Ivydene Gardens Plants: Ground-Cover Plant Name: S
The following Extra Index of Wildflowers is created in the Borage Wildflower Gallery, to which the Wildflowers found in the above list will have that row entry copied to. Having transferred the Extra Index row entry to the relevant Extra Index row for the same type of plant in a gallery below; then
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The plants normally selected by most landscapers and designers are by nature low-growing, rampant, spreading, creep-crawly things and yet the concept of ground cover demands no such thing. The ideal description of a groundcover plant includes:-
Ground Cover a thousand beautiful plants for difficult places by John Cushnie (ISBN 1 85626 326 6) provides details of plants that fulfill the above requirements. Using these groundcover plants in your planting scheme (either between your trees/shrubs in the border or for the whole border) will - with mulching your beds to a 4 inch depth and an irrigation system - provide you with a planted garden with far less time required for border maintenance. Plants for Dry Gardens by Jane Taylor. Published by Frances Lincoln Limited in 1993. ISBN 0-7112-0772-0. Jane Taylor and her husband grew plants in their garden of 2.5 acres of acidic shale mine waste on ground most of which could not retain water or nutrients and would scarcely sustain even the most tenacious of weeds.
Each ground cover plant of this 1000 has further details from her book, if it is in there. Plants for Ground-Cover by Graham Stuart Thomas. Published by J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd in 1970 - reprinted (with further revisions) in 1990. ISBN 0-460-12609-1. This gives details on many more ground cover plants with inclusion (in the Index) of figures denoting the Hardiness Zones for each species in the United States of America. |
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Plant Name Major source of honey in the UK Yes/No |
Type The key ingredients a bird needs from your garden are |
Height x Spread in inches (cms) Spacing distance between plants of same species in inches (cms) |
Foliage Some poisonous ground cover plants are indicated, but there are others in Cultivated Poisonous Plants and |
Flower Colour in Month(s). Use Pest Control using Plants to provide a Companion Plant to aid your selected groundcover plant or deter its pests |
Comments United States Department of Agriculture |
Salix alba var. vitellina Salix species are valuable plants for bees in the early part of the season. |
Deciduous Tree above 72 inches (180 cms) in height |
960 x 360 (2400 x 900) |
Dull Green |
Yellowish-Green female catkins in |
"White Willow". Bright Orange winter shoots. From Europe, northern Africa and central Asia. Makes a good windbreak tree, but has invasive roots. As a waterside or winter garden plant, it mixes well with dogwoods and other bright-stemmed deciduous shrubs, and may be underplanted with ground-cover plants such as ivies. Good companions include Euonymus fortunei cultivars, bergenias, winter heaths, heucheras, forsrthias and early-flowering bulbs such as narcissi, scillas, snowdrops and winter aconites. |
Salix apoda |
Deciduous Shrub below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
8 x 24 |
Dark Green |
Silvery-Grey male catkins in |
Bee Forage Plants and UK Butterfly with Egg, Caterpillar, Chrysalis and Butterfly Usage of Plants. Large plantations of willow would be very beneficial for bees, so for new houses where the front garden is just lawn, why not replace the lawn with Salix apoda, Salix retusa or Salix serpyllifolia in separate rectanglular areas; with a boundary hedge of Salix hastata 'Wehrhahnii'. This would hopefully stop the postman, milkman and delivery man just running across your lawn area to the next house. |
Salix caprea |
Deciduous Shrub 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
60 x 72 (150 x 180) |
Dark Green above, Grey-Green beneath |
Grey male catkins in |
"Kilmarnock Willow". Native to Europe and northeast Asia. This grows well in brackish marshlands but its very strong suckering habit can cause problems in smaller gardens. A stiffly pendulous weeping tree. To make effective cover, this must be grown from cuttings. |
Salix elaeagnos |
Deciduous Shrub above 72 inches (180 cms) in height |
120 x 180 (300 x 450) |
Grey in Spring ,Dark Green in Summer, Yellow in Autumn |
Green female catkins in |
"Hoary Willow". |
Salix hastata |
Deciduous Shrub 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
36 x 36 (90 x 90) |
Bright Green |
Silvery-Grey male catkins in |
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Salix helvetica |
Deciduous Shrub 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
24 x 16 (60 x 40) |
Grey-Green, silver-downy beneath |
Silver-Grey catkins in |
"Swiss Willow". |
Salix lanata |
Deciduous Shrub 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
36 x 60 (90 x 150) |
Dull Dark Green covered in Silvery-Grey wool |
Golden-Yellow male catkins in |
"Woolly Willow". From northern Europe with slow spreading / creeping habit. Thrives on any soil that does not dry out, preferably in sun |
Salix repens |
Deciduous Shrub 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
24 x 60 (60 x 150) |
Grey-Green to Bright Green, Silvery beneath |
Grey male catkins in |
"Creeping Willow" is a small shrub, occasionally growing to head height, sometimes of low, spreading / creeping habit. The slender stems are set with small, grey leaves, silvery beneath, especially in Salix repens f. argentea. Female Catkin |
Salix repens var. argentea |
Deciduous Shrub 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
36 x 72 (90 x 180) |
Silky Grey |
Gold catkins in |
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Salix retusa |
Deciduous Shrub below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
4 x 16 |
Glossy Mid-Green |
Grey catkins in |
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Salix serpyllifolia |
Deciduous Shrub below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
1 x 12 |
Glossy Mid-Green |
Silvery-Green catkins in |
"Thyme-leaved Willow". |
Salvia nemerosa Salvia species |
Herbaceous Perennial below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
18 x 12 (45 x 30) |
Violet-Blue in |
"Woodland Sage". Companions - Sisyrinchium striatum, artemisia, hemerocallis, lavandula, helenium, papaver, scabiosa, smaller euphorbias, roses. When using salvias as a cut flower, recut their stems underwater in the final vase. Ashwood Nurseries grow about 80 Salvias. |
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Salvia officinalis No HB, ST, LT, SOL |
24 x 36 (60 x 90) |
Purple in Spring, Grey-Green in Summer, Autumn and Winter |
Blue-Purple in |
"Purple Sage". Salvia officinalis grows as edging and in gravel or herb gardens. It associates with lavenders, cotton lavender, cistus, phlomis and rosemaries. It combines happily with other purple-leaved plants as well as with silver foliage. All Salvia need full sun, well-drained soil, preferably light i.e. sand. Apt to suffer in very severe winters in cold districts. Can be planted during growing season, but often fail from winter planting. If they become sparse, then they may be reduced in height in late spring to encourage basal growth. Plant out in permanent position in March or October. Bee Forage Plants and UK Butterfly with Egg, Caterpillar, Chrysalis and Butterfly Usage of Plants. It is not fastidious in regard to soil. The flowers afford first-class honeybee forage. |
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Salvia x superba |
Herbaceous Perennial 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
