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#1
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No-maintenance evergreen ground cover on slope - ideas?
Hi all
We have recently acquired a rather large garden with some awkward areas, mostly very mossy lawns difficult to mow etc and we want to try and reduce some of the lawns and make them (much) lower maintenance. One area is a long 6-8ft deep strip on a steep slope below a line of fruit trees, leading down to a kind of retaining wall planted with small shrubs. My plan was to maybe bark chip this strip with some border edging to retain the bark chip and grow some dwarf conifers and other slow-growing non-maintenance plants through it for interest etc. However, there is the risk that the bark chips will blow off etc making a right mess and/or settle lower on the slope, exposing the upper area. Someone recently suggested to us to replace the grass with low ground cover to help hold the bank together as when the grass isn't there it might cause problems with subsiding soil? We are also thinking of a similar lawn-reduction in another raised area although much less sloping, at the front of the house but below the main lawn, out of sight behind a hedge and basically just a pain to keep tidy. It's roughly north facing and in the shade some of the time. There I was thinking of planting round the edges with a 3-4ft hebe (or evergreen) type hedge with ferns below on the bottom section of the slope and on the flatter top putting in a couple of specimen trees and covering the rest with bark chippings. There might be the same situation there that the chippings will need retaining and that ground cover would also help to hold the soil together. I'm not keen on the rose of sharon type thing or any yellow flowered expanses, but I was thinking of maybe a periwinkle (pretty flowers, prefer the colour) as long as it wasn't invasive and also properly covered the ground and didn't grow upwards. Anybody got some other ideas? Also, due to the cost of covering this amount of ground, we might have to do a section at a time as it is a fairly large area and just buying the plants will be pretty expensive unless somebody out there can suggest something fantastically cost-effective! What might be good specimen trees for north-facing, partial shade? I was wondering about magnolia but they might not be hardy enough, although we haven't been here for a winter yet and don't know how much of a frost pocket we might be in (we are on a long avenue up a hill) but lined with large mature trees, it's a very tree-y area. How would people suggest we get rid of this amount of grass and moss - a spray weedkiller or dig it up? I am thinking that if we dig it up it might cause worse damage to the slopes but we need to get rid of the grass to plant anything else as I don't want just a load of plants dotted around in the grass which will make it even more difficult to maintain! Any other ideas? Thanks! Lynda |
#2
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{ SNIP }
Did you see the thread of a couple of days ago. The sSubject was "Plants for low-maintenance garden?". It seems to civer the same sort of ground. |
#3
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In article , Lynda Thornton
writes However, there is the risk that the bark chips will blow off etc making a right mess and/or settle lower on the slope, exposing the upper area. Someone recently suggested to us to replace the grass with low ground cover to help hold the bank together as when the grass isn't there it might cause problems with subsiding soil? Sounds a sensible suggestion. We are also thinking of a similar lawn-reduction in another raised area although much less sloping, at the front of the house but below the main lawn, out of sight behind a hedge and basically just a pain to keep tidy. It's roughly north facing and in the shade some of the time. There I was thinking of planting round the edges with a 3-4ft hebe (or evergreen) type hedge with ferns below on the bottom section of the slope and on the flatter top putting in a couple of specimen trees and covering the rest with bark chippings. There might be the same situation there that the chippings will need retaining and that ground cover would also help to hold the soil together. How dry is this area, given that it's near a hedge? Most ferns like a soil which is on the moist side. Anywhere near a lawn will tend to get re-invaded by grass, so you'll need some sort of edging to keep it under control - either a regularly trimmed lawn edge or a barrier strip of paving stones, bricks or similar. What might be good specimen trees for north-facing, partial shade? I have a Magnolia stellata on the N side of the house, about 10 ft from the house - it gets sun morning and evening in summer. I was wondering about magnolia but they might not be hardy enough, although we haven't been here for a winter yet and don't know how much of a frost pocket we might be in (we are on a long avenue up a hill) If you're partly up the hill, you won't have a frost pocket unless you have a hedge or other barrier across the slope. but lined with large mature trees, it's a very tree-y area. How would people suggest we get rid of this amount of grass and moss - a spray weedkiller or dig it up? Strip the turf, dig the soil out and bury the turf face down at least 12 inches deep. Or strip the turf and pile it up somewhere to rot down. It'll make good top soil for the future. -- Kay "Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river" |
#4
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In article , Kay
