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New Build, New Garden
I brought a New Build house on Isle of Sheppey about 18 months ago and the back garden has nothing in it except for 3 small trees, which the builder planted, and some seed lawn (which I did mow last year). The ground is waterlogged at the moment, mainly caused by the new build next door, which was not there when I purchased. They created a mount and all the rain water now runs into my garden. So I need plants that will drink up the excess water, grow quickly, and provide colour, depth and interest. The area is very windy, particularly in winter. During the summer the garden is bathed in sun, some areas more than others but generally all the garden gets the sun. I have a gardening man coming to see me TOMORROW and I want to suggest some plants. I want a dense hedge around the garden. I would like some evergreen and other tress to add colour, I want a few fruit trees, and I want dense shrubs that will need very little attention other than pruning, etc. He suggested Purnus for the front garden hedge. I need plants that are big and will grow quickly, and will mitigate the winds. I am 60+ and cannot get about that much so need a garden plan not too labour intensive. The garden is about 60 ft x 60 ft. Can any of you help. Cat
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Provided it does not get too dry in summer , you could try dogwood for one or two of your shrubs. It is deciduous but provides winter interest with coloured bark. It grows fast and you can have plain green or gold or variegated leaves. The last (Cornus alba 'Elegantissima' is my favourite, though I am not always a fan of variegation. It has slightly smaller leaves than the others, prettily edged and splashed with creamy white. It brings life to dark shady corners and still has dark crimson twigs in winter. The brightest red is Cornus alba 'Sibirica', while 'Aurea' has golden leaves. Cornus sericea 'Flaviramea' has yellowy-green twigs and Cornus sanguinea 'Midwinter Fire' has red and orange ones. To keep the bright colours you have to prune them hard in late winter/early spring every one to three years. If you stagger this you will maintain the winter interest without losing all your shrub cover.
Weigela and Phildelphus are easy shrubs for early summer flowers, the first with pink or red flowers and choice of leaf colours (green, purple or variegated, though personally I prefer the flowers against plain green) and the second with wonderfully scented white flowers, either single or double. Height ranges from one to about three metres according to variety. Cotoneaster lacteus and 'Cornubia' (evergreen and semi-evergreen) have small white flowers in summer, (loved by bees) and brilliant berries in winter. Those of lacteus last better than most. These last two prefer drier soil though so may not work in your garden .
I think your first task would be to get the drainage of water from next door sorted. Is their mound a permanent feature or just temp while the building work is going on. If temp, then wait for the few months more or if permanent then they will have to resolve the run-off into your garden. That will then give you a better choice of plants to use and improve their survival chances.
As buttercup says, cornus is a fab shrub, i would also reccomend it. As with all of the above suggestions.
I wonder if escallonia would work where you live for a hedge, its a lovely flowering evergreen shrub, i saw it growing on the cost in north devon, so i dont think wind and an exposed site should be a problem.
How boggy is boggy? Are you able to walk on it? If its really bad, adding a small pond or even just a bog garden at the lowest point in your garden can really help.
There really is lots of choice, i know conifers are out of fasion, but some of the small ones can be really good to give evergreen structure, they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and need no care.
You say you want a hedge all around, please dint take this the wrong way, are you able/ willing to trim it, you could go for a range of climbers grown on wires, this would give you all kinds of options, there are evergreen honeysuckles and clematis large flowered, small flowered, literally anything that takes your fancy, with a little care over choice, they too would be almost maintainance free
As for fruit trees, that really depends on what you like to eat, most are really easy to look after, i saw some for under 4 quid at aldi today!
Hope you get it the way you like it, good luck
Betula Nigra, the river birch grows in wet soil http://www.deepdale-trees.co.uk/trees/2010/09-Betula-nigra.html but I don't know what size tree you are thinking of.
If you sort out the drainage problem, you can grow anything you fancy.
Maybe you can dig a trench around the edge of your garden, lay perforated piping cover with shingles/stones, and divert the water away. I have this type of drainage all around my patio, it works very well.
It's all very well choosing plants for a boggy garden, but in time your lawn will be covered in moss,not grow very well and eventually die.
Re the previous suggestion on escallonia - I wouldn't. I've just rooted out a very big and deep, cloud formation hedge which I had spent years sculpting and shaping. 3 years ago it succumbed to a disease that is escallonia specific and there's no cure - type in "escallonia diseases" and you'll get all the gen. It's recently arrived on the scene, and manifests itself by a massive leaf-drop. Look at the leaves and you'll see a black spot surrounded by a white circle. This spore thrives in mild damp conditions, The suggestion is that you chop it back by 2/3rds; clear out all the undergrowth litter and feed and water - there is no guarantee of success. It didn't work, 3 years later and I've put in pyracantha; I should have cut to the chase. So, avoid!