30 x 24 (75 x 60) |
Mid-Green |
Bright Violet or Purple in |
"Sage". Erect |
Sambucus nigra |
Deciduous Shrub above 72 inches (180 cms) in height |
144 x 144 (360 x 360) |
Golden-Yellow |
Creamy-White in |
"Black Elder, Common Elder, Elderberry, European Elder". The berries are used in pies, the flowers and fruit to make wine or liquers. Whole plant of Sambucus nigra is slightly poisonous to swine, cattle, turkeys and humans. |
Sambucus racemosa |
Deciduous Shrub above 72 inches (180 cms) in height |
120 x 120 (300 x 300) |
Bronze juvenile turning Golden Yellow |
Rich Yellow in |
"Red-berried Elder". Whole plant of Sambucus racemosa is slightly poisonous. |
No HB, ST, LT, SOL |
Deciduous Rhizome Perennial below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
6 x 12 |
Blue-Grey |
White in |
"Bloodroot". Self-sows, summer dormant. Grow in deciduous woodland, with sun in the spring. Companions - trillium, hepatica, pulmonaria, primula, uvularia, jeffersonia, athyrium nipponicum cultivars, erythronium; the spring woodland garden. |
Sanguisorbia canadensis |
Deciduous Rhizome Perennial 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
72 x 36 (180 x 90) |
Dark Green |
White in |
"Canadian Burnet". Vigorous, good autumn colour. Companions - grasses, astilbe, aconitum, astrantia, carex elata 'Aurea', lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea', lysimachia ephemerum, veronicastrum, polemonium, penstemon; the autumn border. A good cut flower. |
Santolina chamae-cyparissus |
20 x 36 (50 x 90) |
Grey-White |
Yellow in |
"Cotton Lavender, Lavender Cotton". Low-spreading / creeping, aromatic shrub from coastal areas of the Mediterranean. Santolina chamaecyparissus associates with lavenders, catmints, cistus, helianthemums, in front of old-fashioned roses, perhaps partnered by pinks or euphorbias as a filler in parterres. |
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Santolina chamae-cyparissus |
Evergreen Shrub 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
24 x 24 (60 x 60) |
Silver-Grey |
Lemon-Yellow in |
"Cotton Lavender". |
Santolina pinnata neapolitana |
Evergreen Shrub 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
30 x 36 (75 x 90) |
Aromatic Grey-Green |
Bright Yellow in |
Left untouched, santolina can serve as an informal planting against a wood fence. Clipped, it can serve as a semi-formal, low hedge or as an accent plant in a patio or other small area, in which case it rarely flowers. |
Santolina rosmarinifolia |
Evergreen Shrub 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
24 x 36 (60 x 90) |
Bright Green |
Bright Yellow in |
Dry ordinary soil in full sun. |
Saponaria |
Herbaceous Perennial below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
3 x 12 |
Mid-Green |
Deep Pink in |
"Soapwort". Companions - fuchsia, persicaria, chelone, aubretia, anemone hupehensis and Anemone x hybrida, phlox subulata. A good low groundcover which will grow up through Michaelmas daisies, which prevents their flopping. |
Saponaria ocymoides |
Herbaceous Perennial below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
3 x 18 |
Bright Green, downy, small |
Pink in |
"Tumbling Ted, Rose Soapwort" forms a carpet in a crevice, hanging down retaining walls, or down a dry bank, plant, with tumbling leafy stems and many bright pink flowers. It sows itself freely, but named selections must be propagated by cuttings. |
Saponaria ocymoides |
Herbaceous Perennial below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
3 x 18 |
Bright Green |
White in |
Rock garden plant. |
Sarcocca humilis Sarcocca species flowers through the winter and can sometimes be of value to late/early honeybees |
Evergreen Shrub 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
24 x 36 (60 x 90) |
Glossy, pointed, Dark Green |
Tiny, Fragrant Pink-tinged White in |
"Christmas Box, Sweet Box". All Sarcoccas are shade-lovers, and will tolerate very dry conditions if not sun-baked. They can be increased by division or cuttings. |
Sarcocca confusa |
Evergreen Shrub 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
72 x 36 (180 x 90) |
Glossy Dark Green |
Very Fragrant White in |
"Christmas Box, Sweet Box". Dense plant |
Evergreen Bamboo 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
48 x indefinite (120 x indefinite) |
Green with White edges in Spring and Summer, Green with Straw edges in Autumn and Winter |
... |
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Satureja spicigera |
Deciduous Sub-Shrub below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
6 x 12 |
Mid-Green |
White in |
These and the thymes assort well with heathers |
Saxifraga Saxifraga species are not among the best of bee plants, because there are too many competitors for the nectar or they are too often disturbed. |
Evergreen Perennial below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
6 x 12 |
White-variegated Mid-Green |
Greenish-White in |
"Saxifrage". Companions - ferns, hosta, primula, arisaema, geranium, astilbe, aruncus aethusifolius, viola cornuta, hakonechloa. |
12 x 8 |
Pale Green |
White heavily spotted Red in |
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Saxifraga exerata subsp. moschata |
Evergreen Perennial below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
4 x 12 |
Pale Green |
Cream or Yellow in |
Compact, mossy cushion. From mountains of central and southern Europe, the Caucasus and northwest Iran |
Saxifraga exerata subsp. moschata |
Evergreen Perennial below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
4 x 12 |
Golden |
Cream or Yellow in |
Best grown in shade with golden foliage. |
Saxifraga marginata |
Evergreen Perennial below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
3 x 12 |
Silver-Grey |
White in |
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Evergreen Perennial below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
12 x indefinite (30 x indefinite) |
Dark Green, rounded, in rosettes |
White in Summer |
"London Pride". Carpet Ground Cover. Slowly spreading / creepings further. |
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Scabiosa graminifolia Scabiosa species |
Evergreen Perennial below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
10 x 12 (25 x 30) |
Silvery-grey |
Lilac to Violet in |
Full Sun on well-drained alkaline soil. Suitable hummocks for rock garden or top of retaining wall. Companions - coreopsis, hemerocallis, heliopsis, agastache, dianthus, campanula, delphinium, nepeta, calamintha, salvia, stachys; suited to a sunny border and the cottage garden. |
Schizophragma hydrangeoides |
Deciduous Climber above 72 inches (180 cms) in height |
480 x 120 (1200 x 300) |
Dark Green |
Fragrant Creamy-White in |
"Japanese Hydrangea Vine". Successful as ground cover, and they flower best in full sun. The outer flowers on the erect pyramids bear one large cream bract which lasts in beauty for 90 days. Need support when used as a wall climber and plenty of moisture in well-drained soil. Combine with gold-variegated or yellow-green foliage. |
Sedum There are more than 300 species and at least twice as many varieties of Sedum. |
10 x 18 (25 x 45) |
Ruby-Red in |
"Stonecrop". Lax habit, large heads. Clump-forming. |
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Sedum species |
Evergreen Perennial below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
2 x 24 |
Pale Green |
Yellow-Green in |
"Biting Stonecrop, Common Stonecrop, Wallpepper, Gold-moss Stonecrop" is too invasive to admit to most gardens - keep it in a space bounded by impervious material so that it will only occupy the area that you have designed for it.
