Thanks Hostafan1, I should have thought of that! Our neighbour has spotted 3 blackbirds in his garden recently, where as we didn't have any in the area last year. Hopefully they'll visit the garden and keep on top of the slugs.
This may seem like a really stupid question, but are the areas around the pond edge always damp? I've seen this written and advised many times, but I'm not sure if it's the case for the soil around our pond edge. Should I be doing something to improve it so that it's likely to be more damp? We do have clay soil, but the top layer tends to be more dry if anything.
I like Mexican Fleabane http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/erigeron-karvinskianus/classid.2751/ although I'm having trouble establishing it around my pond. I walk my dog near a stately home/garden with lovely rock walls along the river just covered in these and they are in bloom from May through October. I also have dry clay soil around my pond and I'm nervous about improving it as whenever I put any compost too near, it inevitably rains hard and runs into the water and makes it cloudy. I have some hardy geraniums and also some wild strawberries which will grow anywhere on the dry mound. Also some sedums. And my favourite groundcover plant is Veronica Georgia Blue http://lambley.com.au/plant/veronica-umbrosa-georgia-blue which is evergreen and has the bluest flowers! I've tried some of that near the pond as well. My "pond" is quite literally a bathtub though. Here is a picture after 2 years and it pretty much disappears in summer. (None of the plants I mentioned are too visible here. But you can see the purple loosestrife)
Thanks very much for your suggestions. I might try to work in some compost/manure, but will lean towards plants that are happy with dry soil. The Mexican Fleabane looks lovely, but I have already smashed above and beyond the 'only have 7 different plants in one space' recommendation. Although I'm not sure that everything has survived over the Winter. I'll have to keep it on a list in case I ever have space for it.
I do like sedums so will definitely be incorporating some of those.
It'll depend on whether I can source that exact variety of hosta I guess but I prefer the look of that one. Another one I was considering was the Hosta Albomarginata which looks very similar and I also liked the 'Devon Green'. I'm trying to stick to the idea that single varieties repeated will be a better design idea than lots of different types though.
The ferns are small varieties that are good for growing between rocks and I'll use the creeping thyme for the same. The maidenhair fern is also supposed to go well alongside hosta leaves so I will try to use those near the hostas too.
I then thought I might get a hebe to plant somewhere around the pond and bring the bergenias over to it as well. They are currently struggling on the north facing flowerbed. I'm hoping that all of that will give nice cover and interest around the edge of the pond.
I'm also thinking I should perhaps incorporate the same type of hosta in to my north facing flowerbed, which is currently in full shade and remains that way for most of Spring.
Posts
Thanks Hostafan1, I should have thought of that! Our neighbour has spotted 3 blackbirds in his garden recently, where as we didn't have any in the area last year. Hopefully they'll visit the garden and keep on top of the slugs.
Lucid
sprinkle " suet treats" about and the blackbirds will seek them out, and the slugs.
Hi everyone,
This may seem like a really stupid question, but are the areas around the pond edge always damp? I've seen this written and advised many times, but I'm not sure if it's the case for the soil around our pond edge. Should I be doing something to improve it so that it's likely to be more damp? We do have clay soil, but the top layer tends to be more dry if anything.
Lucid
I like Mexican Fleabane http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/erigeron-karvinskianus/classid.2751/ although I'm having trouble establishing it around my pond. I walk my dog near a stately home/garden with lovely rock walls along the river just covered in these and they are in bloom from May through October. I also have dry clay soil around my pond and I'm nervous about improving it as whenever I put any compost too near, it inevitably rains hard and runs into the water and makes it cloudy. I have some hardy geraniums and also some wild strawberries which will grow anywhere on the dry mound. Also some sedums. And my favourite groundcover plant is Veronica Georgia Blue http://lambley.com.au/plant/veronica-umbrosa-georgia-blue which is evergreen and has the bluest flowers! I've tried some of that near the pond as well. My "pond" is quite literally a bathtub though. Here is a picture after 2 years and it pretty much disappears in summer. (None of the plants I mentioned are too visible here. But you can see the purple loosestrife)
Hi Watery,
Thanks very much for your suggestions. I might try to work in some compost/manure, but will lean towards plants that are happy with dry soil. The Mexican Fleabane looks lovely, but I have already smashed above and beyond the 'only have 7 different plants in one space' recommendation. Although I'm not sure that everything has survived over the Winter. I'll have to keep it on a list in case I ever have space for it.
I do like sedums so will definitely be incorporating some of those.
Lucid
A slight update in that I think I've finally chosen what to put around the pond edge. I think I'm going to go with:
It'll depend on whether I can source that exact variety of hosta I guess but I prefer the look of that one. Another one I was considering was the Hosta Albomarginata which looks very similar and I also liked the 'Devon Green'. I'm trying to stick to the idea that single varieties repeated will be a better design idea than lots of different types though.
The ferns are small varieties that are good for growing between rocks and I'll use the creeping thyme for the same. The maidenhair fern is also supposed to go well alongside hosta leaves so I will try to use those near the hostas too.
I then thought I might get a hebe to plant somewhere around the pond and bring the bergenias over to it as well. They are currently struggling on the north facing flowerbed. I'm hoping that all of that will give nice cover and interest around the edge of the pond.
I'm also thinking I should perhaps incorporate the same type of hosta in to my north facing flowerbed, which is currently in full shade and remains that way for most of Spring.
Lucid