Checking the eventual max height and spread is always important @Dedekind, but everyone's conditions are different, which has an effect, so info for plants is only a guide. Sometimes, plants just get too big for the site because the growing conditions suit them, so it's not uncommon for people to have to move things at a later date. Many shrubs can be carefully pruned though, and by that I mean, you can often remove individual stems and branches, rather than doing the hedge trimmer 'everything pudding shaped' look, which is often very unappealing.
Got it
I mentioned this because someone suggested planting trees and maybe they are not suitable for the purpose of @staceyrose5 I know I won't be planting any huge plants on the edge of the patio, and am in a rather similar situation. I would be looking for low growing plants mostly
@staceyrose5 - I'm sorry your thread seems to be becoming hijacked by this ongoing argument between other forum members.
As @Fairygirl and I said you will almost certainly have to do quite a bit of work to prepare your soil ready for planting. Removing bricks and other rubble is a no-brainer and (the majority of us) would recommend digging in lots of bulky organic matter. You can buy bags of well composted farmyard manure from the GC or a large dumpy bag of it from bulk suppliers.
I would not recommend peat based material as it's not enviromentally friendly. I would definitely not bother to add horticultural sand. If you need to improve drainage you can use pea shingle but plenty of bulky organic matter will probably sort things out for you anyway. Bulky organic matter is good whether you have compacted soil or light, free draining soil. It's black gold🙂
Ignore the arguments and try to pick out the good information given so far.....
Sorry again - not a good experience for your first posting. We're usually much better than this.
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
PS @fairygirl - no I've never grown acteas - too much like hard work on the watering front for me🤭 If I ever get around to building a pond I might try them round the margins - nice plants🙂
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
It's still possible to have some larger specimens @Dedekind, but it just comes down to the type of shrub/tree, and how airy it is so that it isn't a solid dense block, spoiling a view, and/or dominating the space. It can be very oppressive. A common sight in Scotland is the specimen 'dwarf' conifer [not really any such thing] planted three feet from the front door. That dwarf conifer, 15 years later, isn't dwarf, it's fifteen feet high and umpteen feet wide, and the people need their lights on during the day because there's no natural light getting past it Shrubs with lighter canopies are ideal, but it can just take a while to find something suitable. Having a few tall perennials in between shrubs can give the screening, but the aspect has to suit them. Using sun lovers in a north facing garden for example, would be pretty useless as they'd just lean to try and get sufficient light, and vice versa- shade loving plants in full sun will just wilt and fail to thrive, so the choice is important.
I thought that would be the case @Topbird. Right plant, right place again, isn't it? They're looking good just now here - bit later than usual, and I just moved one so it's a bit smaller than it would normally be. Great for Red Admirals. @CharlotteF
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
That’s why I usually recommend ‘well-rotted farmyard manure’ , which is how you can buy it from garden centres in the UK, rather than manure fresh from the farmyard which should never be used direct in the garden, but should be stacked until it has rotted and then the issue of nitrogen-depletion is irrelevant.
😊
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Posts
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I mentioned this because someone suggested planting trees and maybe they are not suitable for the purpose of @staceyrose5
I know I won't be planting any huge plants on the edge of the patio, and am in a rather similar situation. I would be looking for low growing plants mostly
As @Fairygirl and I said you will almost certainly have to do quite a bit of work to prepare your soil ready for planting. Removing bricks and other rubble is a no-brainer and (the majority of us) would recommend digging in lots of bulky organic matter. You can buy bags of well composted farmyard manure from the GC or a large dumpy bag of it from bulk suppliers.
I would not recommend peat based material as it's not enviromentally friendly. I would definitely not bother to add horticultural sand. If you need to improve drainage you can use pea shingle but plenty of bulky organic matter will probably sort things out for you anyway. Bulky organic matter is good whether you have compacted soil or light, free draining soil. It's black gold🙂
Ignore the arguments and try to pick out the good information given so far.....
Sorry again - not a good experience for your first posting. We're usually much better than this.
A common sight in Scotland is the specimen 'dwarf' conifer [not really any such thing] planted three feet from the front door. That dwarf conifer, 15 years later, isn't dwarf, it's fifteen feet high and umpteen feet wide, and the people need their lights on during the day because there's no natural light getting past it
Shrubs with lighter canopies are ideal, but it can just take a while to find something suitable. Having a few tall perennials in between shrubs can give the screening, but the aspect has to suit them. Using sun lovers in a north facing garden for example, would be pretty useless as they'd just lean to try and get sufficient light, and vice versa- shade loving plants in full sun will just wilt and fail to thrive, so the choice is important.
I thought that would be the case @Topbird. Right plant, right place again, isn't it? They're looking good just now here - bit later than usual, and I just moved one so it's a bit smaller than it would normally be. Great for Red Admirals.
@CharlotteF
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Manure also holds in a lot of water within itself. A second reason I have been advised to mulch in and layer at the top.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...