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hot, dry, bad soil--what will grow there?
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Posted by KirstenHolm z6 S. OH (My Page) on Fri, May 20, 05 at 17:58
I need some suggestions on a project I'd like to start this summer to rid my neighborhood of an "eyesore bed."
There is a 20' by 3' bed in front of an empty building near me, between a concrete flat area and the sidewalk. Ironically, the building had been used by a landscaper! The soil is junk, full of weeds and one half-dead globular boxwood-thingie.
I need to plant things that won't need a lot of water, weeding, or general care. Things that look good, but not so good that kids would hack them up or dig them out. It's on a major street, surrounded by apartment buildings with landscaping limited to overgrown taxus, so it's not like there would be a community of gardeners looking out for the plantings. The plants should tend toward the low side since it's right on the sidewalk. And because I'm doing it myself, cheap things would be nice too!
I had some ideas, but my garden is shade, shade, shade, and very sheltered by trees, so I'm out of my element here. I'm torn between garden with flowering plants or shrubs only. I thought of just planting bunches of ribbon grass and letting that fill it all in since it will be contained within this concrete raised bed and all I would need to do would be shear it back in the spring.
I just hate driving by scraggly stuff that makes the neighborhood look bad, when with some work it could look better.
Thanks in advance,
Kirsten
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: hot, dry, bad soil--what will grow there?
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Agastache and russian sage would work great but might be a bit taller than you want.(2' to 4') Although I think these would give you the most bang for your buck.
Lavender, salvias, teucriums, snapdragons, various penstemons, cerastium, thyme... etc. etc. Or there are the ever popular sedums to choose from.
Using the teucrium, thyme, cerastium and sedum as ground covers would help with the weed problem.(a bit)
Most of these would need to be cut back in the spring and that's about it. |
RE: hot, dry, bad soil--what will grow there?
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| I've found that catmint can take a lot of heat and sun, flowers all summer and is generally very unfussy. The "Walker's Low" is only about 18" high and only needs to be sheared back before winter or first thing in the spring. Mine grew like crazy the first year and is already needing dividing, so with some patience you could fill a pretty large bed by diving in a couple of years. Sedum is a good choice (my tricolor is very pretty and grows in my "soil from hell" area very well), and I second the Agastache too, there are lots of varieties that are around 2' if you need low ones. Keep everything well mulched, it'll help the soil. You might also consider daylilies - they're easy to come by and would only need a little compost every fall to thrive. Spirea shrubs are really tough too and come in lots of colors and even flower. I think it's great that you're taking this on, good luck! |
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