writes In article , Lynda Thornton writes However, there is the risk that the bark chips will blow off etc making a right mess and/or settle lower on the slope, exposing the upper area. Someone recently suggested to us to replace the grass with low ground cover to help hold the bank together as when the grass isn't there it might cause problems with subsiding soil? Sounds a sensible suggestion. We are also thinking of a similar lawn-reduction in another raised area although much less sloping, at the front of the house but below the main lawn, out of sight behind a hedge and basically just a pain to keep tidy. It's roughly north facing and in the shade some of the time. There I was thinking of planting round the edges with a 3-4ft hebe (or evergreen) type hedge with ferns below on the bottom section of the slope and on the flatter top putting in a couple of specimen trees and covering the rest with bark chippings. There might be the same situation there that the chippings will need retaining and that ground cover would also help to hold the soil together. How dry is this area, given that it's near a hedge? Most ferns like a soil which is on the moist side. The area is actually pretty wet, the grass is always sodden and full of moss, the hedge isn't that dominating, it's quite a large area of grass. There are already some ferns planted nearby so I thought they might be OK in a similar situation. Anywhere near a lawn will tend to get re-invaded by grass, so you'll need some sort of edging to keep it under control - either a regularly trimmed lawn edge or a barrier strip of paving stones, bricks or similar. What might be good specimen trees for north-facing, partial shade? I have a Magnolia stellata on the N side of the house, about 10 ft from the house - it gets sun morning and evening in summer. I was wondering about magnolia but they might not be hardy enough, although we haven't been here for a winter yet and don't know how much of a frost pocket we might be in (we are on a long avenue up a hill) If you're partly up the hill, you won't have a frost pocket unless you have a hedge or other barrier across the slope. OK I might look into that option more closely! but lined with large mature trees, it's a very tree-y area. How would people suggest we get rid of this amount of grass and moss - a spray weedkiller or dig it up? Strip the turf, dig the soil out and bury the turf face down at least 12 inches deep. Or strip the turf and pile it up somewhere to rot down. It'll make good top soil for the future. I'll think about it but there will be a huge amount of the stuff and there's nowhere handy nearby in the garden to pile it up Thanks for the interest and ideas anyway! Lynda |
#5
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"Lynda Thornton" wrote in message news Hi all We have recently acquired a rather large garden with some awkward areas, mostly very mossy lawns difficult to mow etc and we want to try and reduce some of the lawns and make them (much) lower maintenance. One area is a long 6-8ft deep strip on a steep slope below a line of fruit trees, leading down to a kind of retaining wall planted with small shrubs. My plan was to maybe bark chip this strip with some border edging to retain the bark chip and grow some dwarf conifers and other slow-growing non-maintenance plants through it for interest etc. However, there is the risk that the bark chips will blow off etc making a right mess and/or settle lower on the slope, exposing the upper area. Someone recently suggested to us to replace the grass with low ground cover to help hold the bank together as when the grass isn't there it might cause problems with subsiding soil? We are also thinking of a similar lawn-reduction in another raised area although much less sloping, at the front of the house but below the main lawn, out of sight behind a hedge and basically just a pain to keep tidy. It's roughly north facing and in the shade some of the time. There I was thinking of planting round the edges with a 3-4ft hebe (or evergreen) type hedge with ferns below on the bottom section of the slope and on the flatter top putting in a couple of specimen trees and covering the rest with bark chippings. There might be the same situation there that the chippings will need retaining and that ground cover would also help to hold the soil together. I'm not keen on the rose of sharon type thing or any yellow flowered expanses, but I was thinking of maybe a periwinkle (pretty flowers, prefer the colour) as long as it wasn't invasive and also properly covered the ground and didn't grow upwards. Anybody got some other ideas? Also, due to the cost of covering this amount of ground, we might have to do a section at a time as it is a fairly large area and just buying the plants will be pretty expensive unless somebody out there can suggest something fantastically cost-effective! What might be good specimen trees for north-facing, partial shade? I was wondering about magnolia but they might not be hardy enough, although we haven't been here for a winter yet and don't know how much of a frost pocket we might be in (we are on a long avenue up a hill) but lined with large mature trees, it's a very tree-y area. How would people suggest we get rid of this amount of grass and moss - a spray weedkiller or dig it up? I am thinking that if we dig it up it might cause worse damage to the slopes but we need to get rid of the grass to plant anything else as I don't want just a load of plants dotted around in the grass which will make it even more difficult to maintain! Any other ideas? Thanks! Lynda Bergenia cordifolia would do it in a season and be cheap especially if you can find someone who has it (you can get dozens of plants from a single piece!) if you are anywhere near me you can have some for free. Vinca major would also do it but I think looks a little untidy, probably a bit late now but raising a few dozen Geranium endressii from seed can be a quick way of getting lots -- Charlie, gardening in Cornwall. http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk Holders of National Plant Collection of Clematis viticella (cvs) |
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