Long thin border planting

InBloom · 18 February

I'd like to hear other people's ideas for a long thin border on the patio please. It's had heuchera, convolvulus, allium, but over the years things have given up and it looks like it needs replanting.

It's heavy clay. When it rains it gets wet and stays wet. Convolvulus didn't like it and most of the alliums seem to have rotted too now. It's south facing but doesn't get the sun all day in the summer because of shade cast by other things. It does get a fair bit of sunlight though.

The theme of the garden was originally meant to be purples and silver. We've lost that a bit because of the growing conditions. But i would like to keep it that way ideally.

It's about 12' long and 1' / 2.5' wide, wider at one end than the other. I'd like to do a simple repeating design.

Euonymus I'm thinking of removing. Heuchera id like in there again but the palace purple I'd like to dig up and replace with a different one. I'm trying to decide what is likely to survive before buying things.

These sorts of things I've seen and liked

Echinacea won't grow in our soil not sure if there's something similar which will. Sedum I think can tolerate clay (?) Grasses I've never grown any before in the garden. But maybe something needed between for a bit of height?

It'd be nice to hear some suggestions and ideas. I always seem to plant the same things.

Fairygirl · 18 February

If you want the plants you've pictured, you'll need to seriously alter the state of the soil - most of those need very good drainage and decent amounts of sun.
Heucheras are fine as they don't mind wet, clay - I even grow some in the pond edges, and Carexes are also fine with damp feet when in a sunny site, but most grasses aren't so happy with that. Convolvulus don't reliably return here anyway, even if they're in a good site, so your location comes into that. Alliums will be fine if the drainage is right, but some are easier than others too.

Clay is the best growing medium, but you'll need to add loads and loads of organic matter to help with the drainage if you want those plants. In addition to that, if you're in a colder, wetter area of the country, they may still struggle. As it's a small space, you may want to fork out for masses of grit or fine gravel to mix in, but organic matter is the best method. You'd need deep pockets for the grit, because it takes toms to make any real difference, compared with manure/compost etc.

It's perfectly possible to have the Sedum spec. pictured [now called Hylotelephium] if the soil's improved, but also bear in mind that many photographs don't always represent the reality. They're done for effect, and often those plants might not grow well together in real life. Most of those in that 2nd pic are going to struggle when that pine grows a bit more

Busy-Lizzie · 18 February

I agree with @Fairygirl. Clay soil is better when lots of compost is dug in and if you want better drainage you can even remove some of the really heavy stuff at the bottom. Have a look at the thread by @GardenerSuze https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1075989/gardener-suzes-new-oap-garden/p1

InBloom · 18 February

I've got a bag of sand spare. Can that be dug in? It's just sharp sand. I think everything will end up coming out of the border and slates off anyway.

It's had compost and shredded leaves dug in over the years but I'll be honest it's not made so much difference.

If some of these plants won't work are there any suggestions for something in similar colours which would prefer the soil?

amancalledgeorge · 18 February

With the available space being so tight...I would just make a lovely couple of pots and put them there. When you consider the footing of that patio how much actual soil is there to play with? In a pot you can make the medium as free draining you need too.

InBloom · 18 February

Hi I'm wanting to plant it up again, not pots it's 12' long. The soil is actually quite deep. The patio was only installed last year, the concrete doesn't go under the soil in any way.

Busy-Lizzie · 18 February

Another point to consider is that plants don't like to be too close to a fence or a wall, it's often rather dry there, a rain shadow. But then you say it's wet so maybe the rain shadow is the other side of the fence.

Fairygirl · 18 February

Unless you're adding lots and lots of organic matter, and giving that adequate time to work, it won't be suitable for planting anything that likes really good drainage for quite some time. I'd avoid sand - it's easy to have the wrong type, and even sand that's described as sharp sand, often isn't coarse enough to be of any use.
You'd either have to wait, and spend more time amending the soil, or use planting that doesn't mind heavier conditions. If you opt for the latter, it would also have to be planting that can cope with being drier in summer, unless you're in a wet enough area, and the border faces the prevailing weather enough to stay moist.
Many Campanulas will cope with sunny sites if they're damp enough at their feet, for example. The fact that Heucheras are happy suggests the soil's staying moister. If the soil's wet, they cope with quite a lot of sun. The sibirica and ensata Irises would be fine [not bearded Irises]. There are lots of varieties available, and many online nurseries stock them. They not so commonly available in GCs. Those would give height, without too much width. Polemoniums [Jacob's Ladder] will also work, and Astilbes if the ground doesn't dry out.
Good old hardy geraniums would be fine for a lower growing companion - again hundreds of varieties readily available. All those plants come in white, which would be a reasonable alternative to the silver you want, and there are varying shades of blues/purples with many of them too. The foliage on Heucheras comes in loads of colours, so the purple could come from those if nothing else. Ajuga is another plant with purple foliage. Hellebores will do fine - loads of colours available too.
They all work very well with spring bulbs, and most daffs are fine in damper conditions. You could add lilies for summer. Bluebells and snowdrops will also manage, especially if there's a little shade at the time they're growing, and through summer, so it'll depend on whether there's anything around to offer that. Evergreen planting will do that job well.
You'd have to judge how much room there is for a variety of plants, but a mix of heights and lower growing/groundcovering plants will give the best effect.

amancalledgeorge · 18 February

InBloom said:

Hi I'm wanting to plant it up again, not pots it's 12' long. The soil is actually quite deep. The patio was only installed last year, the concrete doesn't go under the soil in any way.

Shame the patio didn't go all the way to the fence and alleviate the design problem you're left with. Hope you can solve the drainage issues.

Loxley · 18 February

Unless you have TONS of it, adding sharp sand doesn't help as much as you'd think (organic matter is much more effective at opening up the soil). Won't hurt though! But you're best off with plants that like, or cope with clay soil.

Ridge up the soil to create a long mound along the border (incorporating organic matter as you go), and the crown of that mound will be a bit better drained. It will probably help if you plant rather shallowly, but mulch deeply (with something like composted bark fines or green waste). So the crowns of plants are sitting slightly proud of the soil in the mulch layer rather than deeply in the cold wet clay.

To give the effect shown in your photos, you could try the following, in repeating groups. In most cases you are probably best looking for smaller, more compact varieties.

Hardy geraniums
Phlox
Campanula
Astrantia
Bergenia
Sedum "Matrona"
Persicaria "Pink Elephant" (a truly compact and refined variety)

Grasses: it would be worth trying Pennisetum "Hamelin", Sesleria autumnalis, and Luzula nivea. They will be a bit sensitive to wet, so try and plant them on the highest parts of the mound, and a little shallowly. Miscanthus and Calamagrostis are fairly wet-tolerant but can be a bit large (there are some fairly dwarf miscanthus though).

InBloom · 18 February

Thank you @Fairygirl for the suggestions. I'll think my way through them.

@amancalledgeorge we had the patio installed that way because we wanted to keep the existing border, rather than it being a a problem that it's there. It had already been in place for years and it gives some nice colour and interest, but it does need replanting and a bit of a rethink. It's rained so much this winter there's other plants we've lost as well further down the garden.

The alliums which were in were always covered in bees so nice to see when sitting up there

Long thin border planting

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