New member, new Garden!

Hi this is my first post so go easy on me. I purposely signed up to this forum for help with my new garden. There is a certain area of the garden which I want to do something with (In front of the decking) but there are problems and that is where this forum comes in. As you can see by the picture there are several large trees which are on the south end of the garden boundaries (Sycamores, Poplar and a Whitebeam. To the west is a weeping willow next door. The past owner said he planted a Japanese maple and it died due to insufficient light. So guys my question is what would you do with this small bland rockery type area? I don’t want to add a pond as we have dogs but i want to make it a wildlife friendly garden as much as possible. Oh yes and lastly the soil is very clayey but my main concern is the lack of light.

Thank you very much.

 

Thank you very much. I am from Darlington, England which is located in the North East area of the country. I am a novice to gardens myself but am very keen to learn. My background is conservation and woodland management (3 years xp) so i kind of have rough ideas on certain things and am aware light and soil play big parts in what i can do with this section of the garden.

 

Thank you, ARMANDII. Looking forward to it.

 

Welcome Wozza

 

Good evening Wozza, and welcome.

There's a few of us from this here most fine part of the world (North East England)

I can see what you mean about the lack of light. Once the leaves come back on those trees, its going to be pretty much constant shade. Could make it a nice cosy little hideaway though.

Maybe its because I've never had a dog and a pond at the same time, but I don't get the connection? Are you worried they'll drink it and puke? Or maybe getting into difficulty in it? Or is it just that they'll do what dogs do, go in it, play in the mud, go in it again, then take it all in the house?

 

Welcome to GC Wozza....there are lots of shade loving plants that could well suit that spot,Ferns,Hostas,Geraniums to name a few...some nice white foxgloves would lighten the border up too

 

Hi Wozza....welcome to GC. That's a really shady garden you've got there. I think I'd be researching plants that like growing in the shade. This link may give you a few ideas. http://plantsforshade.co.uk/

 

Brilliant, thank you Lolimac i will make a note of these and do some research.

Clueless you are on the right tracks with the reasons i dont want a pond with dogs around plus it will attract frogs which is great but my dog would not hesitate in chomping them up for fun.

 

Next question is would you guys recommend a decent website which would sell these types of plants or should i just go hunting for them in garden centres?

 

http://plantsforshade.co.uk/ try this one.

 

Haha yes noticed afterwards that your link was also an online shop too. I will be using this deffo!

 

Wozza - aways nice to welcome another new member. Have a wander through the threads there are lots of fantastic pics on here to give you ideas for planning a new garden. Enjoy and have fun!

 

I can recommend a good book on the subject. I've got this one:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alan-Titchmarsh-How-Garden-Gardening/dp/1846073952