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Index- Wildflower Gardening Web Index
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Difficult Areas
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Bare Base of a Hedge
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Wild flowers can grow in places that other plants find it hard to grow in.
For instance a bare base of a hedge. You will find few plants that can
tolerate extremes of shade and sun or the invasion of roots of a clipped
and hungry hedge.
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Marjoram
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With evergreen hedges there is a drip line from which rain water spills to
the ground and kills many plants. There is also infertility, leaf drop and
trampling of the people who cut the hedge. In such places plant the
following species:
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Red Campion, Opium Poppy, Welsh Poppy, Sweet Rocket and Soapwort all grow well at the base of a
hedge.
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Grow plants that love such semi shady conditions like Upright Hedge Parsley,
Red Campion, Foxglove and and Ladies
Anne's Lace.
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Ladies
Anne's Lace.
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Ramsons will thrive on the drip line or in a wet area. Plant not so
invasive invasive, hedge garlic mustard (which is an edible
species growing to 3ft with a white flower).
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Collect the seed and allow them to spread where
you want them. Sow the seeds in compost or leaf mould and watch that they
grow where you want them and not in the prize roses.
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Oxeye daisy, Meadowsweet, Lesser Knapweed and Agrimony will thrive. Hoary plantain while not attractive will provide all year round cover.
Woundwort, the vetches and honeysuckle will climb through the hedge.
Cranesbills (Wild Geraniums) and Saxifrages will fill up the spaces where leaves suppress other plants.
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A Dry Bank
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The ideal place to grow many wild flowers is on a sunny dry bank. Nearly every species will grow in such a situation. Cowslip,
Marjoram, Bedstraw, Trefoil, Kidney Vetch, Oxeye Daisy and Fairy Foxglove all
like the hottest sunniest spot, full centre of the bank. To the base of the bank where its damper, most species will grow but watch out for invasive grasses so choose tall upright and vigorous growers like
Knapweed, Field Scabious, Yellow Agrimony and Purple Loosestrife.
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In the concave area between the bottom and mid-centre, cowslip and oxeye daisy will thrive while vetches and marjoram will provide plenty of high summer
colour.
In the convex part of the slope which is above mid-centre to the top, plant drought tolerant species such as
Burren Cranesbill, Centaury, Kidney Vetch and if very dry, creeping Wild Thyme.
At the very stop of the slope, depending on what is above -
(a) if it a bank and you are planting the top of the bank then
Bedstraws, Quaking Grass, Rest Harrow and Greater Knapweed will survive added to these can be clumps of
Frocken (native blueberry) and Stitchwort
(b) if the top of your slope has land adjoining it and higher up, then it may be wetter. If so, choose species that can tolerate surface run-off, such as,
Heathers, Rush, Hawksbit, Smooth Hawksbit, Cats ear, Greater Birdsfoot Trefoil and
Lesser Knapweed.
However, when you sow a wild flower mixture, the species over the years will tend to sort themselves out. But you can ask Design By Nature to give you mixtures for the different parts of the bank or slope and this will aid rapid establishment and save you money in the long run.
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Index- Wildflower Gardening Web Index
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