Natural/wild border planting suggestions

[Scarlet]

Its not so much that they get leggy, its just that you could never seem to get any leaf growth in the bottom foot or so - may be you have managed the trick somehow though :-).

I underplant heavily...I don't see the base of anything in my fight against ground elder

[nickdub]

I underplant heavily...I don't see the base of anything in my fight against ground elder
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Yep, that's one way round it - still doesn't cut it as a hedging plant for my money though, especially when there are other options out there.

[veggiechicken]

Perko doesn't want hedging though - I suggested edible hedging and it was turned down!!
My problem is........I can't picture the border as it is. No idea of the length, width, orientation or how it fits the rest of the garden.
Cloud pruned conifers and grasses sound "Show garden" and I can't balance it with Natural/wild border.

Need more information, Perko, and photos would help.

[chrisdb]

Oh, and I forgot some of the best:

Campanula spp. (Bellflowers)
Malva spp. (Mallows)

Mallows are short-lived, but if you're lucky and they're happy then they'll self-seed like crazy. Bellflowers are less prolific seeders for me, but tend to live longer.

Both are mostly edible families as well, although I find mallows a lot more palatable than bellflowers.

[Perko]

Morning all, thanks very much for all of your replies to this! It’s given me a lot of ideas.

The reason I didn’t really want hedging is because there wouldn’t be space for much else. It’s a T shape, if you imagine a T on its side and the top of the T running up the left hand side of this photo. It varies in depth, from around 2ft up to around 4ft wide. There’s probably another 12ft or so that’s been cut out of the photo as the conservatory roof gets in the way when taking a photo from upstairs but was the best way to get the whole area in.

As you can see, it’s rather a mess at the minute. It was completely clear of weeds 6 weeks ago but with the warm weather and rain it’s all a bit wild again. It’s been neglected as I’ve been paying more attention to what’s going on in the greenhouse!

[burnie]

Looks quite shady, woodland plants would suit that if it is like that for most of the day, if you are in either the Derwent or Trent valleys, then your soil could be well drained and suitable for a lot of natives.

[Perko]

Thanks Burnie, it’s shady until around 10am then gets sun until late afternoon. It’s the silver birch in the photo that keeps it shady in the mornings. I think it’s pretty good for draining, when I was turning it all over it was easy enough to work. We’re in Allestree

[Guest]

Perko doesn't want hedging though - I suggested edible hedging and it was turned down!!
My problem is........I can't picture the border as it is. No idea of the length, width, orientation or how it fits the rest of the garden.
Cloud pruned conifers and grasses sound "Show garden" and I can't balance it with Natural/wild border.

Need more information, Perko, and photos would help.

I pruned by conifer near my pond and I don't think it is that noticeable against the plants. (ignore the leylandii begind it )

Natural/wild can give very different effects though depending how they are done. I have a wild flower border which is also where a lot of old flower seeds get thrown and it just looks scruffy. However I have more gardeny borders but love bladder campion, red campion, valerian, mignonette and purple toadflax weaving their way through side by side with more garden like flowers.

Edit: looking at the photo Perko I would go with lots of lupins and cornflowers to get more interest for this time next year both grow easily from seed (and self seed)

[Mitzi]

Let me know how you get on with the ravens wing. I've tried it several times and it's super frail....cow parsley is everywhere in my garden but I can't get the dark one to be happy.

I’m not planning to sow them until July but I’ll let you know how I get on.

[chrisdb]

If we're allowed to suggest shrubs as well, then can I suggest rosa rugosa? Species and single roses are the most wildlife friendly, and rosa rugosa has a lot to recommend it. Tough, generally healthy, good for pollinators, pretty, and it has big hips in the autumn. It will also tolerate some shade.

There are plenty of really nice hybrids (I have Scabrosa and Fru Dagmar Hastrup) but cheap/free unnamed varieties are also easy. The things sucker, so if you know anyone who has a rugosa rose you can probably dig one up for free. They may also be available cheaply as unnamed hedging roses from garden centres, normally in bundles rather than individually. Failing that, I have grown it from seed in the past, although you do need to "stratify" the seeds (give them a nice cold winter) to get them to grow.

I agree with people who suggested elder as another great shrub, but the ones you can get for free are likely to get a bit big for your garden without lots of pruning. Ideally you want a dwarf or columnar variety.

I'd also suggest our native honeysuckle as a great wildlife plant, if you're willing to let it climb and scramble over something. I've never tried growing it from seed, but you can get one from Wilko's for about £3 at the right time of year. And one goes quite a long way.