What to grow on extreme sandy soil?

i was so tempted when looking at all the online suppliers, as recommended, and then remembered how many plants fail here.

I dug out my “Tough plants for tough places” book, and was disheartened.


What do I have? Exposed heathland is the nearest description.
The lower half of the garden is sandy soil, probably around 50%+ sand.

The upper half of the garden is extremely sandy soil, probably nearer 80%+ sand.

(an example of the topsoil from the upper half of the garden. The pits you can see are formed by some beetle or spider (not sure, I was discussing the wildlife in Dutch with a naturalist) that lives in the bottom of the natural sand funnel, ambushing unsuspecting creatures as they fall down.)

The garden faces south west, and has a slope of around 10%, with steeper areas.
It is exposed and quite windswept, with the nearest windbreak being a wood 500 metres in the opposite side of the small valley. We are at the top of the slope/valley.

I have tried so many things, but so many fail.
Fruit trees die, 5 years after planting, they simply can’t take any more.
Lavenders fail 50% of the time, even if watered in their first year. Hubby bought me some french marigolds - dead by June! The dogwoods have just about held out over a couple of years, but they are in the best soil in the upper half of the garden.
Yes, I improve the soil as much as I can, but if the plants need this to survive, they can sometimes fail when their roots hit the native conditions...

Rosemary just about copes, as do most herbs if the soil is heavily improved with compost before planting. Feeling a little despairing right now, and wondering if anyone has any inspiration for me?

The reference book went on about what grows naturally...

Well, in the upper half of the garden, I mow more sheep’s sorrel, a sort of scabious, and rough hawkbit, than grass, frequently having to pull broom plants out, as they out-compete the struggling grass.



On the lower half of the garden, I get less of the scabious, but lots of yarrow, and wild violets in the spring. A few dandelions can grow, if in the shade of the house, and near enough to the septic tank outflow. I will occasionally have a mole in the lower half... (very little eating for them in the upper half!). In wet summers, we can have white clover, but haven’t had any for a few years now.

Wondering if anyone else struggles with similar conditions, and has found a wonder plant or two that can cope?

 

Mmm - not something I have had to deal with, I am on clay here which has its own challenges of course!

I wonder however if you might find any inspiration in Derek Jarman's beach garden at Dungeness? Here's an article about it: Gardens: planting on the edge in Derek Jarman's garden

That's shingle rather than sand, of course. And you aren't by the sea either. But he too could only work with the toughest of plants, and ended up creating something truly beautiful, and special!

 

firstly, thank you @Clare G !

Right, I've pulled myself together, and got out there to cut the grass and the meadow "paths". One good thing about yarrow growing well in the lower half is that, as I leave it for the insects, cutting the grass is much quicker come August!

OK, time to push to the back of my mind all the fruit trees that have died since we came here (both established trees, and ones that we have planted). Shake that thought away, have a sip of a cuppa, and think positive!

What does well here? AKA - If I'm weeding, what am I mainly pulling out?
All over the garden, the main weed is sheeps sorrel. An advantage of very sandy soil is that I can often get the filament connections between the runners, as well as the plantlets.
Lychnis coronaria is basing its world take-over bid in this small corner of Belgium, it seems! In a quieter way, Campanula persificola seems to be slowly spreading.
In the not-so-dry areas, persicaria grows if left unchecked, as does both a false wild strawberry, and a true wild strawberry.

In the lower half, in the places where the soil is better (off-runs from the rainwater tank, the septic tank, and building materials from the house) I am also pulling out forget-me-not (they do their thing before the dryness of summer sets in), foxgloves (they will follow in the wake of the Lychnis, I fear - but I love them too!), various hybrids between wild violets and cultivated forms. Other weeds? Yarrow, of course. Giant mullein. Rapeseed. Wild marjoram. Chives. Bronze fennel.

In the top half, some bronze fennel, sphagnum moss from the lawn, a large-leaved stonecrop. That strange small scabious is also spreading all over the "grass" area - our young neighbours said they had it in their garden too. (Just wait til next year, when the foxgloves get flowering there!! I threw a few flower-stems over the fence, before they bought the then-derelict plot).

Larger plants that try to establish - a bird cherry, broom, hop, and hazel, lots and lots of hazel!

What seems to cope?
the Campanulas; Elephants ears; lavenders, if they manage to survive the first year; aquilegia (we have only an intense purple, which is a delight!). Mint grows well throughout the herb garden, apart from in the retaining planter it's supposed to be in. The sage is needing to be hacked back regularly, and the tarragon is a forest - or at least one of the two plants is...

Hopefully that might help you "get the picture"...!

