I quickly got to work, weeding and digging over the bed. I put plants to one side to replant once the soil had been prepared. It’s a shady ericaceous border with native arum lily’s that have popped up that obviously like this habitat. I left quite a few of these to use as added ground cover.
I ripped up plastic membrane which was looking awful. It has it’s uses but we both decided that it had to go in this instance!
I worked my way down the border until I got to the hedge at the bottom. One the soil had been dug over I dug in some composted bark/soil conditioner from our supplier Fountain Timber. Then I got on with the planting. I had ordered a beautiful Camellia Japonica ‘Kick Off’ and Hydrangea ‘Sundae Fraise’ from Grasslands Nurseries which I planted, along with Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’ further down. These were the main shrubs to go in.
Hellebores, Heuchera’s, Ajuga, Campanula, Cranesbill Geraniums and Ferns were all planted to create ground cover, some being evergreen and some not. This mixture should work well together alongside the plants that are already there.
Once the plants start growing and fill up the space this border will look beautiful. After I had finished the border I moved to the opposite side of the garden to tidy up some planters. The Sage and Thyme were looking a bit sorry for themselves so I cut them back and dug in some soil conditioner. I then added some left over campanula, heather, lithodora and a Lavender that I’d dug up.
I removed the old bark chipping from the top of the membrane and added the new composted bark in its place. Once the planters were done I topped those off with composted bark too. It’s now looking much smarter, ready for the summer!
