Forum home› Garden design
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Ideas for shallow soil

susan_gardensusan_garden Posts: 14
in Garden design
I've an area that is 10 feet x 4 feet.  We discovered the foundations from the old shed are still underneath the soil so the soil is about 1 foot deep. Is there any perennials I can grow in this area?

Posts

  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    Absolutely. Drought tolerance will be important and you won't want anything massively deep rooted, but there's a heck of lot you can grow. What's the aspect and is the soil well drained (despite the concrete slab underneath)?
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    edited May 2020
    This is a green roof, it's got 20cm of soil. But it is well drained (there's a drainage layer underneath the soil). You can see the kind of species that do well - chives, Sisyrinchium, Stachys lanata, Stipa grasses, Sedum, white campion etc. But you have more leeway on 30cm of garden soil.

    See the source image

    You could add hardy geraniums, small shrubs/subshrubs like Caryopteris and Sage, most Euphorbias, hardy salvias, Phlomis.... It could be wonderful.

    You need to make sure the shed base doesn't create poor drainage though. If your soil isn't naturally free draining you might need to help things a bit.
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • susan_gardensusan_garden Posts: 14
    That looks amazing! Thanks so much for the ideas.
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    You could make a slight bank to get more soil depth, if you needed to. I've got a bed down at the bottom of my garden that is about a foot deep, onto paving slabs. I didn't realise until I'd planted it! There's Hydrangea 'Limelight', various geraniums, ornamental grasses, persicaria amplexicaulis and veronicastrum in there - they all survive, possibly not as luxuriantly as they would otherwise but that might make them less prone to getting floppy. It does get bone dry sometimes, so I do water occasionally. Light sandy soil.
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • WaysideWayside Posts: 845
    We've an old road nearby that has been left to nature, and you wouldn't believe the mass of roots and growth on it that has just grown in the leaf litter.  It can dry over time, but the concrete can also help retain moisture on top.
Sign In or Register to comment.