The Shade Border

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Well once again it’s been a while (although I have been lurking in the background). I really should get back into posting more often.

We’ve got a busy year ahead again. We’ve finally got to the point where the front garden can be ripped out and that should be happening end of May – beginning of June. I’ve got a company to come and do the heavy lifting (including removing the tree – shame but it’s too big, I keep expecting it to knock next doors chimney off) and put in a new path – sloped not steps and wider so I can get the bins up and down a bit easier. But the rest is up to us. Mares tail in the front so we’ll be back to digging again, oh joy of joys. As well as that I’m planning a wedding. After 9 years together we’re finally tying the knot! Wedding is planned for next March/April. I must be mad doing all this at once lol.

Anyway to the point. Yesterday I popped out for a “couple of hours”, (lol more like six or seven) to have a go at the shade border. It was getting a bit overgrown and was looking a bit shabby

Plus there was a grass I’d planted about 18 months ago that had taken over and was growing through pretty much everything else. So I dug the whole border up. Lifted everything out, dug the grass out the plants (I hope) and gave the border a good going over. I may have widened the border a tad as well lol – still tempted to dig it wider lol (it’s a sickness I’m sure lol)

After much digging lifting and moving I’ve ended up with a big gap :-)

I like gaps, you can have lots of fun filling them with plants.

At the moment, there is:
Clematis Freckles
Clematis Rouge Cardinal (planted yesterday)
Clematis Princess Diana
2 Aquilegia McKanna
Bergenia Cordiolia
Dicentra – Bleeding Heart
Drumstick Primula or Primula vialii (I did have both but it looks like a lost one, just not sure which one yet)
Dryopteris Felix-mas
2 Erythronium Pagoda
Geum Eos
Hardy Fuchsia (not sure which one – it came from my neighbour)
Hellebore (can’t remember which one)
Hosta June
Iris Sibirica Dreaming Yellow
Japanese Painted Fern
Daffodils

Now to decide what to add to my gaps. The border is in pretty much full shade as its close to our north facing house wall. In mid summer it does get a couple of hours of direct sun, but that’s about it. The soil isn’t too bad in there now, thanks to a fair amount of soil improver, but it can be a bit on the dry side in places. Still it can’t be too bad as the Hosta seems happy enough.

I’m not certain what to add yet, but I’ve got a Campanula Glomerata in a pot on the patio that I’ve been thinking of moving anyway. Other than that I’d like to add some winter and spring interest to the border. So perhaps something like wood anemones, tulips, daffodils, primroses and either a huchera or tiarella (or both lol). Any suggestions?

On a separate note we appear to have acquired a lodger at the bottom of our garden:

Apparently he’s the tipsy pixy lol :-) (very tipsy seeing as I can’t seem to get the photo to stand straight lol)

• 20 Apr, 2017
• 4 likes

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