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Atop a soakaway...

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  • I understood they were a sod to remove if you wanted to due to their deep and pernicious roots! I may be wrong!
  • I've just realised that I didn't specify no more than a couple of feet tall!
  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    I understood they were a sod to remove if you wanted to due to their deep and pernicious roots! I may be wrong!
    I think they're a sod to remove because they sucker prolifically, rather than because they are particularly deep rooted. I've got Midwinter fire growing on horrible clay. It took a while to get going but it's romping away now, with a vinca major under it and a mix of summer flowering biennials - honesty, foxgloves - and a lot of ox eye daisies in amongst.

    Is this a septic tank soakaway or a rainwater off the roof soakaway?
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • Just rainwater. Off the new patio that has been installed round the Batcave.
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    Parahebe, foxgloves, hellebores, polemonium, astrantia, penstemons, hardy geranium (Rozanne would be good, flowers for ages).
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • I understood they were a sod to remove if you wanted to due to their deep and pernicious roots! I may be wrong!
    I think they're a sod to remove because they sucker prolifically, rather than because they are particularly deep rooted.
    Yup, they're easy to pull out. How do I know? I've been doing it for the past couple of days :)
  • RubytooRubytoo Posts: 1,630
    Do you think it will get that wet at the top often?
    Some evergreen grasses might suit. Carex can take some wetness, are evergreen or ever bronzy cinnamon colour. Some might be a bit short at less than a foot. We have buchananii that is a bit taller around the two foot mark.
    Though not sure how much wet that will take compared to Evergold, which is yellow and green. No showy long grass flowers but they do make nice mounds which get taller as they get older if you don't split them too often.
    One other bronzy brown one makes a long haired round mound, name escapes me .

    Acorus too  might do, not sure if they are the invasive one?
    Never grown them but there is a nice variegated one and a finer one that is a light brighter variegated green
    https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/83905/Acorus-gramineus-Ogon-(v)/Details

  • Rubytoo said:
    Do you think it will get that wet at the top often?
    Some evergreen grasses might suit. Carex can take some wetness, are evergreen or ever bronzy cinnamon colour. Some might be a bit short at less than a foot. We have buchananii that is a bit taller around the two foot mark.
    Though not sure how much wet that will take compared to Evergold, which is yellow and green. No showy long grass flowers but they do make nice mounds which get taller as they get older if you don't split them too often.
    One other bronzy brown one makes a long haired round mound, name escapes me .

    Acorus too  might do, not sure if they are the invasive one?
    Never grown them but there is a nice variegated one and a finer one that is a light brighter variegated green
    https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/83905/Acorus-gramineus-Ogon-(v)/Details


    The soakaway is new but that part of the garden has been moderately flooded for days at a time in the past...
  • BorderlineBorderline Posts: 4,700
    Take a look at Bergenia Cordifolia. There are many to choose from and usually still evergreen when flowers have faded. Many also turn burgundy and red in the autumn time too. Persicaria Amplexicaulis and Persicaria Bistorta 'Superba Fire-tail' are great ground cover plants that can stay semi evergreen in most gardens. 
  • For some reason I’ve always considered bergenia to like shade?
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