 

MMmm, easy to say I know, but those of us with clay soil have to improve it to get things growing, so only just saying, but maybe an influx of humus rich stuff might be the answer.

I know in the end we dont really change the soil we have, but soil improvement should actually be an ongoing thing in most gardens, some good old compost or manure would help, I think.
Maybe if you just concentrated on small areas at a time.

 

I am on clay / loam here with high rainfall so not my domain, I think @ARMANDII has sandy soil though ?

Could try / consider some of these perennials - Salvias - Euphorbia - sedums / other succulents - Achillea - some kniphofia - Eryngiums - Nepeta - Echinops - verbena B bit tender - Pervoskia - stachys Byzantina - guara maybe to tender - agastaches - armenia - bulbs - lots of grasses should grow - phlomis ?

 

Nearly all of my gardening life has been on clay so I'm just a little envious of those with light land. We made a Mediterranean style garden after digging out the clay and filling it with sharp sand and manure and put in some drainage. This is the extent of my experience of gardening on sand; it's really just a sandy bed but the drainage means the underlying clay never gets sodden. Among the things that are growing well are Sea thrift which is so cheerful in June, California Poppies which I'm hoping will self seed, Sea Holly is a good one and it interestingly has blue stems. Sedums, Verbena bonariensis, pinks, some geraniums and thyme seem happy. Shrubs are some you've listed like Rosemary and Lavender are doing well as is Myrtle.

 

Warm sandy loam here

A lot has already been mentioned but Osteospermum would do well.....check out the hardiest of them, viz., Cannington Roy, Tresco Purple and eklonis.
Helianthemums and cistus..both nicknamed sun roses.
Artemisia, santolina, thymus Silver Posie, Euryops pectinata, Senecio Greyii/sunshine, all silver or silver grey
Erigeron, aubretia, yellow allysum, spreading campanula, Arabis, armerias/thrift
Pittosporums....Tom Thumb, Irene Patterson with delightful coloured foliage. Olearias, the daisy bushes, buddleias, heathers...esp the carneas. Escallonias do well here with little water as do pines....and there are some wonderful dwarf ones like Winter Gold. Euonymus too. Hebes. I find hollies too, once they have found their feet, do well in dry soil.
Grasses like festucas and helictotrichon and stipas
Anthemis Mrs Buxton, linarias, penstemons, eryngiums, echinaceas, euphorbias to thrive in dry soils as do the Linums
Phormiums establish well in such conditions too as do the similar astelias and libertias
All are grown here

 

Thank you all for your replies. Yes, I know that quick-draining soil might be appealing when you have claggy clay. I grew up with Hereford red clay, so I do understand!

I’ve tried to answer your comments...
Please don't think I’m dismissing your suggestions - but I have tried so many different plants over the years...

I put about 4 cubic metres of compost, plus around 50 x 40l sacks of horse manure on the garden each year....

I try to concentrate it on plants which are struggling, and any new plantings. I have been here for 7 years now, and try to add/reclaim only a small amount of new beds each year.

Some of those I have tried, with mixed success. Perovskia and Eryngiums are on my list of “next to try” - good to have confirmation!

I can see that you’ve created a free-draining bed, but the difference between that and pure sand, going down metres (ok, I’ve only gone down 1.5 metres, but it is pure sand!)... California poppies find it too dry, too hot. Sea holly I will try, geranium sanguinium does cope, once established. Thrift has failed on every attempt so far. Thyme can cope, if nurtured well in the first year... Myrtle - hmmm, hadn’t thought of that one!

Osteospermum struggles. I have managed to keep one of the hardy ones over a winter, once, but I’ve only had one flower this 2nd year. I just can’t get the plants through the first year?
I’ve lost 2 cistus- they’re not cheap, so wasn’t sure if I was pushing my luck?
I’ve lost some penstemon, but managed to keep one through one winter, to flower this year.


I will google the rest of the plants, and see if I can source some....

 

Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) will grow in sand, berries can be used for jelly and juice birds love them; although not everyones cup of tea. Brooms, gorse and tamarix are possibilities and the Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis.) from the southern USA may be worth looking for, Chitalpa tashkentis is a hybrid of this and may be easier to find. Griselinia littoralis could gow there as well. I suspect the main problem with any of these will be establishment.

 

You worked hard there ARMANDII

 

I sympathise Sian, I am on sand being a 100 metres or so from a heathland and bog area. I can't keep anything damp, even the sparrows can have a dust bath in February!
Callistemons Grevilleas and Salvias do well but mosty other plants struggle unless heavily dressed or mulched.

 

Indeed ARMANDII