On 2009-05-14 12:33:10 +0100, Kate Brown said:

On Thu, 14 May 2009, Sacha wrote
On 2009-05-14 11:18:03 +0100, Kate Brown said:

Judith or David may have an idea, I hope others may as well!
In our little garden in France (Dordogne valley slopes, limestone
about five inches beneath the surface) we have roses, lavender, irises,
day lilies, michaelmas daisies, sage, all abundant. But there is one
bed where I can't seem to grow anything. It's about eighteen inches
deep and eight foot long, against a limestone drystone wall at the gate
of the garden. It faces southeast, but in the winter it's in shadow
from the building on the other side of the path. It gets sun from
about nine to three between April and September. It has quite a
slope. It's a dry bed and we can't get the irrigation system up there.
There's a well-established Kerria at the top end - and I can't get
anything else nice to grow there at all! Thistles, grasses, wild
clematis, and ivy grow with abandon. I've tried canna, which grow like
weeds elsewhere in the village, but the snails ate all the leaves and
they haven't come up at all this year. I sow nasturtiums, which
sprouted one year but not the next. This year I divided up a choked
iris bed and put in some rhizomes, but snails like eating their leaves
too, so I don't hope for much. I also put in some spare daffodil
bulbs, but we're rarely there early enough to enjoy them.
Any ideas? We're there again in June/beginning of July, and again end
of August, so anything that shows in May, June/July, or
August/September would be perfect. It has to be snail-repellent!
There's a page of photos here - the impossible bed is about ten down.
http://www.newcockaigne.demon.co.uk/photos/index.html

What a lovely place you have - lucky you! Had you thought of geraniums
- the cranesbills, not the pelargoniums. They tolerate most soils and
don't seem to troubled by pests. Some types don't miind a fair bit of
shade. One that we especially like is called Geranium Jolly Bee and it
flowers for ages here, well into October, spreading quickly into
sizeable mounds. You could try just one or two as an experiment this
year and then add more if it works.

that's a good idea, thank you Sacha - herb robert grows everywhere so
other cranesbills should too. As long as they're not blue - we have
blue ones here in Blackheath and are getting very fed up with them,
they are so prolific!

Try G. Ann Folkard - lovely magenta colour!
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Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Exotic plants, shrubs & perennials
South Devon