It is perfectly happy growing between stepping-stones and in rock crevices - especially in old lime-mortar cottage garden walls or in roof gutters as above - and stays green throughout the coldest of winters. |
Sedum lydium |
Evergreen Perennial below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
2 x 8 |
Red-tipped Bright to Mid-Green |
White in |
Sedum are rock garden plants. There are species that are effective on slopes, between stepping-stones, in mass plantings, as container plants and blended with other ground covers such as the prostrate junipers. Sedum matting on roofs as a very easy maintenace for a great ground cover on roofs:- Sedum roof |
Sedum telephium subsp. maximum This sedum is especially popular with bees |
Deciduous Rhizome Perennial below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
18 x 18 (45 x 45) |
Deep Purple has mahogany-coloured stems |
Deep Pink in |
"Orpine". Chocolate-brown seedheads, open habit. Clump-former Makes a striking effect against a bank of silver foliage. |
Evergreen Alpine below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
4 x 24 |
Grey-Green |
Yellow |
"Stone Orpine, Reflexed Stonecrop". Found on walls, rocks and stony banks in western and central Europe, southern Scandinavia, and western Ukraine |
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Evergreen Alpine below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
4 x 24 |
Silvery-Green, frequently suffused Purple |
Yellow |
"Stonecrop". This makes generous evergreen mats of rounded, thick-textured leaves forming rosettes. The leaves are heavily dusted with white farina. A compact rock garden plant making good clumps. |
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Sedum spectabile This sedum is especially popular with bees |
Herbaceous Perennial below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
18 x 18 (45 x 45) |
Rose-Pink in |
"Ice Plant, Butterfly Stonecrop". Striking colour, large heads of flowers, dancing with butterflies wherever the use of agricultural chemicals has not banished these insects from our gardens. Other useful cultivars are 'Album' - pure white, 'Carmen' and 'Meteor' - carmine, 'September Glow' - purplish crimson. |
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Senecio abrotanifolius Senecio species |
Evergreen Sub-Shrub below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
12 x 12 (30 x 30) |
Glossy Dark Green |
Yellow to Orange-Scarlet in |
Senecio species - Senecio, Groundsels, Ragwort (horse, cattle, goats, sheep and humans). Some species produce natural biocides (especially alkaloids) to deter or even kill animals that would eat them. Leaves - Poisons are jacobine and seneciphylline. They are cumulative poisons and are not affected by drying or storage, from BPP. |
Senecio cineraria |
Evergreen Sub-Shrub 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
24 x 24 (60 x 60) |
Felted Silvery-Grey |
Mustard-Yellow in |
Perhaps it would be wise not to plant Senecios. |
Shibataea kumasasa |
Evergreen Bamboo 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
48 x 24 (120 x 60) |
Rich Dark Green |
... |
Densely plant if required as ground cover. |
Shortia galacifolia |
Evergreen Perennial below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
6 x 10 |
Glossy Dark Green turning Bronze-Red in Autumn |
White in |
"Oconee Bells" requires cool, somewhat moist, lime-free soil with humus in Part Shade. A very slow spreader / creeper. Shortia uniflora 'Grandiflora' is a good plant flowering freely but is slow growing. |
Silene schafta |
Semi-Evergreen Perennial below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
10 x 12 (25 x 30) |
Bright Green |
Deep Magenta in |
"Campion, Catchfly, Moss Campion". Clump-forming. Companions - low-growing grasses, shorter campanulas, erigeron, euphorbia myrsinites, dianthus deltoides, iris germanica (dwarf forms), Iris sibirica |
Skimmia japonica |
Evergreen Shrub 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
60 x 60 (150 x 150) |
Dark Green |
Fragrant White in |
"Japanese Skimmia". Female plants have Red fruit; both male and female plants to be present for pollination. Needs light dappled to deep shade. Companions - Rhododendrons, azallias, camelias. Whole plant of Skimmia japonica is slightly poisonous. |
Skimmia japonica |
Evergreen Shrub 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
24 x 36 (60 x 90) |
Dark Green |
Fragrant White in |
White fruit. |
Skimmia japonica |
Evergreen Shrub 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
60 x 48 (150 x 120) |
Red-margined Green |
White in |
Skimmia japonica will thrive in any fertile soil if mixed with humus. All tolerate and thrive in shade, though they will also grow in sun, less luxuriantly. The flowers are small, creamy, in dense heads. Their berries often remain on the branches for many months untouched by the birds. Use in loose groups in mixed or shrub borders in part shade or full shade. As a speciman plant in a large container, it can be associated with ivies, cinerarias, cyclamen persicum cultivars and variegated hebes. Contrast its foliage with bamboos, evergreen grasses and sedges. |
Skimmia x confusa |
Evergreen Shrub 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
24 x 48 (60 x 120) |
Aromatic Mid-Green |
Fragrant Creamy-White in |
Plant Skimmia in April or October. To obtain fruits of Skimmia japonica, plant at least 1 male plant to 6 females. Prune in April, but only when required to this or shape the bushes. |
Smilacina racemosa |
Deciduous Rhizome Perennial 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
30 x 18 (75 x 45) |
Mid-Green turn Yellow in Autumn |
White in |
"False Spikenard". Red berries. spreads / creeps slowly. Fragrant flowers. Cool, moist, lime-free soil with humus in Full Shade or Part Shade. Handsome woodlander, taking a few years to develop. Smilacina stellata is a poor edition of Smilacina racemosa, and is a terrible underground spreader and a less good cover. Companions - digitalis, astilbe, paeonia, trillium, fuchsia, anemone nemerosa 'Vestal', arum italicum, dicentra formosa, polygonatum. Best at edge of woodland, or under trees in the mixed border. Top-dress the plant with organic material. Valuable for a partially shaded woodland garden, especially if surrounded by shorter plants to display its slightly arching habit like contrasting its white flowers with a carpet of purple bugles or blue corydalis. |
Solanum crispum |
Semi-Evergreen Climber above 72 inches (180 cms) in height |
240 x 120 (600 x 300) |
Dark Green |
Lilac-Purple in |
"Chilean Potato Tree" is a scrambling or semi-climbing potato with foliage on stems growing to 240 (600). The flowers are borne in loose clusters. It can grow on dry soil. |
Semi-Evergreen Climber above 72 inches (180 cms) in height |
240 x 120 (600 x 300) |
Glossy Dark Green |
Fragrant White in |
"Potato Vine". It can grow on dry soil. |
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Solanum laciniatum |
Evergreen Shrub 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
72 x 60 (180 x 150) |
Mid-Green |
Dark Blue in |
"Kangaroo Apple". Bright Orange fruit. |
Solanum tuberosum |
Vegetable |
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Dark Green |
... |
"Potato". |
Solidago Solidago species are very attractive to bees as a source of late-in-the-year nectar and pollen |
Herbaceous Perennial 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
72 x 36 (180 x 90) |
Mid-Green |
Golden-Yellow in |
"Golden Rod". Very branched. Bee Forage Plants and UK Butterfly with Egg, Caterpillar, Chrysalis and Butterfly Usage of Plants. Companions - sedum ruprechtii, helenium, kniphofia, crocosmia, achillea, aster, nepeta, salvia, x solidaster, monarda, grasses, veronica, vernonia |
Solidago virgaurea subsp. minuta |
Herbaceous Perennial below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
6 x 10 |
Mid-Green |
