On 16/07/2012 17:24, chrisjpotts wrote:
Hello

We moved three years ago to the North Cheshire area and included in our new garden is an area which has been left wild. It grew nothing but Himalayan Balsam up to ten feet high. We are in the process of taming this area, which includes a ditch with one south facing side very steep and the other side relatively shallow sloped. The steep side is patchedly covered in ivy with a few Foxgloves after the balsam has been removed, with bare areas which are obviouly going to erode. We would like to plant something on this bank, firstly to retain the soil, and secondly to provide some colour and/or foliage interest. The soil is light sandy loam.

Thanks for any advice,

Chris


A plant that seems to have gone out of favour is Polygonum affine,
http://www.gardensandplants.com/uk/p...?plant_id=2362
I like the way that the flower heads start out pink and mature to red
and remain in colour for a couple of months, and the plant goes on
flowering.
I remember that they planted up a long bank outside the Olympic stadium
in Rome in 1960, and it survived the Italian summer,
I've grown it and once you have it it propagates easily from cuttings or
self rooted bits.
David @ the (for once) rain free end of Swansea Bay.