Cottage garden borders
Sue Akehurst
Posts: 17
I despair!!!! Have spent a few days clearing some of the forget me nots from my herbaceous cottage border to find, yet again, that nothing is underneath. So devastated. Over the last few years I have put in all the lovely plants, - astrantia, alstromeria, geranium, fuchsia, delphinium, lupins, geranium, salvias, iris and more I can't remember. But every year I have to replace them. It is now difficult as I am retired and money is tight. If slugs are eating shoots they have very expensive tastes and gourmet dining, so I try to put slug pellets down early March. But again no plants left this year. Please, anyone of you lovely people here can advise me, or suggest bomb proof herbaceous/cottage garden plants that I can plant this year that I might find growing this time next Spring!!!!!!! My colour scheme is whites, blues, purples and pinks. Hope you can all help me. Thanks in anticipation.
Posts
Sue if you google slug resistant plants there's a list there, although I'd disagree with some suggestions. Wyevale garden centre and other suppliers are mentioned as well. It would be worth treating your soil with nematodes asap as it significantly reduces the slug population. That way it gives plants time to establish before the slugs can destroy them. Established plants fare far better than newly planted.
No.1 for me is definitely Nepeta (cat mint) - Walkers Low or Six Hills Giant. Pretty blue flowers over a long period and a second flush if you cut it back. Very slug resistant perennial great for cottage gardens and re-appears every year in my tough parts of the garden. It likes free draining soil and sun or part shade. Bees love it (o and cats!).
Other good ones:
Lady's mantle (but yellow), sedums (pink). Good for spring and autumn flowering respectively.
Campanulas and penstemon are available in blue or pink or white and together will cover summer to Autumn.
Verbena bonariensis is pink and talk and great for the back.
All the above show slug resistance in my garden.
In relation to why you have problems, worth checking the plants you are using or choose to buy now are 100% suitable for the soil and conditions? Also, unfortunately some of your suggestions above are liked by slugs and snails so you may need to give up on the lupins and delphiniums. If your soil is wet and clay like you will find life easier with slug resistant plants. And will need to pick plants for your soil conditions.
Thanks for all your help so far. Nematodes is a good idea, will research that but I just need to have my beautiful garden now on a budget as I am retired and cant keep replacing plants. Darren _ yes I have a cat and a dog but they are trained not to go on my borders. My soil is lovely, as in what every one would want, soft and crumbly. Been left to stinging nettles before I took over in 2007. I would have thought everything would grow apart from the usual problems of hydrangea and rhodi'es. Like nepeta, campanulas and pentstemon - haven't tried those.THanks so much for your help so far.
So growing resistant plants is probably the only answer
Thanks Darren, never thought of that. But my little cat has been taught not to chase birds as I love them. On Thursday I had a robin and a blackbird beside me and I kept giving the blackbird worms I dug up even though I wanted them for my garden!!!!!! Briar is very good, I say NO and she leaves them alone, will even sit beside me while I garden and watch them, must admit paw is always poised but as soon as I say No she gives up. So I dont think that is the problem but I appreciate the thought and will watch more closely now.
Hiya! I have this problem too, and as we have hedgehogs in the garden I won't use slug pellets. I've found these plants grow fine and the slugs don't eat them here: Scabious, fox and cubs (orange hawkweed), salvia hot lips, borage, alliums, roses, evening primrose, foxgloves, geums, lungwort, heathers, meadowsweet, lavatera, sedums and most herbs like thyme, rosemary, lavender, wintersavory, lemon balm, chives, etc.
Slugs eat my sedums but they just about survive although s bit holey.
It was suggested to me to put a product called Strulch around the new plants coming up like aster, lupins, phlox etc, which I've done and it appears to have worked other than on one lupin where I'm sure a slug crawled up a bluebell leaf and got to it from there...
Good luck, it is very soul destroying to see something you work so hard on and love ruined.
This has been a very bad year for me too Sue with slug and snail damage on some of my prized plants. My bearded irises and hemerocallus have been under attack all spring and I've had to resort to slug pellets to save them. Usually my evening snip snip routine is enough. I have never seen slugs go for any of my hardy geraniums and l have many different varieties so l would recommend these ...Mavis Simpson, pink, vigorous , Brookside, bright blue, more compact, Roxanne, blue with a lighter eye, Wargrave Pink, peachy pink . These flower for me all summer long and the bees love them. Sue , nearly all of these l have got from fetes, ( school or church) or plant stalls at gardens l visit that have been opened for charity. Do you have any keen gardening neighbours you could get some freebies from?
Thanks Peanut and lilysilly (love your name) - no I wouldn't like to ask neighbours!!!! A bit too shy. I had hardy geraniums but have lost those too. I am really at a loss. I will try them again though, what about mid height plants??????