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Ideas for a woodland garden
I am soon to move from a London flat to a house with a garden in
Surrey (my first garden – I'm so excited!). There's a patch of lawn with borders on one side of the house, and a woodland area on the other side. The woodland area is about 20 yards by 20, and has about half a dozen well established (i.e. big!) trees in it (a mixture of evergreen and deciduous as far as I can remember); and then there is a fair amount of smaller stuff underneath. As you can imagine, it's pretty shady. Most of the big trees have preservation orders on them so I can't do anything with them (not that I'd want to anyway). The woodland area slopes downhill fairly steeply from south to north. I don't intend to do anything with this area for the first year – just watch it and see what's in there – but I'd be interested in hearing people's views on what I could do to "develop" this patch a bit. What kind of plants could I encourage (or introduce) that would thrive in this environment? Any advice gratefully received – I suspect I'm going to be asking for lots of it in the coming months! Thanks John |
.. Most of the big trees have preservation orders on them so I can't do anything with them (not that I'd want to anyway). Please don't think that a preservation order is a cast iron case that you cannot do anything with them. They can even be chopped down. We have had a blanket preservation order removed, TPO (Tree Preservation Orders) placed on certain ones and felled the rest. It is not the ogre many people think it is. They can be felled for instance is they are in danger of damaging people or property, subject to consultation of course. Mike been there, done that, got the tree shirt |
Generally, do what comes naturally. There are a fair number of woodland plants, but many are thugs; if you have ramsons or bluebells, you won't have much else. You need to check what the soil is, how dense the shade is, and how much water gets there. Basically, go for woodland bulbs and similar herbaceous plants, perhaps some woodland shrubs (I recommend Danae racemosa, if you can get it) and possibly the odd climber. Your strategy of watching for a year is quite right, though you might want to plant some bulbs in August or early September if they seem appropriate. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
Nick Maclaren wrote:
Generally, do what comes naturally. There are a fair number of woodland plants, but many are thugs; if you have ramsons or bluebells, you won't have much else. You need to check what the soil is, how dense the shade is, and how much water gets there. Basically, go for woodland bulbs and similar herbaceous plants, perhaps some woodland shrubs (I recommend Danae racemosa, if you can get it) and possibly the odd climber. Your strategy of watching for a year is quite right, though you might want to plant some bulbs in August or early September if they seem appropriate. Meanwhile, because one's fingers are itchy, you could sow some wild primrose seed right now in trays or cells, and take them with you to plant out when they're big enough. Snowdrops when the time comes, of course. Lucky man! -- Mike. |
John wrote in message om... I am soon to move from a London flat to a house with a garden in Surrey (my first garden - I'm so excited!). There's a patch of lawn with borders on one side of the house, and a woodland area on the other side. The woodland area is about 20 yards by 20, and has about half a dozen well established (i.e. big!) trees in it (a mixture of evergreen and deciduous as far as I can remember); and then there is a fair amount of smaller stuff underneath. As you can imagine, it's pretty shady. Most of the big trees have preservation orders on them so I can't do anything with them (not that I'd want to anyway). The woodland area slopes downhill fairly steeply from south to north. I don't intend to do anything with this area for the first year - just watch it and see what's in there - but I'd be interested in hearing people's views on what I could do to "develop" this patch a bit. What kind of plants could I encourage (or introduce) that would thrive in this environment? Any advice gratefully received - I suspect I'm going to be asking for lots of it in the coming months! Thanks John Hi John, Congratulations. You're going to love shade gardening. My woodland garden is my favourite, esp. at this time of year. The Tree Preservation Orders are a good thing. Too many people get a knee-jerk reaction when they encounter a tree. However, if the shade is profoundly dense, you may be able to negotiate some crown raising or thinning with your local TP Officer. He may also be able to recommend a tree surgeon if he can't do the job himself. I'm glad you want to keep the trees. There are so many things you can plant in a shade garden. First of all though, you need to assess the depth