No that's not how people describe me! Its the state of part of my garden.
What kinds of flowers/shrubs/plants tolerate or even prefer these
conditions? I'm looking for something that's colourful, pretty and can take
care of it self (sort of like Wonder Woman!)
It must like wet soil and the occasional glimpse of the sun.

thanks
homer

homer wrote in message
...
No that's not how people describe me! Its the state of part of my garden.
What kinds of flowers/shrubs/plants tolerate or even prefer these
conditions? I'm looking for something that's colourful, pretty and can
take
care of it self (sort of like Wonder Woman!)
It must like wet soil and the occasional glimpse of the sun.

thanks
homer
Ferns and mosses. Head to the local library for the gardening design books.

"homer" wrote in
:

No that's not how people describe me! Its the state of part of my
garden. What kinds of flowers/shrubs/plants tolerate or even prefer
these conditions? I'm looking for something that's colourful, pretty
and can take care of it self (sort of like Wonder Woman!)
It must like wet soil and the occasional glimpse of the sun.

Is your garden damp because it rains a lot and there isn't much sun to dry
things off, or damp because the water doesn't run away?

My garden has a lot of shady and damp, being on the north side of a foggy
river valley, but is also quite well-drained, so rather different plants
are needed to a bog garden where there is standing water close to the
surface.

Some of the creeping campanulas like shady and damp. Look for anything
described as 'invasive'. Bluebells, if not absolutely sodden and boggy.
Primulas like damp, if you have somewhere that gets maybe an hour or so of
sun.

For bright colour in deep shade, consider impatiens - they aren't winter
hardy, but you can get a batch of them very cheaply in the spring, let them
flower very cheerfully right through the summer, then let them die off.

I prefer to have all one colour which for some reason is hard to get hold
of so I propagate mine from cuttings, but if you don't mind a colour mix,
most nurseries /garden centres sell them as cheap and easy bedding.

Oh, if it's a bit wild down there, get some red campion seed and sprinkle.
Great stuff: very tolerant of damp and shade and one of the few pink
flowers I'll tolerate. Could also try Ragged Robin (also available in
white.)

Victoria

"homer" wrote in
:

No that's not how people describe me! Its the state of part of my
garden. What kinds of flowers/shrubs/plants tolerate or even prefer
these conditions? I'm looking for something that's colourful, pretty
and can take care of it self (sort of like Wonder Woman!)
It must like wet soil and the occasional glimpse of the sun.

Is your garden damp because it rains a lot and there isn't much sun to dry
things off, or damp because the water doesn't run away?

My garden has a lot of shady and damp, being on the north side of a foggy
river valley, but is also quite well-drained, so rather different plants
are needed to a bog garden where there is standing water close to the
surface.

Some of the creeping campanulas like shady and damp. Look for anything
described as 'invasive'. Bluebells, if not absolutely sodden and boggy.
Primulas like damp, if you have somewhere that gets maybe an hour or so of
sun.

For bright colour in deep shade, consider impatiens - they aren't winter
hardy, but you can get a batch of them very cheaply in the spring, let them
flower very cheerfully right through the summer, then let them die off.

I prefer to have all one colour which for some reason is hard to get hold
of so I propagate mine from cuttings, but if you don't mind a colour mix,
most nurseries /garden centres sell them as cheap and easy bedding.

Oh, if it's a bit wild down there, get some red campion seed and sprinkle.
Great stuff: very tolerant of damp and shade and one of the few pink
flowers I'll tolerate. Could also try Ragged Robin (also available in
white.)

Victoria

In article , homer
writes
No that's not how people describe me! Its the state of part of my garden.

Lovely! Lots of things will grow there in lush abundance - go for
variation of colour of leaves, and you will have a garden that looks
good all the year round, with flowers popping up at different seasons to
brighten it. Yellows, whites and pinks are easy to find, reds are a bit
more difficult, so think of something like Euphorbia griffithsii
'fireglow' which has bright orange bracts over a long season.

What kinds of flowers/shrubs/plants tolerate or even prefer these
conditions? I'm looking for something that's colourful, pretty and can take
care of it self (sort of like Wonder Woman!)

Have a look at the shade FAQ for specific plants

--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

In article , homer
writes
No that's not how people describe me! Its the state of part of my garden.

