h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi,
Wonder if anyone can help. I have a back garden that has a boundary made up of conifers. There is a lawn, with a border between the conifers and the lawn. I would like to put bedding plants in the border but am concerned that because of the conifers they might not get the nutrition from the soil and consequently die.
Would be grateful for any advice.

Cheers

Neilr65

What kind of conifers?

What height?

Which way does the border between the conifers and lawn face??

Also, what type of soil have you got and without getting too personal where abouts in the country (and which) do you live? is it the warm south or the north?

Hi,
Thanks for the replies. I believe the conifers are leylandii, but I'm not an expert. The back garden and lawn are east facing. We don't get a lot of sun as it gets blocked off by other buildings. This may improve as the summer progresses,(I've only recently moved here, so not sure how much sun). I'm sorry but I've no idea about the soil, although the house is an old build, so I'm hoping it has been cultivated at some time. I live in Midlothian, in a town 6 miles south of Edinburgh which I think qualifies as the frozen north, although at the moment it is unseasonally warm.

Thanks in advance

PS. The conifers are about 5 feet tall.

Hello Neil

Whatever the soil type, because it's under Leylandii, it'll be acidic. It'll also be pretty poor, because they use up most of the nutrients.

And not much sun by the sounds of it.

So you need to look at plants that thrive in acid soils (although you'll need to add more compost/nutrients) and those that grow well in shaded conditions (like woodlands).

Heathers, azaleas (although they do need some sun), laurels.

Put some time into improving the soil using composts and conditioners - but if you try to make it less acid and then plant acid-intolerant plants, you'll have a constant challenge on your hands to maintain the neutral pH.

I recommend you chat to somebody at a good plant nursery (not a garden centre - they tend not to be plantsmen). I think there's one at Penicuik.

To be honest, if I had Leylandii in my garden - I'd be getting rid of it altogehter. It grows very fast, drains the soil of all goodness and is a general pain

If you've not long moved in, then it's probably a good idea not to touch the garden for a year. That way you'll get a chance to see what's already there, and you won't risk digging up anything that you'd quite like to keep. Especially this time of year when most plants are about to spring into life!

On top of the things Frenchbean said, the plants will need to tolerate very dry conditions - the conifers will suck all the moisture out of the soil. We've got loads of the blasted things - I hate them and pretty much nothing grows underneath, not even grass

Many thanks to everybody that has responded to my posting. Not sure what I'll do. There is about a metre gap between the lawn and the conifers. I might just lay grass to within a foot of the trees.

Again thanks for the advice

Conifers are very difficult to plant anything underneath mainly as somebody has said already, Leylandii are thirsty and hungry tree's and will take all of the nutrients and water out of the soil.

The best solution is to mix in plenty of compost/organic matter and water in well. Pansy's may be an idea because they will grow in a range of conditions. Okay, if it is shady then they may get a little leggy but you should still get some good blooms out of them and they should last a while.

Heathers is another good idea to try. You must make sure though that they don't dry out during the summer time. Heathers in my opinion are the best thing to go for, because they spread and you can get so many different colours and types which brighten up a lot of places at different times of the year.

You could lay turf and plant some wonderful winter/spring bulbs underneath the turf using a bulb planter. There are so many to choose from now, Daffodils, Tulips or even snowdrops are a few of my favourites that will thrive in that position.

Laurels could get a little to big for that border, there are dwarfer variety's but even them will bush out far to much.

Hope this helps.