Epimedium perralderianum works as I had it under leylandii for many years. Do water it initially to help it get settle in and spread. The flowers are not very exciting but have a certain charm. The leaves stay green you can cut them off in spring just before it flowers if you like. But the spring foliage is lovely.
Ferns. Asplenium scolopendrium (Harts tongue fern) are nice and will do okay in a dry position. But if you give it a little water especially when the new fronds are forming if it is dry no rain, then you will get lush new evergreen fronds. It looks good with a whole little gang of them and once established will spread and the clumps get really big and impressive when they get older. We even have some growing on fairly dry but north, north west walls here. But it is a good doer and will grow less lushly but still grow in that kind of position. So easy
Try Polystichums (ferns) they are winter green and will manage too with a dry-ish position, but if you can occasionally water, mulch give a little care to start off with , they will do okay. And the bonus is if you get one or two, you can propagate them by taking a frond and either peg it down so it has contact with soil keep watered or damp, it will make babies along the frond you can cut up into little sections and grow on.
We have Polystichum setiferum divisilobum and P.s.d. plumosum group which is a much divided one, it is really pretty. And they can with a little care and soil improvement of a little compost grow quite large. Ours are mostly in a shady bed under a yew tree and have been for many years.
Edited to add re @Buttercupdays suggestion, the snowdrops look good peeking out from the edge of a Harts tongue fern. We also have Epimedium Lilafee close by. This one is not evergreen but the early new foliage has a purple hint that is nice with the fern. Edited part deux
Solomans seal (Polygonatum) has managed fairly admirably, to colonize in small clumps here. GardenerSuze said:
On the positive you will find out a lot about gardening in dry shade and it's challenges. These include always having to water in dry spells.
@Rubytoo Has given some great ideas. Dry shade planting under leylandii is a challenge. Condition of the soil and size of the trees can mean that success varies from garden to garden. The stronger growing Epimediums are best.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
With a bit of watering, I'd think alpine strawberries maybe also worth a try at the front of the bed, they will eventually spread and look beautiful plus the berries are a tasty snack when doing work 🤣 I have them under my very old apple tree and they are delightful.
Thank you all so much, for all the great suggestions.
I checked with digging the soil and it's pretty good, I can dig down a good way and the soil seems OK, though I know the leylandii will have sucked nutrients.
This is my plan at the moment, though it might well change. I realise there is a risk that the plants won't take very well but at least if they could spread a bit and provide some greenery that would be good.
1. Epimedium in the area under the trees in the photo below (this is the left side of the entire area):
There is not much vertical room in this area, so I if them growing to a height of 30-45cm would be too much, but hopefully it should be OK. The picture above makes the height look less than it is. I was kind of wondering if cyclamen would be better as they are lower to the ground, but it sounds from what you are saying that epimedium would grow/spread better.
Questions would be:
- There are so many epimediums to choose from, in all different colours! Should I go with the Epimedium perralderianum, is this the best one and easiest to grow, nicest looking?
- If I am buying 9cm epimediums in pots (found a place where I can buy in multiples for good price), how many do I need to plant in that area, and how far apart do I plant them?
- When should I buy & plant them, can I do it now?
2. Ferns in the area directly in front of the trees to the right:
... and next to the trees lining the path to the shed:
I think polystichum polyblepharum looks lovely, and I do love ferns.
Similar questions would be:
- How many 9cm pots would I need? (again found a place where I can bulk buy for good price)
- When can I plant them?
Behind those trees in the second picture I am thinking of clearning the periwinkle vines. I checked and they are coming in from the neighbour through/under the fence. I think they are looking messy, and they've never flowered. So behind the trees next to the fence I think I might just weed it and keep it clear - this area tends to stay bare apart from that periwinkle. Not sure yet though about clearing them.
