what to grow on the less sunny side of a wall
Native58
Posts: 46
Hi
I have a wall which is about 6' tall (sorry, still work things out in old money!). One side of it, the road side, is lovely and sunny for most of the day. The garden side of the wall is in shade from about mid-afternoon. What I need to do, is find something (or to be honest anything apart from the nettles and stickybuds) that will grow in this position. I think having the nettles means that the ground is fertile, but about an inch or so under the surface is a think layer of slate - it's a fairly new house, but the previous owners (ok, and me!) neglected the garden until it was full of weeds. Now I've been bitten by the gardening bug (ferocious great thing that it is) I really need help! I grew veg successfully last year and this year want to branch out into flowers as well. I've got loads of seed catalogues, and all they've done is confuse me even more!
thanks in bewilderment 
Posts
Sorry, should be a 'thick layer of slate' not a think layer!
Does that mean you only have an inch of topsoil? That's more of a problem than the shade. Either order a lorry load of topsoil or make some raised beds. How did you grow veg in 1 inch of soil?
Well as Busy has said you won't grow anything in an inch of topsoil. First thing is to dig down and remove as much of the rubbish as you can to a depth of at the very least a foot, more like 18 inches. Once you've done that you can start to make planting choices. Raised beds are an option, more expensive, but you can get depth that way. Another alternative is to put slabs down and grow in pots.
I'd decide on one of the above before thinking of any planting.