"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 6 Sep 2005 18:17:30 +0100, "JP" wrote:

I recently filled my pond in and I'm left with a lovely south facing warm
very dry free draining bed about 17 ft by 9ft. (the pond liner is pierced
and bags of sand in the bottom topped with good topsoil.) I'm now looking
to
fill it with low growing plants nothing more than 2-3ft.

Several years ago I saw in a book a wonderful plant design for a similar
dry
bed, but can't remember the books title. I wonder if anyone can suggest a
suitable design book Failing that suitable plants, or web sites, or even
best of all a garden centre with suitable collections.

I've had no luck searching on the web , or in the local library.

What you've done fits almost exactly the design of a bog garden, as
described in the RHS handbook on ponds and water features, viz. a
saucer-shaped depression about 2ft deep lined with a pond liner
perforated with a garden fork, and then gravel and finally top soil
added.

You may find it not as dry as you think, and may end up looking at bog
plants: candelabra and other primulas, trollius europaeus (globe
flower), perennial lobelias (l. Queen Victoria, l. tupa, l. x gerardii
Vedrariensis), iris (i.kaempferi and i.siberica), astilbe, gunnera,
hosta, marsh marigold (caltha), arum (zantedeschia) etc.


Thanks Chris, I've got that book.
There are some very fundamental differences to the bog garden in the RHS
book. So, I'm pretty sure it will be dry, at the deepest part it is over 4ft
deep with steep sides. At the bottom its got sand in bags again with lots
of room between them, to a depth of around 2 feet. Lots of room for any
water to quickly escape, through the many holes. Then tons and tons of
topsoil. Even after recent heavy rains the soil is bone dry. Also as there's
been a pond there for 10 years so the area under the liner will be very dry
too.

I got given the name of Beth Chatto so I'll be looking at her mediterranean
garden.