Deep Yellow in |
Good for a rock garden. |
Sophora japonica |
Deciduous Tree above 72 inches (180 cms) in height |
120 x 120 (300 x 300) |
Glossy Dark Green, turn Yellow in Autumn |
White in |
"Japanese Pagoda Tree, Pagoda Tree". From China and Korea. It is often grafted onto 96 inch (240 cm) standards to produce a small weeping tree. Whole plant of Sophora japonica 'Pendula' is very poisonous. |
Sorbaria sorbifolia |
Deciduous Shrub 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
72 x 120 (180 x 300) |
Dark Green |
White in |
Suitable for medium sized garden, the Aesculus parviflora has long plumes of scented white flowers. With them flowers Sorbaria sorbifolia, which makes a thicket. |
Sorbus aucuparia No HB, ST |
Deciduous Tree above 72 inches (180 cms) in height |
360 x 180 (900 x 450) |
Mid to Dark Green in Spring and Summer, Yellow or Red in Autumn |
White in |
"Mountain Ash, Rowan, European Mountain Ask". From European and Asian forests. Orange-Red berries. |
Sorbus sargentiana |
Deciduous Tree above 72 inches (180 cms) in height |
240 x 240 (600 x 600) |
Dark Green in Spring and Summer, Orange and Red in Autumn |
White in |
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Sorbus vilmorinii |
Deciduous Tree above 72 inches (180 cms) in height |
192 x 156 (480 x 390) |
Glossy Dark Green |
White in |
From China This suits a mixed border or woodland garden above lower-growing plants. Use deciduous berberis and euonymus, witch hazels, sumachs, vacciniums, roses and stephanandras. In a mixed border it associates with helianthus, Leucanthemella serotina and miscanthus. |
Sorbus x thuringiaca |
Deciduous Tree above 72 inches (180 cms) in height |
480 x 144 (1200 x 360) |
Glossy Dark Green turn Yellow-Brown in Autumn |
White in |
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Spartium junceum |
Deciduous Shrub above 72 inches (180 cms) in height |
120 x 96 (300 x 240) |
Dark Green |
Fragrant Golden-Yellow, pea flowers in |
"Yellow Spanish Broom, Spanish Broom". Bears masses of fragrant pea-flowers on a bushy shrub, with green rush-like stems in poor, dry, or sandy soil. Plant in October. Cut back long shoots in March. It is a splendid town shrub. Combine with white cistus, coluteas, brooms, halimiocistus, halimiums, phlomis, genistas and olearias. Effective associations with laburnums, Buddleja x weyeriana cultivars, and yellow, peach or apricot roses. |
Spiraea cantoniensis |
Deciduous Shrub 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
72 x 120 (180 x 300) |
Blue-Green |
White in |
"Reeves' Spiraea". From China. It can be used for hedging. |
Spiraea japonica |
Deciduous Shrub below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
18 x 24 (45 x 60) |
Golden-Yellow |
Pink in |
"Japanese Spiraea". Low, mounding. |
Spiraea japonica |
Deciduous Shrub below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
16 x 20 (40 x 50) |
Very Dark Green |
Deep Pink in |
Spiraea are easily grown on any fertile soil, preferably in sun, though they grow and flower also in shade. Tiny flowers made conspicuous by their quantity. |
Spiraea japonica |
Deciduous Shrub 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
30 x 30 (75 x 75) |
Orange-Red in Spring, Bright Yellow in Summer, Pale Green in Autumn |
Deep Rose-Pink in |
Spiraea that flower between July and September should have all weak wood cut right away in February, and all other shoots that have flowered must be cut back by at least one half. |
Spiraea japonica |
Deciduous Shrub below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
20 x 36 (50 x 90) |
Dark Green above, Grey-Green beneath |
Rose-Pink in |
Spiraea japonica are good near the front of a mixed or shrub bed. Those with green leaves and pink flowers are effective with purple, glaucous, silver, or white-variegated foliage. Golden-leaved ones are valuable for spring display in bright borders, together with tulips, narcissi and crown imperials. |
Spiraea japonica |
Deciduous Shrub 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
30 x 36 (75 x 90) |
Dark Green above, Grey-Green beneath |
Both Deep Pink and White in |
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Stachys byzantina Stachys species |
Evergreen Perennial below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
12 x 24 (30 x 60) |
Densely White-Woolly on Grey-Green |
Magenta in |
"Lambs' Ears, Lambs' Lugs, Lamb's Tails, Lambs' Tongues". Mat-forming, self-sows. It spreads / creeps to form good ground-cover in dry places. Companions - salvia, roses, stokesia, dianthus, sedum, nepeta, molinia caerulea 'Variegata', acaena. This is suitable for edging and for gravel gardens. Over-feeding and too much water encourages mildew, which can mar the leaves. The gray leaves of Stachys byzantina stand out dramatically against the green foliage of plants such as wild strawberry - fragaria. The plant also combines well with other gray-foliaged plants, including blue fescue, dianthus, woolly thyme and snow-in-summer. |
Stachys byzantina |
Evergreen Perennial below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
5 x 12 |
Intensely Silvered, Greyish-White |
Non-flowering |
Mildew prone, spreads / creeps on dry soil. Mat-forming. Ideal ground-cover for poor soil in full sun. |
Stachys candida |
Deciduous Sub-Shrub below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
6 x 12 |
White-felted Grey-Green |
White in |
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Stephanandra incisa |
Deciduous Shrub 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
24 x 24 (60 x 60) |
Bright Green in Spring and Summer, Orange-Yellow in Autumn |
Greenish-White in |
"Lace Shrub, Cutleaf Stephanandra". From Japan, Taiwan and Korea. Graceful arching branches making good ground cover.. |
Stipa gigantea |
Evergreen Grass above 72 inches (180 cms) in height |
96 x 48 (240 x 120) |
Long, narrow, Mid-Green foliage is not full of character, but its flowers are highly ornamental |
Silvery Purplish-Green spikelets in |
"Giant Feather Grass, Golden Oats" with 72 (180) high flowering stems, the open heads of flowers each tipped with a long awn, at first shining pink to purple, turning to corn-gold, and shivering in the slightest breeze. |
Symphoricarpus albus var. laevigatus No HB, ST, LT, SOL |
Deciduous Shrub 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
72 x 72 (180 x 180) |
Dark Green |
Pink, bell-shaped flowers in July-September |
"Snowberry". Grown as a rough hedge plant in the UK. As it suckers freely it often forms dense thickets The berries of these 3 plants are slightly poisonous, but are most attractive if cut for the house.. |
Symphoricarpus x chenaultii |
Deciduous Shrub 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
36 x 120 (90 x 300) |
Bronze in Spring, Bright Green in Summer and Autumn |
White in |
Dark Pink fruit |
Symphoricarpus x doorenbosii |
Deciduous Shrub 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
48 x 48 (120 x 120) |
Light Green |
White in |
These 3 Symphoricarpus will all grow in dry gardens. |
Symphytum |
Deciduous Rhizome Perennial below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
12 x 12 (30 x 30) |
Dark Green with Gold and Cream markings |
Pale Blue, Cream or Pink in |
"Comfrey". Best suited to Wild Gardens. May revert, spreading / creeping. Companions - grasses, iris sibirica, brunnera, astrantia, cimicifuga, campanula. Its gold-edged leaves contrast with red-eyed, lavender flowers of Phlox divaricata subsp. laphamii 'Chattahoochee'. Both of these plants relish part shade and a moist, humus-rich soil. |
Symphytum |
Deciduous Rhizome Perennial below 24 inches (60 cms) in height |
16 x 24 (40 x 60) |
Mid-Green |
Pale Yellow in |
"Comfrey" is a compact, ground-covering comfrey with nodding, tubular, cream flowers on 10 (25) stems. Invasive |
Syringa meyeri Syringa species. The flower-tube in Syringa vulgaris is too long for honeybees or short-tongued bumblebees |
