought of hardy geraniums (we have some which I have had to clear from the side bed due to ground elder - if I plant the roots would they do anything in the new bed?) but am at a loss as to what I can't plant here. Ideally I would like flowering things, or any flowers at all.

Can anyone suggest anything - please no hostas!!

Thank you in advance :thmb:

 

If you can improve the soil, then I would personally plant peonies there-if the sun isn't on them first thing in the morning-the back of my garden is south east facing and mine are there-I do have a couple of large oak trees that keep the sun off them early doors.


Astrantia does well for me, and hygrangeas, ferns manage it well, and I have some euonymous there too. Foxgloves are good for me there, as are lupins. I actually think hostas aren't much good near a hedge of any kind-only because thats where the snails hide during the day in my garden. Of course roses should do well there too, but there's always a way to find space for a rose as far as I'm concerned lol.

 

Thank you for all your help. Do peonies grow on chalk? I love that idea. I will look into everyones suggestions and let you all know what we decide to try. If only it was then end of the month and I could go on a little pay day spree!! :wink:

 

If you go for a peony be careful how you plant ,as they dont like going deep if its in a pot make sure you keep the same level :thmb:

Just had a look and i think they tolerate most soils

 

Given that the hedge is at the back of the garden the peonies would only get sun until about 1.30pm, then shade all day. Would peonies still do well? I love the idea! If they would be ok in these conditions are they expensive to buy? How much peony do you get for your money?

 

As long as they DON'T get the sun first thing in the morning they will be fine.

And the peonies cost what they are worth in general-a small tuber with maybe three flowers would set you back about £15.00 (Herbaceous that is). A tree peony gets more expensive, but the hybrids will cost you a small fortune- a few hundred pounds is not unheard of for the more choice types. I see these plants as worth it to me-they are my favourite flowers of all.

If you are happy to wait then you can get a yound but good tree peony for about £20 upwards, but you will have to wait. On the plus side, these plants are worth growing for foliage as well.

 

Foxgloves will grow just about anywhere and can be very lovely. They will seed themselves and you'll never have to plant them again.

A plant I found did well alongside hedges was Montbretia. It seemed to put up with anything and is good at spreading itself too.

For a cheap and cheerful quick effect you could try some climbing nasrturiums and see if they'll climb the hedge.

 

Unfortunately it would get the sun first thing. Why is this important??

I'm liking montbretia having looked it up, and come to think of it we had some growing in a dark corner in my childhood home, and that grew and grew. I love this forum and all of you who make it such a brilliant resource for newbies like me!!

Fox gloves I love too, can I buy them quite large so i can pop them in and they'll perform this year? One site says to cut off main flower after it blooms to hope for flowering side shoots?

I'm researching everything and very grateful for suggestions as you post them

Just looked up climbing nasturtiums and they look really lovely too. Is there a particularly good variety for this purpose, or one that climbs the most?

 

When the morning dew is still on them, they can easily get burned by bright sun-and you can still get a frost in May and that won't help matters either, I have found both the foliage and the flowers are affected this way, it sometimes occurs on those days when it is wet and sunny, although thankfully these sort of days are rare ( well hot sun is rare in the North anyway lol). By the mid morning the dew has evaporated and they are then safe.


If you are quick there may still be some foxgloves in the starter packs they have at B&Q, as well as Lupins and perhaps even some oriental poppies-they had some in last time I went. I am not sure about cutting the flower off afterwards so hopefully someone else can help with this.

 

Don't expect flowers from Peonies in the first year! I planted a tuber bought in Sainsbury's for £3.99 this year. Plenty of leaves, but it's small and no flowers. They like to settle in! But worth it in the end...so I'm told!

A mixed border with what has been suggested would look ideal again this hedge - to the list I would add hydrangea, ferns, astilbe, eupatorium, geraniums (especially Johnston Blue), dicentra, loosestrife (purple and yellow) and LOADS of euphorbia, in all colours. A mixed border is good as you get interest all year round with a bit of careful planning, rather than a bare border in winter, which is what happens with a purely herbaceous border (like I have!)

 

Which eupatorium is best? And would hydrangeas be blue or pink on chalk?

We have a bleeding heart that we put in our main bed before we realised it was full of perennials, and it now is swamped. Would it be ok to move it now to the new bed by hedge, it's been in about 2 months?

 

Hydrangeas on chalk are likely to be pink, although white hydrangeas will remain white.

Yes you can move the bleeding heart now, the night before the move give it a very good watering, and agin when it is planted and keep an eye on it for the next few weeks.

 

I have the Eupatorium Purpureum, but it gets tall, so give it plenty of room.

I'd look a developing this new bed as a dappled shade border and look at plants that suit that sort of light. I don't think the mixed hedge you have behind it will leech much out of the soil but you could always make the border bigger and plant things further away from the back, if that makes sense. It'll make a good backdrop though - better than a wooden fence anyway!

You could even grow a honeysuckle up through the hedge - just like how it occurs in the wild, although you probably wouldn't benefit from the gorgeous scent, unless the wind is blowing in the right direction!

 

OK - So my dad has told me he will give me some tobacco plants he's grown from seed and some chrysanths. Will either of these grow here?

I'm a bit skint this time of the month (three tiny drains on the resources!) but I'm going to look at the nursery for hydrangeas, foxgloves, climbing nasturtiums, montbretia, hardy geraniums astrantia and euphorbia.

But any more help/guidance/suggestions would be very gratefully received! I'll keep checking back and let you know what I'm thinking.

 

SORRY - one more question...

Does anyone know if the honeydew from the lime trees will have an effect on any of these plants if it does coat them later in the summer? It isn't directly under the centre of the tree, the trunk ia about 5 metres away, but some branches overhang it.