Oh how I sympathise! Your conditions sound just like mine, except I have shallow, thin gritty soil. Raised beds, lots of organic matter, grit, and windbreaks of some kind help. I make fences of plastic fencing to create windbreaks around beds. A lot of shrubs do well given time to get their roots down, I have to stake any trees planted and leave the stakes for at least 4-5 years. There is a layer of compacted shale under my garden, no idea how thick it is, all I know is when a soak away was being dug, the men had to bring in a mini digger because pick axes and pneumatic drills couldn't break through the shale. This means excess rain puddles everywhere until it has had time to drain, winter and summer. I have had to plant up the garden by trial and error. I have been surprised by some plants surviving and many refusing to last more than one season. Working a lot of grit and compost into raised beds will help a lot of plants survive the wet winters. Mulching will help them during hot dry spells. I am sure you will have disasters and losses, as well as unexpected successes. I live in Cornwall where we have a very high rainfall in winter and summer. My garden slopes North to South, and faces dead South West so takes all of the prevalent incoming storms etc., and there is no shade or shelter. It is a case of trial and error. Plants which have done well. Restorias. Ginger lilies. Lavender. Rosemary. Yew. Angels Fishing Rods. Hostas. Dianthus. Day lilies Crocosmia. Shrubby salvias. Amongst many others, but all in raised beds, which I think maybe is your main answer.
@c_watkins I garden on heavy clay. There is an area in my front garden that gets very hot. I have added compost in the past to improve the soil but it's effect doesn't last. In the end every plant came out and I used lots of grit. I am now able to grow plants that like full sun and good all year round drainage. Like @Joyce Goldenlily has said it can take years of trial and error to work out what survives in the conditions you mention. I have looked at Joyce's plant list but most of them won't grow in my soil. I do live further north which is an added consideration. Cotoneaster loves the summer but struggles in a wet winter and that is a tough plant .I will try to put together a list of possibles for you but there could be a high casulty rate!
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
Yes every garden is different and much of it will be trial and error. I can’t get lavender to grow but rosemary thrives, it’s too hot and dry in summer for rudbeckia but heleniums are surprisingly drought tolerant. Gaura and verbena are stalwarts. A couple more shrubs I forgot to mention are euonymous and eleagnus, both seem to survive in the toughest, most poorly drained clay soils here.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
I'm afraid many of the plants @Simone_in_Wiltshire mentions, wouldn't survive a winter here without the soil being extensively improved. Likewise, those mentioned by @Joyce Goldenlily. Cold wet soil is a death knell for many of those, unless in purpose built raised beds. It's certainly the only way I can grow some plants.
Without amending it, the choices become virtually nil - only a few things will manage both extremes. The two @Nollie mentions - Eleagnus and Euonymous fortuneii certainly manage cold wet clay. How much drought, long term, they'd manage, I don't know. The former would certainly help with shelter from wind. That's always worth doing.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Thank you everyone for all your replies - there is a lot of very helpful info for me to chew over here, and I'm a bit under the weather at the moment so if I don't reply individually that'll be why - I may come back in a while when I've taken things on board. Thanks again!
No need to reply individually to people @c_watkins. If you do want to thank anyone in particular, just use the technique I've used in my reply - @ followed by the name of the person. When you start typing the letters of the poster's name, choices will come up and you click on the relevant one. Or just give a general thanks to everyone if you like. It's all fine.
More important to look after yourself.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Thank you everyone for all your replies - there is a lot of very helpful info for me to chew over here, and I'm a bit under the weather at the moment so if I don't reply individually that'll be why - I may come back in a while when I've taken things on board. Thanks again!
Experimenting is the fun part of gardening I think. Maybe I'm fortunate in not having to worry too much but I find most 'common' plants are cheap enough to just have a go with. Certainly when compared to other 'entertainment' expenditure such as eating out, pub, concerts, cinema etc.
Have fun!
Clay soil - Cheshire/Derbyshire border. I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
No problem, a general thank you as you have already done is plenty. Take you time chewing and feel better soon 😊
@Fairygirl I inherited my Eleagnus and it’s in unamended clay. It takes really hot, dry conditions, I never water it and it’s planted on a slope so doesn’t hold much rain either. If it can take cold and wet too that sounds an ideal large screening shrub for the OP.
Euonymous Europeaus (common Spindle) and E. Japonicus likewise get no water here and can take anything my weather can throw at them, but Euonymous Alatus is much less drought tolerant for me.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Posts
Your conditions sound just like mine, except I have shallow, thin gritty soil.
Raised beds, lots of organic matter, grit, and windbreaks of some kind help. I make fences of plastic fencing to create windbreaks around beds. A lot of shrubs do well given time to get their roots down, I have to stake any trees planted and leave the stakes for at least 4-5 years.
There is a layer of compacted shale under my garden, no idea how thick it is, all I know is when a soak away was being dug, the men had to bring in a mini digger because pick axes and pneumatic drills couldn't break through the shale. This means excess rain puddles everywhere until it has had time to drain, winter and summer.
I have had to plant up the garden by trial and error. I have been surprised by some plants surviving and many refusing to last more than one season. Working a lot of grit and compost into raised beds will help a lot of plants survive the wet winters. Mulching will help them during hot dry spells. I am sure you will have disasters and losses, as well as unexpected successes.
I live in Cornwall where we have a very high rainfall in winter and summer.
My garden slopes North to South, and faces dead South West so takes all of the prevalent incoming storms etc., and there is no shade or shelter. It is a case of trial and error.
Plants which have done well.
Restorias.
Ginger lilies.
Lavender.
Rosemary.
Yew.
Angels Fishing Rods.
Hostas.
Dianthus.
Day lilies
Crocosmia.
Shrubby salvias.
Amongst many others, but all in raised beds, which I think maybe is your main answer.
Like @Joyce Goldenlily has said it can take years of trial and error to work out what survives in the conditions you mention.
I have looked at Joyce's plant list but most of them won't grow in my soil. I do live further north which is an added consideration. Cotoneaster loves the summer but struggles in a wet winter and that is a tough plant .I will try to put together a list of possibles for you but there could be a high casulty rate!
Without amending it, the choices become virtually nil - only a few things will manage both extremes. The two @Nollie mentions - Eleagnus and Euonymous fortuneii certainly manage cold wet clay. How much drought, long term, they'd manage, I don't know.
The former would certainly help with shelter from wind. That's always worth doing.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
If you do want to thank anyone in particular, just use the technique I've used in my reply - @ followed by the name of the person. When you start typing the letters of the poster's name, choices will come up and you click on the relevant one.
Or just give a general thanks to everyone if you like. It's all fine.
More important to look after yourself.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Have fun!
I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
@Fairygirl I inherited my Eleagnus and it’s in unamended clay. It takes really hot, dry conditions, I never water it and it’s planted on a slope so doesn’t hold much rain either. If it can take cold and wet too that sounds an ideal large screening shrub for the OP.
https://www.bloomingartificial.co.uk/artificial-bay-bush-ball?variant=size_70cm|colour_green&gclid=CjwKCAiA9qKbBhAzEiwAS4yeDQbP152rBB-KWyngpxMSls2Cok-Ik__GfSXvyFKDEOVl6lgZw_ucHxoC8OMQAvD_BwE
They'll flourish all year round in those conditions
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border