3. Then there is extra space in front of those trees on the right where I'm putting ferns directly in front of them (photo 2 in this post), a flat area that has been weeded and will fill up again with weeds if I don't do something. I was thinking about putting Geranium Psilostemon in this area and hoping it spreads and maybe flowers. Or maybe there is some very low-lying carpet-like green plant I could put there to spread? (instead of grass)
4. Then next spring, I love the idea of getting some snowdrops and bluebells in the green (I'm guessing this means already grown in pots?), and putting them in that half metre wide strip either side of the path and leading up to it.
Also I looked for anything else in the garden I could transplant:
Loads of foxgloves as mentioned earlier (I have to thin them anyway), though I don't know how much they'd like that drier poorer soil as they would have to be put in front of the trees to the right (second photo in above post). I have a different shaded flowerbed that has rich moist soil I was going to put the thinned out ones into.
Granny's bonnet (on the right in the photo below), got quite a few spare babies being produced:
Geranium with blue flowers (on the left in photo above), though not quite sure how it would transport. It seems like one big plant with clumps, quite established so maybe the roots are tangled together I don't know.
It says "Hybrids such as E. x perralchicum, E. pinnatum subsp. colchicum, E. x rubrum, E. x warleyense and E. x versicolor seem to be particularly durable in very dry sites". I am still learning about which ones spread which is want I want, and which ones clump and stay put which I want to avoid (thank you @Rubytoo !)
That geranium should transplant easily … you’ll probably find that it has lots of offsets you can separate. It’ll do it good and invigorate the main plant too. 😊
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Thanks, @Dovefromabove! Do you think it might do OK in the area circled below? There used to be grass there, and now weeds grow which have just been pulled. It never gets direct sunlight, but it's not dark shade, there is light there. The soil is somewhat dry I think.
I find that most hardy geraniums will grow almost anywhere.
If you can get hold of some Ger. ‘ingwerswn’s Variety’ … it’s a really good do-er and it’ll be perfect for that spot. It holds onto its leaves in the autumn/winter and also has good autumn colour and the foliage is beautifully aromatic https://www.burncoose.co.uk/site/plants.cfm?pl_id=1970
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Just got back from chasing a cat, and spraying citronella where he was about to do his business . I'm going to reframe it as high intensity interval training. I will be glad when these areas are grown over though.
That looks like a really good plant and I like aromatic foliage a lot, I will look out for it.
Posts
Do water it initially to help it get settle in and spread.
The flowers are not very exciting but have a certain charm.
The leaves stay green you can cut them off in spring just before it flowers if you like. But the spring foliage is lovely.
And similarly.
https://www.penlanperennials.co.uk/plant/shade-and-woodland-plants/epimedium-x-perralchicum-frohnleiten/
Ferns.
Asplenium scolopendrium (Harts tongue fern) are nice and will do okay in a dry position. But if you give it a little water especially when the new fronds are forming if it is dry no rain, then you will get lush new evergreen fronds. It looks good with a whole little gang of them and once established will spread and the clumps get really big and impressive when they get older.
We even have some growing on fairly dry but north, north west walls here.
But it is a good doer and will grow less lushly but still grow in that kind of position.
So easy
Try Polystichums (ferns) they are winter green and will manage too with a dry-ish position, but if you can occasionally water, mulch give a little care to start off with , they will do okay.
And the bonus is if you get one or two, you can propagate them by taking a frond and either peg it down so it has contact with soil keep watered or damp, it will make babies along the frond you can cut up into little sections and grow on.
We have Polystichum setiferum divisilobum and P.s.d. plumosum group which is a much divided one, it is really pretty. And they can with a little care and soil improvement of a little compost grow quite large.
Ours are mostly in a shady bed under a yew tree and have been for many years.
Edited to add re @Buttercupdays suggestion, the snowdrops look good peeking out from the edge of a Harts tongue fern.
We also have Epimedium Lilafee close by.
This one is not evergreen but the early new foliage has a purple hint that is nice with the fern.
Edited part deux
Solomans seal (Polygonatum) has managed fairly admirably, to colonize in small clumps here.
GardenerSuze said: I would say often...
And mulch mulch mulch.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
https://www.burncoose.co.uk/site/plants.cfm?pl_id=1970
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.