Deciduous Shrub 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
60 x 60 (150 x 150) |
Mid-Green |
Fragrant Lavender-Pink in |
"Lilac". From China. Spreading / creeping shrub. Flowering at the same time as many rhododendrons, and with a similar colour range, lilacs should be grown in their stead if the soil is alkaline, for they will thrive as very few other plants can at a high pH. |
Syringa pubescens microphylla |
Deciduous Shrub 24-72 inches (60-180 cms) in height |
72 x 72 (180 x 180) |
Mid-Green |
Rose-Pink in |
"Lilac". An excellent bee and garden plant. To ensure a good display in successive years, cut off the old flower spikes as soon as they fade. Good examples for bees of single-flowered lilacs are: 'Candeur', creamy white. |
Syringa sweginzowii |
Deciduous Shrub above 72 inches (180 cms) in height |
144 x 96 (360 x 240) |
Mid-Green |
Fragrant Pale Pink to Lilac-Pink or White in |
"Lilac". Syringa benefit from occasional mulches. Avoid grafted varieties on common lilac. |
Syringa vulgaris |
Deciduous Shrub above 72 inches (180 cms) in height |
132 x 120 (330 x 300) |
Bright Green |
Deep Purple-Red in |
"Common Lilac". Prefers alkaline soil. Very fragrant flowers and strongly upright growth This plant blends well with purple foliage. Effective partners are euphorbias, shrubs with yellow-green leaves such as elder or philadelphus, and later-flowering, paler lilacs.It associates with the underplanting of late-flowering tulips in red, purple, or lilac, pink umbellifers and early cranesbills. |
Syringa vulgaris |
Deciduous Shrub above 72 inches (180 cms) in height |
144 x 132 (360 x 330) |
Mid-Green |
White in |
"Common Lilac". Free-flowering and compact shrub. Syringa vulgaris with white or pale yellow flowers associate with colours closest to blue, and combine well with Banksian roses, laburnums, brooms, genistas, berberis, exochordas and spiraeas. They also combine well with small flowering trees such as crab apples, Japanese cherries, magnolias, osmanthus, amelanchiers, daphnes, early species roses and hawthorns. |
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Site design and content copyright ©December 2006. Page structure changed September 2012. Height x Spread in feet changed to Height x Spread in inches (cms) May 2015. Data added to existing pages December 2017. Zone and Companion Data added April 2022. The 1000 Ground Cover plants detailed above will be compared in the Comparison Pages of the Wildflower Shape Gallery and in the flower colour per month comparison pages of Evergreen Perennial Gallery starting in November 2022. Chris Garnons-Williams.
DISCLAIMER: Links to external sites are provided as a courtesy to visitors. Ivydene Horticultural Services are not responsible for the content and/or quality of external web sites linked from this site.
Height in inches (cms):- 25.4mm = 1 inch I normally round this to Details of smaller Salix, Sanguinaria, Saponaria, Saxifraga, Sedum, Shortia, Silene and Spiraea and which container to grow the plant in:-
I have included within these pages on 1000 Ground Cover Plants information from other pages within this PLANTS Topic like
and links to Rock Garden Plants Suitable for Small Gardens Index Gallery. Any of these 1000 Ground Cover Plants may well have further details about them in the remainder of the pages in this PLANTS Topic linked to from the PLANTS PAGE MENU above. |
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Plant Combinations for Sandy Soil Action to assist in Light Sandy soil maintenance is given in the row above and this is required annually. |
Plants |
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Sun lovers - You can achieve a design with grey-leaved plants, interspersed with smaller or larger groups of taller perennials and a single shrub. Because the grey-leaved plants predominate they are used as a basis, with suggestions for plants which can be combined with them. Grey Foliage with white and yellow flowers and plants that combine with these |
all have grey leaves and either white, yellow or inconspicuous flowers. If the above plants are planted together; the effect of different heights and size of leaf will be rather messy and unclear. Plant the above as the background ground cover and the ones in the next column within that background. |
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The above comes from Ground Cover. How to use flowering and foliage plants to cover areas of soil by Mineke Kurpershoek. Published by Rebo Productions Ltd in 1997. ISBN 1 901094 41 3 |
Contents
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From Annuals and Biennials chapter in Plants for Ground-cover by Graham Stuart Thomas - Gardens consultant to the National Trust. Published by J.M. Dent and Sons Ltd in 1970, Reprinted (with further revisions) 1990. ISBN 0-460-12609-1:- "I think there is a case to be considered for annuals and biennials in ground-cover schemes so long as they will sow themselves freely. |
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Use |
Plant |
Comments |
Lawn and ground-cover under conifer trees |
Poa annua |
The needles under a cedar tree were weekly swept away and the grass, despite fertilizers, top dressing, re-seading and re-turfing, simply would not grow. The needles were left alone and within 12 months the area became self-sown with a close and permanent sward of Poa nnua. This little grass regenerates itself constantly so that it makes a lawn, though each plant has only a short life. |
Oxalis rosea |
This is highly successful in the shade of conifers or any other tree |
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Cyclamen hederifolium |
This is a perennial, though sowing itself freely when suited and it is here because plants to grow under cedars and yews, somewhat away from the trunks, are very few. |
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Temporary ground-cover under trees |
Tropaeolum or Eschscholtzia |
A sheet of 'Gleam' nasturtiums or eschscholtzia; both are free-flowering and easily pulled up, though like all annuals it may be a year or two later before all dispersed seeds have germinated. Silene armeria and Iberis amara are equally successful, with Sett Alyssum (Lobularia maritima) creating a dwarf ground-cover carpet in late summer. |
Ground-cover under trees with high rainfall |
Claytonia sibirica (Montia sibirica) |
This grows under trees where the grass is thin at high altitude and high rainfall. It covers the area - interpersed with primroses and Oxalia acetosella - with a mass of pinky-white stars a few inches (cms) above the ground. Claytonia perfoliata is an annual; it is usually classed as a weed but is excellent cover in cool, acid soil, but far less conspicuous in flower |
Streamsides, river banks and fringes of boggy ground |
Impatiens glandulifera (Impatiens roylei, Annual Balsam) |
It is a rapid colonizer because its seeds are ejected with some force from the ripe pods. It seeds with great abandon and grows to 72 (180) or more; its many pink flowers make a great show. |
Full sun and drier soils than by streamsides |
Angelica archangelica |
It very quickly produces great green heads in spring, ripening quickly, with the result that the ground is thickly covered with seedlings in late summer. Oenothera biennis (Evening Primrose) will colonize any sunny waste place and produce yellow blooms for weeks in the summer Lychnis coronaria is a prolific seeder with rosettes of silvery basal leaves. Erysimum linifolium (Wallflower) produces lilac flowers |
Plants that seed about with abandon |
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From Appendix II Lists of plants for special conditions in Plants for Ground-cover by Graham Stuart Thomas - Gardens consultant to the National Trust. Published by J.M. Dent and Sons Ltd in 1970, Reprinted (with further revisions) 1990. ISBN 0-460-12609-1:- |
