On 9/1/08 12:22, in article ,
"Eddy" wrote:

Sacha wrote:
Try the giant rhubarb, the inedible one! Gunnera manicata
http://tinyurl.com/2rd8mr

Some Gunnera Manicatas would look great, Sacha. But how deeply do the
roots grow? They're not evergreen, are they? They'ld be something that
the frost would turn to "cabbage", wouldn't they?

I've been mooching about in Google this morning, and until you suggested
Gunneras it seemed that ornamental grass is the only safe option. Stuff
I've been reading this morning has made me start to worry about the
roots of three large ornamental cherries on the edge of my
leach--plain/soakaway.

Eddy.


Very unlikely, we think. My stepson had to dig out a Gunnera this year
because a drain had become blocked and then having removed the Gunnera, he
discovered that the true culprit was a tree that was many yards away. The
Gunnera was quite innocent. They're very dramatic plants and real talking
points. No, they're not ever-green but in cold areas people just bend the
fading branches over the crown to give winter protection, or put straw over
them.
Charlie's idea of tree ferns is excellent, IMO. They look good in groups or
singly but are quite expensive and grow exceedingly slowly, so you would
need to get the biggest you can afford and from a reputable source. In
summer water them from the top so that the fronds are kept moist. Perhaps
you could plant the truly beautiful shuttlecock ferns there, too. Matteuccia
struthiopteris is its proper name and I look forward to seeing ours emerge
every winter. Blechnum spicant is another fern and I think that's
evergreen.
I don't dislike grasses but personally, I think they're a bit 'overdone'
these days and are just beginning to lose popularity a little. They're used
in a lot of municipal planting, so I wonder if there is too much of that
association in the public's mind, perhaps.

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'