I have just met a challenge - a garden just downhill of a natural spring and on clay soil. The garden slopes gradually towards the house and the lawn squelches underfoot at most times of the year." Flowers don't grow because of the cats", the owner informed me. I think this is unlikely and expect that the high hedges , natural land slope and high water table are greater problems. The soil is also alkaline. So what do we do?
1. Reduce the shade by cutting the hedges down from 3 metres to 2 metres. 2. Improve the soil and raise the beds by introducing wooden stepping and terraces. Before terracing, the clay needs to be broken up and compost added so that surface water can drain down instead of running across the compacted clay and taking the new compost with it. 3. Plant plants that like part shade or all shade, alkaline conditions and constant damp. These would include ferns and hostas, and ajuga at lowest levels, ox eye daisies and cranesbill geraniums at mid level and asters and chrysanthemums at the top of the slope, with English bluebells in the drier, shadier areas. 4. At the highest level, dig into the clay and create a pool that will act as a balancing area with a buried overflow pipe leading water to the hedge line which should reduce lawn flooding. 5. The base of the lawn is hard up against a concrete patio. It may be possible to dig back into the turf and create a running stream along the patio to the edge of the flower bed. This will depend on the water pressure and amount of rainfall. At any rate, filling this runnel with gravel or cobbles will allow added drainage for the lawn. It is important to ensure a good gradient to the flower bed to prevent run off onto the patio. By accepting the natural features, rather than fighting them, an exciting and unique garden can be developed. The owner has a liking for heathers which do not like her garden conditions. A semi-circular bed on the south facing side of the garden has therefore been raised and filled with ericaceous compost for acid loving plants but this will have to be fed with ericaceous plant feed to keep the heathers in a healthy state. Photos to follow once the planting is underway! Update We have success, the whole flower bed is now blooming! |