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Plant |
Plant |
Plant |
1. Plants requiring lime-free soils
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Arctostaphylos. |
Erica. |
Philesia. |
2. Plants which will thrive in limy soils
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Acaena. |
Cotula. |
Paeonia. |
3. Plants which tolerate clay.
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Acanthus. |
Euonymus fortunei. |
Rodgersia. |
4. Plants which will grow satisfactorily in dry, shady places. Apart from ill-drained clay, this combination of conditions is the most difficult to cope with in the garden. * indicates those which will not tolerate lime. |
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Alchemilla conjuncta. |
Fragaria. |
Reynoutria. |
5. Plants which thrive on moist soils. Genera marked * are suitable for boggy positions. |
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Ajuga. |
Cornus stolonifera. |
*Onoclea. |
6. Plants which grow well in shady positions. The bulk of these are woodland plants, growing well under shrubs and trees, but those marked * are not so satisfactory under trees, though thriving in the shade given by buildings. For those requiring lime-free soil, compare with List 1. |
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Adiantum. |
Carex. |
Epigaea. |
Helxine. |
Onoclea. |
Shortia. |
7. Plants which will thrive in hot, sunny places on dry soils. Those marked * require lime-free soil. |
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Acaena. |
Dimorphotheca. |
Lychnis coronaria. |
8. Plants which thrive in maritime districts. Many of the following will stand wind and salt-spray, particularly those marked *. Those marked ** will provide shelter for others and shelter is highly important in seaside gardening. For genera requiring, lime-free soil, compare with List 1. |
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Acaena. |
Aubretia. |
Ceanothus. |
*Genista. |
Pulsatilla. |
*Sedum. |
9. Plants which create barriers. The following by their dense or prickly character will deter small animals and human beings as well as weeds. |
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Arundinaria anceps. |
Mahonia japonica. |
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10. Plants for town gardens. Genera marked * prefer acid soil; those marked £ will thrive in impoverished soils. Soil in towns is usually deficient in humus. |
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£Acanthus. |
Euonymus. |
Ribes. |
EXPLAINATION OF WHY SOIL IN UK TOWNS IS USUALLY DEFICIENT IN HUMUS.
Humus is dark, organic material that forms in soil when plant and animal matter decays.
The humus provides the organic polymers to interact with the clay domains and bacterium to stick the 2 grains of sand together. This soil molecule of 2 grains of sand, organic polymers, clay domains and bacterium will disintegrate by the action of the bacterium or fungal enymatic catalysis on the organic polymers. So if a continuous supply of humus is not present, then the soil molecules will break up into sand and clay. |
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Cultural Needs of Plants "Understanding Fern Needs
Only Earthworms provide the tunnels which transport water, gas and nutrients to and from roots. When the roots of the plant requires the mineral nutrients dissolved in soil water, oxygen and nitrogen intake and waste gases output, it gets it through the action of the earthworm continously making tunnels to provide the transport system. |
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11. Plants suitable for covering rose-beds. The following are all small plants that will not be strong-growing for the purpose, and will help to make the beds more attractive during the 7 months when Hybrid Teas and Floribundas are not in flower. Small spring-flowering bulbs can be grown through them. The more vigorous shrub roses will tolerate many others among the shorter growing plants in this 1000 ground cover table. |
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Acaena. |
Cardamine trifolia. |
Primula auricula. |
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Look for:- |
There are 180 families in the Wildflowers of the UK and they have been split up into 22 Galleries to allow space for up to 100 plants per gallery. Each plant named in each of the Wildflower Family Pages may have a link to:- its Plant Description Page in its Common Name in one of those Wildflower Plant Galleries and will have links to external sites to purchase the plant or seed in its Botanical Name, to see photos in its Flowering Months and to read habitat details in its Habitat Column. |
It is worth remembering that especially with roses that the colour of the petals of the flower may change - The following photos are of Rosa 'Lincolnshire Poacher' which I took on the same day in R.V. Roger's Nursery Field:- |
Closed Bud |
Opening Bud |
Juvenile Flower |
Older Juvenile Flower |
Middle-aged Flower - Flower Colour in Season in its |
Mature Flower |
Juvenile Flower and Dying Flower |
Form of Rose Bush |
There are 720 roses in the Rose Galleries; many of which have the above series of pictures in their respective Rose Description Page. So one might avoid the disappointment that the 2 elephants had when their trunks were entwined instead of them each carrying their trunk using their own trunk, and your disappointment of buying a rose to discover that the colour you bought it for is only the case when it has its juvenile flowers; if you look at all the photos of the roses in the respective Rose Description Page!!!! |
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Plant Selection by Flower Colour |
Blue Flowers |
Other Colour Flowers |
Red Flowers |
White Flowers |
Yellow Flowers |
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Fragrant Plants adds the use of another of your 5 senses in your garden:- |
Flower Perfume Group:- |
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Click on Black or White box in Colour of Month. |
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I have updated the plant type and plant use for the Evergreen Perennials by February 2023,
followed by continuing to insert all the plants with flowers from Camera Photo Galleries as indicated by I will continue to insert all the plants planted in chalk as indicated by then the following plants shall be added from
finally - I am inserting these from February 2023, I will continue to insert all the plants |
The following is from the current Site Map of Evergr Perenn Gallery in October 2023:- 104 from the 1000 Ground Cover Plants (up to Aster novi-belgii in Plant Selection Level 5 Plant Name - A Index page of Plants Topic) as indicated by
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Collins Aura Garden Handbooks Trees for Small Gardens by Susan Conder. Published by William Collins Sons & Co Ltd in 1988.