of shade. My woodland area is light to medium shade, and it allows me to grow: Snowdrops (Galanthus sp.), Winter Aconites (Eranthis sp.), Wood Anemones (Anemone nemorosa) and A. blanda, Ranunculus, Snowflakes (Leucojum sp.) Dog's Tooth Violets (Erythronium sp.), Crocus (in v. light shade), Sternbergia, Colchicums, Hyacinthus, Narcissus, Chionodoxa .. and many more. Herbaceous and evergreen perennials include: Dicentra, Aquilegia, Lunaria (Honesty), Tellima, Heuchera, Primula, Vinca (Perriwinkle), Symphytum, Pulmonaria, Japanese Anemone, Tolmea, Helleborus, Corydalis, Bergenia, Tricyrtis, Saxifraga, Lamium, Ferns, some Lilies, some Fritillarias. There are also many shrubs, but you may feel you have a lot of woody plants already. Once you are on site, take every opportunity to walk around your woodland. This will help you establish where paths and favoured walking areas are; whether or not there's a glade, for instance. Before you start planting, define your pathways first, so that you have a framework to plant around, and also from which you can weed and manage the planting. A good shade gardening book is: Best Shade Plants by Stefan Buczacki. ISBN 0-600-57734-1. Regards, Spider |
"Spider" wrote in message ... John wrote in message om... I am soon to move from a London flat to a house with a garden in Surrey (my first garden - I'm so excited!). There's a patch of lawn with borders on one side of the house, and a woodland area on the other side. The woodland area is about 20 yards by 20, and has about half a dozen well established (i.e. big!) trees in it (a mixture of evergreen and deciduous as far as I can remember); and then there is a fair amount of smaller stuff underneath. As you can imagine, it's pretty shady. Most of the big trees have preservation orders on them so I can't do anything with them (not that I'd want to anyway). The woodland area slopes downhill fairly steeply from south to north. I don't intend to do anything with this area for the first year - just watch it and see what's in there - but I'd be interested in hearing people's views on what I could do to "develop" this patch a bit. What kind of plants could I encourage (or introduce) that would thrive in this environment? Any advice gratefully received - I suspect I'm going to be asking for lots of it in the coming months! Thanks John Hi John, Congratulations. You're going to love shade gardening. My woodland garden is my favourite, esp. at this time of year. The Tree Preservation Orders are a good thing. Too many people get a knee-jerk reaction when they encounter a tree. However, if the shade is profoundly dense, you may be able to negotiate some crown raising or thinning with your local TP Officer. He may also be able to recommend a tree surgeon if he can't do the job himself. I'm glad you want to keep the trees. There are so many things you can plant in a shade garden. First of all though, you need to assess the depth of shade. My woodland area is light to medium shade, and it allows me to grow: Snowdrops (Galanthus sp.), Winter Aconites (Eranthis sp.), Wood Anemones (Anemone nemorosa) and A. blanda, Ranunculus, Snowflakes (Leucojum sp.) Dog's Tooth Violets (Erythronium sp.), Crocus (in v. light shade), Sternbergia, Colchicums, Hyacinthus, Narcissus, Chionodoxa .. and many more. Herbaceous and evergreen perennials include: Dicentra, Aquilegia, Lunaria (Honesty), Tellima, Heuchera, Primula, Vinca (Perriwinkle), Symphytum, Pulmonaria, Japanese Anemone, Tolmea, Helleborus, Corydalis, Bergenia, Tricyrtis, Saxifraga, Lamium, Ferns, some Lilies, some Fritillarias. There are also many shrubs, but you may feel you have a lot of woody plants already. Once you are on site, take every opportunity to walk around your woodland. This will help you establish where paths and favoured walking areas are; whether or not there's a glade, for instance. Before you start planting, define your pathways first, so that you have a framework to plant around, and also from which you can weed and manage the planting. A good shade gardening book is: Best Shade Plants by Stefan Buczacki. ISBN 0-600-57734-1. Regards, Spider How about Bluebells & Foxgloves, or did you mention those? |
Thanks to all for the suggestions. I think some books to browse is
definitely the way to go for starters - I had a quick leaf through Beth Chatto's book in the local bookshop, which is quite inspiring! Rest assured I'll be back for more inspiration and advice soon enough! Happy gardening... |
John,
I think bluebell woods would look beautiful in your garden, people always complain about bluebells taking over. Wild English bluebells take a long time to develop and spread, so I wouldn't be too worried. Its the spanish you don't want. I have found a really good licenced supplyer of wild english bluebell seeds. You can buy packets on their website: www.farnellfarm.co.uk |
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