philadelphus coronarius Mock orange help

@fairygirl - nice to see you again Fairygirl
@GreenFingeredPete - glad i could be of assistance but see Fairygirls comments which are great advice for you.

 

Thank you @Robert Bowen . I'll catch up eventually

I should have added that Hellebores and native primulas are also a good addition if it isn't too dry.

 

My heucheras grow in poor soil against a north facing wall and its mainly shade all day and they fare well there and actually brighten the area . If you fancy trying them i contrast “ lime marmalade” with a couple of different unnamed purplish ones and the colour contrast makes both colours stand out and , you might think the colours would clash , but to my mind they work well.

Again good luck and let the thread know how you get on and i hope the effort you have clearly put in pays dividends.

 

There is the area I want to replant, I can get more than one herbaceous plant in there, the tree shrub at the left hand side is my apple tree, which I planted before my gardening days, the shrub left hand near centre is a underperforming pear tree.

 

Hi @GreenFingeredPete . A couple of things first. I think you really need to stake that apple tree properly. There's a strong chance you'll get damage to the main trunk otherwise. It's also showing signs that the site isn't ideal as it's leaning - looking for more light. A north facing aspect isn't ideal, but good staking will help a bit. It may have to be one of the H frame types or something similar to try and get it more vertical. The big problem will be avoiding damage to roots.
The other problem is your pear tree. I'd guess the reasons it isn't performing is the same ones that are affecting the apple. It might be better to take it out completely. Again, a north aspect with a lot of other close planting around it, will make it difficult for it to thrive. If you have a better site, it could be worth trying that. Tricky, but worth looking at. The Philadelphus won't mind that aspect as they're happy in shady sites.
Any of the shade loving plants I mentioned would be fine there, but you need to be careful re the eventual spread. Info on any plant can be quite general because your site and general climate will affect that. Bear in mind that anything you plant will also alter the amount of moisture available to everything, but the aspect will also mean that things dry out more slowly. The addition of plenty of organic matter before planting will help enormously. The size of the plants you put in will also determine how quickly they grow.
Hope that's of some use.

 

On your original post you say beef up, do you mean give a mulch? If so last year (spring) I put a heavy mulch down of manure, a bit further round the border extends, this part has better light. I am replanting this at the moment and have put 2 hardy geraniums in, going to but some other herbaceous plants in too, I just moved a small rose bush from the front of the border to the back and done the same with a daphne.

I see the apple tree is leaning although the tree presents me no problems, it always gives wonderful blossom and plentiful apples, in fact I have just coppiced the top, so that it doesn’t grow too tall, always do this after, enjoying the wonderful blossom.

I do love hellebores and primrose.

 

Yes - a good layer of any organic material - manure, good compost [or even spent compost from old annuals etc] leaf mould etc. That helps a lot when there's plenty of planting in an area, especially if you're also adding something new.
I was just concerned about the staking, and tying itself, on your tree. I don't know how long the tree's been there, but you don't want any rubbing of the current stake and ties which can easily happen, and then you can get diseases coming into your tree. Ideally, the stake should be pretty hefty, and the ties should be tight against that, and slightly looser around the tree trunk, which you can then adjust as the tree matures and the trunk thickens.
Hopefully it's ok though
I was just looking at other planting I have in a similar sort of aspect, and Convollaria [lily of the valley] does well, but many people find it a bit invasive. Iberis is another useful plant which just looks after itself. Whites, and other pale colours, are particularly good for shadier sites too.
Good luck with it all. I look forward to seeing what you choose.