need gravel help

[janeyo]

I have a patch of gravel at the front of the house which is approx 20 feet by 6 feet. It is right at the bottom of the long sloping paved driveway and has our large bay window over it at about 4 feet high off the ground.

I am fed up of moving the pots about on it from season to season, so am looking to make some permanent feature pots there.

It gets no sun at all. Any suggestions as to what I can put there? They have to grow to be largish, but not to block the window completely, so no more than 5 feet tall maximum.

I was thinking of 3 in a row for more impact.

Thanks for any suggestions.

[Peas'n'Kews]

Are you trying to grow veggies or flowers in your "no shade at all " area??

[janeyo]

This is just for ornamental reasons

[piskieinboots]

My first thought (I will be back with more) is for a group of Phormium under-planted with alchemilla mollis - but I should ask, will you be able to plant through the gravel or are you looking for only pot growing?

[janeyo]

Purely pot growing. The soil is terrbile under the membrane and gravel, one of the reasons I hid it!

[Glutton4...]

I would be inclined to sweep off the gravel, and remove most of the membrane, then scoop/dig out holes and plant with Alpines and similar (they are tough, but you could add compost and grit to the planting holes) and then replace the membrane over the large gaps, and rake the gravel back over. Add bigger stones, and even some BIG rocks, to the area, and some logs, and leave mother nature to it. If you must have height, you could add a bench? Bird table? Water feature? ...

[chris]

I have a neighbour who has some black bamboo (no idea if it's invasive, but in a large pot (even sunk in the ground) it'd be restricted) in total shade - sounds great when the wind blows through it. They also have believe it or not a cheapo apple tree in shade - they get fruit off it, but leave the fruit for the birds (no idea if it's not sweet, but the blossom is pretty in spring ).

[piskieinboots]

... The soil is terrbile under the membrane and gravel, one of the reasons I hid it!

Maybe so, but it wouldn't take too much effort to 'spot dig' a few holes and add compost. This could be inter-planted with pots.

[janeyo]

I would be inclined to sweep off the gravel, and remove most of the membrane, then scoop/dig out holes and plant with Alpines and similar (they are tough, but you could add compost and grit to the planting holes) and then replace the membrane over the large gaps, and rake the gravel back over. Add bigger stones, and even some BIG rocks, to the area, and some logs, and leave mother nature to it. If you must have height, you could add a bench? Bird table? Water feature? ...

This is what we had before the gravel and it drove me nuts with the maintenance. I spent 3 years weeding and keeping it tidy with nothing really growing well. I have a huge back garden too (130 feet x 50) and another lawned shady front garden (40 x 30) so no time left for this bit, so it needs to be just 3 large pots and no time and effort spent. It's the veggies ijn the back and the lottie that interest me so anything I can do to not have to spend time on the other bits is a bonus!

I just want 3 large 5 foot pots for shade loving plants but other than conifers, which I hate as we have 130 feet of them to maintain down the side of the house have not found anything suitable

[janeyo]

I like the apple tree idea, all my others are in pots or in the garden in full sun, might be fun to experiment

[Two_Sheds]

permanent feature pots there.

It gets no sun at all.... no more than 5 feet tall maximum.

I have a (pink) camellia in my north-facing (no sun to speak of, just a little when the sun rises, then it disappears behind the house). It has no problem with flowering, it thrives there.

It's probably 7ft tall but you could prune the tops off, no problem. I think 3 in a row, pruned into standards perhaps, in large pots, would look stunning.
I'll pop out and take a photo in a bit

I have a neighbour who has some black bamboo ... in total shade - sounds great when the wind blows through it.

Black bamboo is supposed to need full sun to get its colour (otherwise it's just green). Is yours black-stemmed Chris?

This is what we had before the gravel and it drove me nuts with the maintenance.

Bamboo sheds its leaves, makes a real mess.

The camellia drops its flowers and a few old leaves but they're fairly easy to pick up and compost. It keeps green all year, and my birdies like sitting in it (we got a nest one year).

[chris]

I don't know if it's black stemmed or not, TS - it's my next door but twos who you can see from my neighbours window It is black to look at - quite striking. I'd love to get some

They rent, so don't do anything to the garden - I'm planning on offering to mow their lawn this year so I can get even more grass to add to my ever-increasing amount of brown waste (wood chip from chickens). If I can get in there, I'll have a close look and take a photo.


Just had another thought - what about that African Grass stuff?

[Two_Sheds]

1) camellia in flower, so must be April. Its unpruned at this point, I later thinned it out to give it a bit more shape

2) camellia pre-flowering (March). I've thinned out the branches, it really doesn't mind what you do to it. This is the view from the path, I've flattened this side so people can pass up the path without getting scratched (it was planted too close to the path by previous owner)

[Two_Sheds]

Just popped out to see what else I have

1) can't remember the name! Cabbage Palm. Gets even less sun than the camellia. That fence is 6ft, but if you pull off the lower branches/leaves (they die off anyway every year) you'll end up with a standard that doesn't block your view

2) a white camellia that I'm training as a standard: it's now 3 years old I think. It's lived on an east-facing wall but now it's flowering I'll move it to a warmer spot so the flowers don't catch the frost

[Peas'n'Kews]

Since there is very little light, how about a Daphne or two? If you get the right kind they produce an amazing scent when they flower (which can be anytime during winter and early spring). They have tiny little flowers that insects love, and then green foliage for the rest of the year.