Lovely! Lots of things will grow there in lush abundance - go for
variation of colour of leaves, and you will have a garden that looks
good all the year round, with flowers popping up at different seasons to
brighten it. Yellows, whites and pinks are easy to find, reds are a bit
more difficult, so think of something like Euphorbia griffithsii
'fireglow' which has bright orange bracts over a long season.

What kinds of flowers/shrubs/plants tolerate or even prefer these
conditions? I'm looking for something that's colourful, pretty and can take
care of it self (sort of like Wonder Woman!)

Have a look at the shade FAQ for specific plants

--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

The message
from "homer" contains these words:

No that's not how people describe me! Its the state of part of my garden.
What kinds of flowers/shrubs/plants tolerate or even prefer these
conditions?

Have you seen the shade-plants FAQ? The weekly abc post will direct
you to it.

Janet

The message
from "homer" contains these words:

No that's not how people describe me! Its the state of part of my garden.
What kinds of flowers/shrubs/plants tolerate or even prefer these
conditions?

Have you seen the shade-plants FAQ? The weekly abc post will direct
you to it.

Janet

On Mon, 5 Apr 2004 12:57:21 +0100, homer wrote:

No that's not how people describe me! Its the state of part of my garden.
What kinds of flowers/shrubs/plants tolerate or even prefer these
conditions? I'm looking for something that's colourful, pretty and can take
care of it self (sort of like Wonder Woman!)
It must like wet soil and the occasional glimpse of the sun.

A favorite local spot of mine for appreciating nature is a damp
woodland along the Robertson River, always damp, flooded in
winter. A few of the plants that grow there have garden
potential. Among them:

--a moisture loving veratrum. I can't tell you if it's V. viride
or V. californicum. The leaves are quite amazing pleated affairs
when they start to emerge in spring, though once they mature
they're no great shakes.

--Erythronium revolutum (pink fawn lily; most western
erythroniums prefer drier, sunnier positions)

--Asarum caudatum (so-called wild ginger, sprawling mats of large
leaves; there's a patch of it nearly half an acre in extent)

--Rubus spectabilis (the salmon berry; there is a double-flowered
form)

--Viola glabella (yellow violet)

--various Vaccinium species

--Trillium ovatum (a white trillium; many trilliums are moisture
lovers)

You can get seeds of these from the seed exchange run by the
Alpine Garden Club of British Columbia, and seeds of them are
often donated to exchanges of the Alpine Garden Society and the
Scottish Rock Garden Club. Look for wild-collected seeds in
particular, and pay attention to the situs of the collection.



There is also a wide range of plants currently being introduced
from China that seem to prefer fairly damp conditions; my
experience has been that they rapidly decline and die in
summer-dry positions.


--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
[change "atlantic" to "pacific" and
"invalid" to "net" to reply by email]

On Mon, 5 Apr 2004 12:57:21 +0100, homer wrote:

No that's not how people describe me! Its the state of part of my garden.
What kinds of flowers/shrubs/plants tolerate or even prefer these
conditions? I'm looking for something that's colourful, pretty and can take
care of it self (sort of like Wonder Woman!)
It must like wet soil and the occasional glimpse of the sun.

A favorite local spot of mine for appreciating nature is a damp
woodland along the Robertson River, always damp, flooded in
winter. A few of the plants that grow there have garden
potential. Among them:

--a moisture loving veratrum. I can't tell you if it's V. viride
or V. californicum. The leaves are quite amazing pleated affairs
when they start to emerge in spring, though once they mature
they're no great shakes.

--Erythronium revolutum (pink fawn lily; most western
erythroniums prefer drier, sunnier positions)

--Asarum caudatum (so-called wild ginger, sprawling mats of large
leaves; there's a patch of it nearly half an acre in extent)

--Rubus spectabilis (the salmon berry; there is a double-flowered
form)

--Viola glabella (yellow violet)

--various Vaccinium species

--Trillium ovatum (a white trillium; many trilliums are moisture
lovers)

You can get seeds of these from the seed exchange run by the
Alpine Garden Club of British Columbia, and seeds of them are
often donated to exchanges of the Alpine Garden Society and the
Scottish Rock Garden Club. Look for wild-collected seeds in
particular, and pay attention to the situs of the collection.



There is also a wide range of plants currently being introduced
from China that seem to prefer fairly damp conditions; my
experience has been that they rapidly decline and die in
summer-dry positions.


--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
[change "atlantic" to "pacific" and
"invalid" to "net" to reply by email]