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Arranging heather and sedum

Dirty HarryDirty Harry Posts: 1,048
in Plants
Got a spare area here in the border. I've got 6 small winter-flowering heathers and a sedum autumn joy to plant. Any suggestions on how to make it look fairly natural?

I was going to try and mix them up but I'm not sure there's a way of doing that without them looking too obviously formal.

Best to clump all the heather together for a big swathe of ground cover and have the sedum on its own?

Might shift the two dianthus about or move them elsewhere, either way I've got a load of crocus and daffodil bulbs to intersperse between the lot too.


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  • Dirty HarryDirty Harry Posts: 1,048
    I appreciate the suggestion but it's not the sort of thing I'm looking for to be honest. 

    I like the border just being plants.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Can't see how you're going to combine winter flowering heathers and Sedum Autumn Joy ... the sedum dies down and disappears in the winter 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I think if you're only having one sedum, you have to regard it as two different planting areas. As Dove says - the flowering times are different, so you'd need something else in there to give a succession.
    If you had a few summer heathers, you'd get some continuation, but you'd also need more sedums to get a decent coverage. The only thing you can do is have the sedum as a 'full stop' at the end of the border, and the heathers as the main planting area. The bulbs are good, but they'll also be done by by late spring.
    The border's  not deep, so have you got some vertical planting you could slot in? Alliums for instance. Maybe a couple of other slightly taller summer flowering perennials to give a little height and contrast to the heathers when they're dormant, and link the flowering time. Geums or geraniums or similar, depending on your colour preferences.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    winter flowering heathers spread very wide, generally. 3 of them will probably completely fill that space in a couple of years. They will grow into one another, but if they grow over the sedum, it'll probably be a bit weak and spindly. There's also not a big overlap in the soil conditions they like. So I'd say yes, your first point that you may need to keep them apart, is probably sensible.
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I'd agree - they get quite large. I think I misunderstood about the size of the space you had too.  :D
    Perhaps just the heathers, and a few spring bulbs, and find another spot for your sedum. Although they do best in sun and well drained soil, I also have them in the opposite conditions - north west facing, in wet clay, with only some late afternoon/evening sun in summer. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Agree with the others.  Keep the plants separate as sedums like well-drained soil and heathers, as far as I'm aware, like it a bit more moist but also well-drained enough not to be soggy.   Good selection tho for extending flowering interest thru autumn and into early spring and providing nectare for beneficial insects.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    I'd put a paving slab at the back and you can use that as a stand for seasonal planting in pots. The heathers will cover around it and you can just put a pot of bulbs or the sedums on there when they're in flower and looking their best.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I may have not made it clear - I was talking about my sedums being in nth west facing clay and being fine. The winter heathers are slightly different to the summer ones in their requirements,  but they can be fairly adaptable.  :)

    Hey - good to see you w.edges. Did you have a bit of flooding? Haven't seen you for  a little while and was wondering if you were affected by all the bad weather down your way :)
    Apologies Harry - I'm a bit off topic...  ;)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    Fairygirl said:
    Hey - good to see you w.edges. Did you have a bit of flooding? Haven't seen you for  a little while and was wondering if you were affected by all the bad weather down your way :)
    I've been on my holidays :) 2 weeks in a remote cottage in the celtic rainforests of North Wales with no phone, internet or TV. The weather was... interesting though :# I expected to come home to a ruined garden but if anything it looks better than when I left.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Ah - I wondered if you'd had some problems weather wise. Good that you're ok  :)
    Glad the garden was fine too  - always a worry  if there's been rough weather and you're not there.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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