We have a brick built septic tank in our garden. In an attempt to hide the
various manhole covers and outlets I'd like to plant something on top of it.
I've dug up the lawn and there appears to be about 3/4 of a spades depth of
soil before I hit "something" which I assume is the tank. There was a tree
growing nearby so teh soil is full of roots. My plan was to plant something
like a group of Phormiums (N Zealand Flax) to sort of flop over the bits I
want to hide. Will they grow in this depth of rooty soil? Will they damage
the tank? Any other suggestions? (It is in the middle of a lawn in a north
facing garden but probably far enough away from the house to get some sun.)
TIA

--
Hayley
(gardening on well drained, alkaline clay in Somerset)

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You could consider deepening the bed by forming a raised bed. Build a wall with either treated timber e.g. railway sleepers, or building blocks or even a drystone wall.

I think I would go for smallish shrubs look in here for ideas; http://thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Mis...20location.htm

Quite often root depth is relative to plant height, hence the reason for me suggesting 'small shrubs'.

I would not select shrubs that require acidic/ericaceous conditions the cement in the tank will have probably raised the alkalinity of the area.

I hope this helps!