Challenging front garden

Lots of people seem to love the idea of a south facing garden. I have one out the front. It's a nightmare.

In summer, it just bakes. It's not only getting the full sun during the day, but at night it's also getting warmed by the very noticeable warmth radiating from the wall of the house, which has also been heating all day in the sun.

Sounds great right? Well, not when we get a few weeks without rain. It just becomes so dry it cracks.

I've dug in endless amounts of manure, old straw bales, whatever I can lay my hands on that will add structure. Seemingly to no avail. I've even put wood chip over the top to protect it.

Ok, so I can put Mediterranean plants in right?

Well no. Because when it does rain, it just becomes a cold claggy mess. And being up north, when winter comes, that red hot heat trap becomes a horrid cold place that not that many plants can survive in.

The only two plants that seem happy there, I'm that they've survived there for years, are rosemary and sage. They are left over from when I attempted to make it a herb garden. All the other herbs just died.

Anyone feel they can rise to the challenge of suggesting a planting regime?

 

Cracking when dry and claggy when wet sounds like clay soil. I think you are right to try and improve it as you have been doing, but it's not something that will happen overnight. There are plants that will work in clay soil, have a google and take a look and see if any take your fancy.

 

Hear hear, that could be my front garden. Rock hard, cracked clay in summer and a flooding mud swamp in winter.

Plants that do well here are (most surprisingly), Hydrangeas, Erigeron Sea Breeze, roses, rosemary and lavender. Sadly, I don't like lavender.

The worst corner is now under experiment, I have various Echeverias, Sedums and large stones there- so far so good. They survived the soggy winter and are now flowering well.

The worst-worst corner in a more shaded area in the back became a pond. No amount of soil improvement over 5 years worked so up it all came.

 

@Selleri that looks beautiful. Thanks for sharing.