My Planting List for a Shady Border
A plant list you can use at home. The first video of the border design that half killed me, a water feature, and an exclusive look at the garden canopy colour.
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This border and the area that the new gazebo sits on adjacent to it, nearly got the better of me. In fact, it continues to try my patience, as the article you’re about to read, the video and the full planting list all disappeared into the ether on Friday morning when I accidentally pressed delete. The 39 Latin names of the plants alone took me hours to get right, all gone with the tap of a button. Damn my sausage fingers!
So, this is a shorter version than once planned. It’s probably the better for it.
Do forgive the end of season look from some of the plants. They’ve been waiting in the wings for a very long time during a heatwave, whilst the garden canopy was built and painted. Never plant a garden in July and August. Next year should be a riot of froth and romantic whimsy though.
On a cold, grey and decidedly damp February morning earlier this year, I started work on the design for the very back of our walled garden.
Much like the rest of the plot, it had been ignored, and allowed to grow wild for decades. Faced with a dense jungle of twelve foot high shrubs, a thick smothering of suffocating ivy, and a twisted cats cradle of brambles and indiscernibles, I set to it with my trusty loppers, a good pair of protective gloves and a smile. Little did I know that the immense task I could see before me was just the tip of the iceberg.
After almost a week of simply clearing the space, it was time to start digging. I had contemplated laying a mass of cardboard, covering it with top soil and compost and trying my hand at ‘no dig’. But alas, that wasn’t going to be possible, as the ground was the furthest thing from level. Oddly so, like the soil was hiding something.
I was also well aware that part of the now open site would have a concrete base built upon it in readiness for a gazebo. It had to be flat. There was no alternative but to literally dig deep.
What I discovered within minutes of hitting the ground was a seemingly endless supply of old stone slabs and boulders, enough to build at least one good length of Hadrian’s Wall. Every time I thought I’d unearthed it all, another would poke its ancient craggy edges above the surface, as my spade reverberated with its soul-destroying hardness.
Some of the slabs were more than a metre long and over 60cm wide, resembling York pavers, or perhaps even a grave stone. It all had to be removed by hand.
So many times at the end of each day of toil, I would wonder whether I should just change the garden design and go with the flow. But, I soldiered on, because the vision in my head would be worth it.
None of the gardens I’ve loved have been easy to create. Is that the secret magic that is needed for a garden? A place that exudes peacefulness, yet somehow tells the story of its maker?
The rest of this post is for my lovely paid members who enable this newsletter to exist. Everyone needs to pay the bills, and you guys make sure I keep a roof over my head. Thank you.
To read and watch the rest, see the full planting list for a shady area, the first full video of the border up close, and find out what colour I’ve painted my beloved garden canopy, just click below to upgrade. I would be truly grateful.