On page 23 it has diagrams showing how to remove a large limb. The fourth diagram is incorrect and below is why - you should leave the branch collar on the tree instead of cutting it off. In the centre of each trunk and branch there is a section of nerves used by the tree to get information from all of its branches and trunk and then sending replies of what to do about it. You could say that the Branch Collar is like a junction box, where you cut off after it but not before; otherwise the tree still thinks that branch is still there and then will make invalid decisions. These nerve fibres are the last item in the branches/trunk that rot away. Branch Collar Most gardens of new houses in England in 2023 are too small for trees, and I would recommend using top fruit and soft fruit trained onto the boundaries. If you add a chainlink fence, then you will have plenty of places to tie cordons, espaliers, fans and blackberries. If you want trees, then you can follow their method of putting them into containers as shown on pages 18 and 19, or train the trees as a a 80 (200cm) high hedge and allow 36 inches (90) from the boundary to the lawn for the hedge to grow in with bulbs and mulch between the lawn and the hedge. |
This table was copied from Case Studies Pages Case
3 - Drive Foundations What are the Soil Nutrients besides What types of organisms are found in the soil? and What Pysical changes occur in Soil because of weather? and what Chemical changes occur in Soil because of weather? leading to This leads to an 3b Pre-Building Work for Builders to treat polluted soil using phyto-remediation plants. Then, they could follow my following Suggested Action Plan for Builders after they have built their houses:-
And finally on the same day pour a depth of 11 inches (27.5 cms) depth of the builders soil mixture detailed below onto the remainder of the new garden areas and alongside the Instant Hedging.
A fortnight later the following type of turf containing RTF (Rhizomatous Tall Fescue), bred by Barenbrug Research USA, could be laid over the proposed lawn areas. The roots of that grass will reach the clay below and stabilise the new builders soil mix, before the proposed owners view the property a month later. The builders soil mix should within 3 months become roughly the same proportion of clay, silt and sand which is within a Sandy Clay Loam to create a sweet spot for growing plants as shown on How is material lost from the soil? Page, since it will mix with the clay below.
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Design Cases When designing a garden, it is vital to know who and for how long the resulting designed and landscaped garden is going to be maintained by. The book 'The One Hour Garden' describes what maintenance work can be done in the time that you have allotted; and therefore what besides a lawn, you can have in your garden. My redesign and construction work to be done on my 3 gardens - as shown by Case 2 - must be to reduce the maintenance time required to the time I have available. If the gardens are first weeded, pruned, mulched, mown and bare earth converted to lawns using grass seed, then construction can take place in the future - as free time allows during a week or fortnight after the maintenance has been done. In Case 4, the combination of the Structural and Planting Designs would create a garden that I would be able to maintain in one day a fortnight. I would install a 3" deep mulch in the spring on the beds, so that I can prune the shrubs/trees and hoe the odd weed; whilst the father mows the lawns, the mother tends the vegetable garden and their teenage daughters play football!! The children in Case 5 loved to look at creepy-crawlies and wildlife, so that together with low-cost the design for different areas in a terrace house garden was created.
Construction Cases Case 3 is building a drive on clay and it is important to get the part you will not see - the foundations - done correctly. Case 8 is creating a pond with its pitfalls for foundations.
Maintenance Cases If you are asking someone to maintain your garden, then do provide the complete picture. If as in Case 1, you intend to sell the property, then look at this - as not a maintenance but as a selling job - and get that job done instead. Case 6 is creating a vegetable garden in a back garden during the maintenance program of one day a fortnight to maintain it and the remainder of the back and front gardens. This was done over 7 years using a crop rotation system Concrete ponds are likely to crack open due to movement in the ground levels due to being in clay or vibration caused by road traffic if it is fairly close. Case 7 shows no planting shelves for the pond plants. |
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Section below on Problems for Houseowners and Builders when the new home is surrounded by clay and how to solve them. |
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Problems for Houseowners and Builders when the new home is surrounded clay and how to solve them. 8 problems caused by clay:-
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Builders do sell the original topsoil including
where the new building and its garden areas are to be built. The consolidated parent material (bedrock) is usually sand, chalk or clay with flint possibly. At the end of building; the builders rubble is covered with possibly only a 2 inch (5 cms) depth of imported topsoil, which might be the washings from the sugar beet in the sugar industry. This is covered with turf and the unsuspecting public is offered the result. As likely as not one of their gardens slopes towards the house and even with the modern depth of foundation wall, there is no guarantee that subsidence will not occur.
If every garden of a new house had a 12 inch depth of soil removed from its new garden area, then at the end of the building work, the Aquadyne Drainage System would be laid round the entire boundary. Next to it then plant the relevant Instant Hedge on the non-house wall sides to absorb the rainwater collected by that drainage system The mix to change clay soil into a friable useful soil in less than 4 months for the above domestic garden problem was in royal blue colour typing. Using the burgundy colour typing components, the builder could create the following soil mix for his gardens:
If water with 150 kgs of clay was first added to the Concrete TruckMixer and then the required volume of cullet followed by the required volume of waste plasterboard, the mixture is then mixed for an hour. If the cullet/waste plasterboard mixture is passed through the poultry houses to mix with the poultry litter on the litter floor before being collected into the next Concrete TruckMixer, then the houses would be cleaner and smell less. The required volume of waste from beer making could replace the Peat above and the requisite Sulphate of Iron and Sulphate of Potash could be added to the Concrete TruckMixer before that mixture from the Poultry Farm litter floor is added. That soil mixture could then be mixed for 30 minutes before applying it to the garden areas of the new houses built by the builder to an 11 inch (27.5 cms) depth. The resulting mixture would then integrate with the clay and create a deep topsoil within 3 months. All the requirements for a soil as shown in the figure above would then have mixed together and time will increase the bacteria and get a new soil structure created. The following type of turf could then be laid over the proposed lawn areas a fortnight later:- RTF (Rhizomatous Tall Fescue), bred by Barenbrug Research USA, produces rhizomes (an underground stem) that send a shoot up to the soil surface while extending new roots downwards. In fact, RTF can root to 1.5 metres deep giving it a chance to tap into water reserves that normal lawn turf cannot reach. |
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There is other compostable waste that could be used in the above mixture - The following is from a farmer who runs Riverford Organic Farmers who deliver weekly boxes of vegetables, meat etc from their farms to the homes of members of the public in Britain in his weekly epistle dated Monday 4th December 2017:- |
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"So why now, in my 57th year, have I seen the light?
So, I have seen the errors of my youth and come inside. Milan tells me we have only just started. It is shocking how much compostable material is wasted at such cost to our environment:
The reasons are:-
Time is running out; we cannot afford 100% safety when environmental destruction is 95% certain if we continue on our current path."
If the above waste was turned into compost that would last as a mulch like spent mushroom compost, which lasts for 2-3 years with 25-35% loss replenishment each year in the autumn, then it could be sold to the above home owners in bags to put alongside their hedges, in planted pots and in the flower beds throughout the year.
