What should I plant in my borders

[Crackle]

Silver Birch trees can get quite bit - though they are generally shallow rooted - my neighbour's one is taller than our house now and it was planted about 10 or 15 years ago.

One of my favourite shrubs is a Choisya ternata (the green rather than golden version) - Mexican Orange Blossom - evergreen, tolerant and can be clipped back to what ever size you need once a year - and fantastic smelling blossom. If you want a tree what about a Japanese maple - I have one - nothing fancy - just small green leaves, that is now about 8 ft tall and it is growing in a shady location - though not sure what it would think of sandy soil....

I like that one Summerdays and on the web it says

If your soil is slightly acidic, sandy, well-drained loam with a good amount of organic matter, then you have the perfect conditions to grow Japanese maples.

It also says it has fine roots and can be grown in pots, if you pick the right variety. Likes shade too, otherwise it gets leaf burn. Sounds perfect. I'm swinging back towards a tree there. And my soil is sandly, well drained due to the fact it's not far from two soakaways and well watered from one soakaway.

Like those bushes too. I might have a place in my back garden for them or the ones Rich suggested. I think I'll need to find them in my local garden centre.

 

[Paladin - York]

Ha! Ha! Ha! - a killer.

 

[Crackle]

I'll take a piccie of the house down the road. It has enough gnomes and windmills to keep you happy.

 

[summerdays]

My maple certainly isn't growing in acid soil - I think some would be more picky than others - if anything my soil is clay - it's on the way to the bike shed and I love the soft feeling of the leaves as I brush against them, in fact the choisya is the other side of the path so they are both in light shade on the North side of our house but getting some sun each day.

 

[SavageHoutkop]

Lavender?
Thyme?
There are lots of Thyme varieties out there and mine are currently flowering; good for bees and things

 

[Crackle]

Lavender?
Thyme?
There are lots of Thyme varieties out there and mine are currently flowering; good for bees and things

Lavender needs lots of sun, not sure about Thyme.

 

[Fnaar]

Row of cabbages for the border, and a marijuana plant in the corner.

 

[scots_lass]

Definitely not a tree as the roots will probably lift your block paving. If you really want a maple then plant it in a big pot and place it in the corner. Otherwise an evergreen shrub might be the answer - hebe as suggested, or rhododendron (check plant label for medium sized one), viburnum or a euonymus at the front with a dwarf conifer at the back - both evergreen and the euonymus will be variegated so a bit of interest.
There isn't all that much space down the side of the fence - you may be better just filling it in with gravel. But if you are determined to have green stuff then how about alchemilla mollis or the small growing vinca. Or even some lovely variegated ivies and a few ferns. Bergenias will grow there quite happily and mostly green all year round with flowers in late winter. Pachysandra will also do well there. All of these are perennials.

 

[Lisa21]

Cannabis

and Lavender. My 2 fave-smelling plants

 

[Crackle]

Definitely not a tree as the roots will probably lift your block paving. If you really want a maple then plant it in a big pot and place it in the corner. Otherwise an evergreen shrub might be the answer - hebe as suggested, or rhododendron (check plant label for medium sized one), viburnum or a euonymus at the front with a dwarf conifer at the back - both evergreen and the euonymus will be variegated so a bit of interest.
There isn't all that much space down the side of the fence - you may be better just filling it in with gravel. But if you are determined to have green stuff then how about alchemilla mollis or the small growing vinca. Or even some lovely variegated ivies and a few ferns. Bergenias will grow there quite happily and mostly green all year round with flowers in late winter. Pachysandra will also do well there. All of these are perennials.

Thanks for those suggestions. I would like a tree, if it's at all possible. I was looking at a root blocker, which is meant to send the roots deeper. Anyone any idea if it works?

 

[pepecat]

If you are going to grow a japanese maple i'd recommend growing it in a pot and sinking the pot into the ground (cut the bottom off to make a cylinder) or just in a pot on the paving. Mine was in the ground and died cos of the cold winter - and i'm further south than you! Growing them in a pot (or even in a pot in the ground) protects the roots from the cold better. And make sure its in a sheltered (not windy) place - cold wind can kill the leaves.

Heuchera work quite well in shady positions (well, mine does anyway), as do ferns, lavender and crocosmia. Have a look at the BBC gardening website, or just google 'plants for shade' to get some ideas.

 

[scots_lass]

The root blocker looks a good idea but I would worry about the stability of a 10-15ft tree in wind if you intend to put the rootblocker round the whole hole........ Is your 'tree' corner next to the pavement? I'm thinking about overhanging branches.........

Small trees (although to be truthful there are very few small trees) - rowan (you can get some nice pink berried ones rather than ordinary orange), amelanchier which has lovely blossom in the spring, crab apple, japanese maple, strawberry tree (Arbutus), rhus (lovely autumn colour and one of the few trees that are easy to keep in size by pruning.

 

[Crackle]

I think, after all the useful advice here, I'm turning away from a tree, though I may think about a potted one. I'm going to take myself to a garden centre this weekend to look at some of the plants everyone has recommended.

What I'm trying to decide is whether to take a lot of the soil away and flatten it, put a weed barrier down, plant through it and put some slate on top (I'm not keen on gravel).

 

[threebikesmcginty]

...put a weed barrier down...

You're going for Fnaar's marijuana plant idea then, man?

 

[rich p]

You're going for Fnaar's marijuana plant idea then, man?

Pot plants?