Selfsufficientish.com

This was really just an excuse to share photos of my fab new patio. I've been whining about it for months while the building work was going on, but now I'm really pleased with it.

My garden slopes down towards the house and I was having problems with the rain pooling up outside the patio windows. So the patio was flattened and a retaining wall built to keep the garden back. On the higher side of the wall is a pond. At the far end of the patio, under the washing line, is a gravel/herb bed. All of the gravel here was dug out of my garden.

The, hugely over-engineered, washing line was here when I bought the house. It must weigh a ton and was made in Australia. I didn't have the heart to remove it.

Anyway, the bit that I'm stuck with is the bed at the bottom of the retaining wall. The wall is north facing, and about 3ft high. The patio now slopes away from the house so that the water runs away from the house, so the bed at the bottom of the wall doubles as a soak away. As it's on brash (heavy clay and gravel) it will either be waterlogged or baked dry.

Any ideas for plants that would survive being in these conditions?

Cheers
Zoe

notaclue

Patio looks lovely though

That does look heavy soil, any chance of a swap? I suppose it would be too much to dig out some of it and replace with top soil.

I don't know what kind of plants like to be waterlogged then baked dry so haven't a clue. But I like your new patio and pond!

I can't think of anything functional but what about ornamental grasses and/or something like Heuchera.

It's a tough old plant - we had one in the front garden in Manc. We did nothing to it except split it when it filled the available space. Never watered it, fed it or anything else and it was lovely through drought, rain and frost. Beautiful, deep plum-coloured foliage with some fairly insignificant pink flowers.

Same with the grasses, can't remember what it was called but it had black leaves. Those and a few houseleeks were all we had on the gravelled front patch. It looked rather nice - well I liked it.

It looks lovely! The curved wall is gorgeous. What about some Caltha? It doesn't mind waterlogged soil, and is very cheery with its pretty yellow flowers?

Patio is underdescribing it...its really lovely...bet you have been enjoying it in this hot weather! My mum had similar probelm with a patch of ground near her house and we got a lovely plant for her...cant remember what it was called but it had red stems, light green /lime leaves and white flowers so always had interest. It was not a dogwood but something similar (sorry, I am sure someone will know the plant!!) It survived and flourished in alternately boggy then bone dry clay soil ! Good luck I am sure you will enjoy whatever ends up there!

Thanks, guys.
Yes, I really am pleased with it. I like your ideas, Green Aura. Sounds simple but elegant (just like me, oh ok forget the elegant ).

Ruth, did the plant have medium sized (1 - 2 inches) heart shaped variagated leaves? I wonder if it was houttuynia?

Zoe

Hi Zoe
No it wasnt a houttuynia, though now you mention it she had several of those too, but on the side that was boggy wet and shady! It was much more of a shrub, thicker stems and leaves were lime greenish not varigated.
Ruth

Millymollymandy wrote:That does look heavy soil, any chance of a swap? I suppose it would be too much to dig out some of it and replace with top soil.

I'm sure it wouldn't be too much trouble if you want to come and dig out some clay to take back with you. I've already dug out tons of the stuff in order to level the patio so I'm not really interested in digging out any more. Although I might change my mind in a decade or so.

Millymollymandy wrote:I don't know what kind of plants like to be waterlogged then baked dry so haven't a clue. But I like your new patio and pond!

Cheers

Trying googling 'plants for heavy clay soils'. It came up with lots of lists such as this one.

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/Pro ... px?pid=305

As for me I've decided to just keep propagating my lavendar, easier than digging out your clay.

Thanks Mandy, that was really interesting. I could have an acer

Zoe

How about some large pots with fruit trees around the patio edge and dig in some sand and compost to lighten the soil in the garden and improve drainahe, then maybe put in some edible plants or since its a contained bed some nice mint or sorel or even a variety of herbs and edible flowers, or maybe mdeicinal or decoprative herbs, something the fills the area with alovely smell on summer nights, other than bar-b-qing meats and vege

sorry as you can tell I think with my stomach

Homegrown, that's pretty much what it's turned into by accident. It's been so hot here that the citrus trees have been wilting in the conservatory. I've ended up putting them out there along with the geraniums, physalis and chillis that overwinter in the conservatory. I think I'll get some nice pots to put them in and they can oversummer out there. I won't care what's out there in the winter as I won't see it from one weekend to the next once the clocks go back.

cheers
Zoe

I think that's as good an idea as any and I like the pebbles and things you put there so maybe you can just decorate it a bit more with 'garden art', bits of driftwood, pretty pebbles and anything clever you can put together (I have no brains when it comes to decorative garden art and am always in awe of people who have all these things dotted in amongst their plants - usually in magazines!).

Hmmm, definitely some ideas forming here. I can visualise a gravel bed with terracotta pots containing my conservatory plants in the summer. Some houseleeks and maybe a ribbon of somthing (coloured grass) to stop it looking boring in winter. A few bits of 'found' art to brighten it up.

Zoe