If you cannot be bothered to buy the commercially produced soil conditioner and collect your own seaweed to be harvested from beaches, then the following could still provide these other benefits in the same time slots as in above paragraph:- |
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China sells a lot of seaweed. The Cornish Seaweed Company sells edible Cornish Seaweed and The following is from No Dig Vegetable Garden Website:-
What's the best way to use seaweed on the garden?
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Finally, we should not forget about Noise Reduction for the new residents of the estate just built. See last row in the midlle table for further details. Nor should we forget about the changes required for the infrastructure (see Pre-Building Work for Builders with Polluted Soil Page) . |
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PLANTS PAGE PLANT USE Ground-cover Height Poisonous Cultivated and UK Wildflower Plants with Photos
Following parts of Level 2a, Explanation of Structure of this Website with User Guidelines Page for those photo galleries with Photos (of either ones I have taken myself or others which have been loaned only for use on this website from external sources) To see what plants that I have described in this website see THE 2 EUREKA EFFECT PAGES FOR UNDERSTANDING SOIL AND HOW PLANTS INTERACT WITH IT OUT OF 10,000:-
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Plant Selection by Plant Requirements
Photos - with its link; provides a link to its respective Plant Photo Gallery in this website to provide comparison photos. ------------ Ground-cover Height |
REFINING SELECTION Plant Selection by Flower Shape Plant Selection by Foliage Colour
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The following details come from Cactus Art:- "A flower is the the complex sexual reproductive structure of Angiosperms, typically consisting of an axis bearing perianth parts, androecium (male) and gynoecium (female). Bisexual flower show four distinctive parts arranged in rings inside each other which are technically modified leaves: Sepal, petal, stamen & pistil. This flower is referred to as complete (with all four parts) and perfect (with "male" stamens and "female" pistil). The ovary ripens into a fruit and the ovules inside develop into seeds. Incomplete flowers are lacking one or more of the four main parts. Imperfect (unisexual) flowers contain a pistil or stamens, but not both. The colourful parts of a flower and its scent attract pollinators and guide them to the nectary, usually at the base of the flower tube.
Androecium (male Parts or stamens) Gynoecium (female Parts or carpels or pistil)
It is made up of the stigma, style, and ovary. Each pistil is constructed of one to many rolled leaflike structures.
The following details come from Nectary Genomics:- NECTARIES. An organ known as the floral nectary is responsible for producing the complex mixture of compounds found in nectar. Nectaries can occur in different areas of flowers, and often take on diverse forms in different species, even to the point of being used for taxonomic purposes. Nectaries undergo remarkable morphological and metabolic changes during the course of floral development. For example, it is known that pre-secretory nectaries in a number of species accumulate large amounts of starch, which is followed by a rapid degradation of amyloplast granules just prior to anthesis and nectar secretion. These sugars presumably serve as a source of nectar carbohydrate. WHY STUDY NECTAR? Nearly one-third of all worldwide crops are dependent on animals to achieve efficient pollination. In addition, U.S. pollinator-dependent crops have been estimated to have an annual value of up to $15 billion. Many crop species are largely self-incompatible (not self-fertile) and rely almost entirely on animal pollinators to achieve full fecundity; poor pollinator visitation has been reported to reduce yields of certain species by up to 50%." The following details about DOUBLE FLOWERS comes from Wikipedia:- There is further photographic, diagramatic and text about Double Flowers from an education department - dept.ca.uky.edu - in the University of Kentucky in America. "Meet the plant hunter obsessed with double-flowering blooms" - an article from The Telegraph. |
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Top ten plants that are bad for bees from Countryfile Magazine "Lavender, alliums, fuschias, sweet peas - keen gardeners know the very best flowers to entice bees to their gardens. But what about plants that are bad for bees? Here is our expert guide to the top ten plants that you should avoid to keep bees happy and buzzing, plus the perfect alternatives. 1. Rhododendron 2. Azalea 3. Trumpet flower, or angel’s trumpet (Brugmansia suaveolens) 4. Oleander (Nerium oleander) 5. Yellow Jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) 6. Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia) 7. Stargazer lily (Lilium 'Stargazer') 8. Heliconia Exotic and interesting, heliconia, or lobster-claws as its sometimes called, is very toxic to bees. You should not prune your heliconias, as the 'stem' is actually made up of rolled leaf bases and the flowers emerge from the top of these 'pseudostems'. However, each stem will only flower once, so after flowering you can cut that stem out. This is recommended, to encourage more flowering, to increase airflow in between the stems of your plant, and also to generally tidy it up and improve the appearance. 9. Bog rosemary (Andromeda polifolia - 10. Amaryllis (Hippeastrum) This is another list of Plants toxic to bees, which includes:- |
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PLANT USE Plant Selection Level 1 |
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There are other pages on Plants which bloom in each month of the year in this website:-
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You may not have room in your garden for trees, but you can plant them in containers.
If you still have not enough room for trees, Plant Selection by Garden Use
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Choose 1 of these different Plant selection Methods:-
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Pruning The illustrations combined with the text tell you precisely what to do in the above book. |
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Chapter |
Contents |
Comments |
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Reasons to prune |
Pruning with a purpose. |
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Tools and Equipment |
Clippers and loppers. |
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Pruning Methods |
A proper pruning cut. |
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Ornamental trees and shrubs |
Pruning a bare-root shrub. |
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Shade trees |
Basic tree shapes. |
Cavity repair. "2. Smooth out the rough edges with a heavy-grit file" No, that would tend to remove the remains of the branch collar and further damage the tree. "3. Fill the hole with a good tree-cavity sealer. Asphalt compounds, such as those used in patching driveways and roofs, are suitable..." I suggest the following:- Solutions to stop creating holes in trees. When a branch is cut off, remember to cut it off on the other side of the Branch Collar. (See Figure 1 - Optimum position of the final pruning cut in "Guide to Tree Pruning" by the Arboricultural Association which shows the branch collar within and outside the tree. My Comments: I disagree with their recommendation not to apply wound paint as you can see the result if you do not paint trees which are dehydrated, starved and gassed as these trees in the pavements of Madeira are.) Once that is done, then immediately apply Boron and 2 coats of protective sealant as used for holes in trees above." from Photo Damage to Trees in Madeira Page 1. I also saved the yew tree in my local churchyard. |
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Pruning evergreens |
What is an evergreen. |
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Pruning hedges |
Starting a new hedge. |
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Artistic pruning |
Topiary. |
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Pruning fruit trees |
Pruning a bare-root fruit tree at planting time. |
A solution for grass round trees depriving them of water and nutrients; using the expertise of DLF. |
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Pruning small fruits |
Grapes. |
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Nut trees |
Planting a nut tree. |
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Vines and ground covers |
Pruning a woody vine. |
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Garden plants and houseplants |
Reasons to prune perennials. |
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Bonsai |
Choosing your specimen. |
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