Hi All.

After one week of frosts here every morning (followed by sunshine!), I'm
thinking ahead to when the frosts eventually end (start of May) and it
will be safe to plant over our septic-tank drainfield with some of the
following shallow-rooted plants.

We are 250 metres above sea-level here on the Shropshire/Wales border:
with much cold, much wind for most of the year. To give you an idea:
planting lavender here is, unfortunately, a complete waste of time and
money. Two winters in a row fresh new lavenders have not survived.
Only now have we learnt from our neighbours that lavender round here is
a known "no-no".

So what we want is DENSE, VERY HARDY, EVERGREEN groundcover, preferably
tall and characterful rather than ground-hugging. If the sun ever
shines all day here, then the area to be planted gets full sun for that
whole day.

I know practically nothing about plants, so I would be very grateful if
other members could pull out from the following list those plants which
you know to be dense, very hardy, and evergreen. I hope you can see
I've done as much research as I can myself already! All I am really
sure of is that all the following plants are shallow-rooted, which is
vital for our drainfield location. However, lavender is frequently
described as "hardy", just like most of the following, although we have
found that lavender is easily killed off here in winter.

My final list of candidates is (in no particular order):

Ameria, Seathrift (Armeria maritima) FULL SUN - thrive in dry
conditions. Can be white, not pink. Hardy.

Basket of Gold (Aurinia saxatilis) – FULL SUN - dry conditions. Yellow.
Hardy.

Snow in Summer (Cerastium tomentosum) - FULL SUN - very invasive -
thrives where others don't, hardy.

Coral Bell (Heuchera sanguinea) - FULL SUN & hardy.

Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens) - FULL SUN & hardy.

Moss Phlox (Phlox subulata) - FULL SUN, hardy, - available in white &
blue. Does not have to be pink.

Irish Moss (Arenaria verna) - FULL SUN to light shade. Must not be
allowed to dry out.

Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) - FULL SUN to shade. Needs acid
soil.

Salal (Gaultheria shallon) - FULL SUN to shade.

Lydia Broom (Genista lydia) - FULL SUN, fully hardy.

Bugleweed (Ajuga)

Carpet heathers (Calluna vulgaris) Welsh/Scotch Heathers

Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster)

Ground Ivy (Glechonma)

Periwinkle (Vinca)

Soapwort (Saponaria ocymoides)

Kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi): a native
evergreen groundcover known for its drought
tolerance once established. Requires a well-
drained soil; not tolerant of wet areas.

“Well’s Delight” or "Bloodstone" (Vaccinium crassifolium):
dark, shiny evergreen leaves and small pinkish flowers. 5 - 8
inch tall groundcover. A creeping blueberry, which is edible.

"Creeping Rubus", (Rubus pentalobus): this is a
species of ornamental bramble, but its leaves
and small flowers are much more decorative than
its thorny cousins. The rooting carpet of stems
can easily grow four feet a year. Likes sun or shade.

Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) . Likes sun or shade.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Many thanks,
Eddy.

Ajuga can be invasive and will probably move away from where you want it to where it wants to be.

There are some very nice smaller Vincas, some with white flowers, some with double blue. The big variegated one is a thug.

Genista lydia is best regarded as half-hardy.

Cotoneaster horizontalis or Gaultheria would be my choice.

Vaccinium also requires acid soil

On 23/3/09 13:27, in article , "Eddy"
wrote:

Hi All.

After one week of frosts here every morning (followed by sunshine!), I'm
thinking ahead to when the frosts eventually end (start of May) and it
will be safe to plant over our septic-tank drainfield with some of the
following shallow-rooted plants.

We are 250 metres above sea-level here on the Shropshire/Wales border:
with much cold, much wind for most of the year. To give you an idea:
planting lavender here is, unfortunately, a complete waste of time and
money. Two winters in a row fresh new lavenders have not survived.
Only now have we learnt from our neighbours that lavender round here is
a known "no-no".

So what we want is DENSE, VERY HARDY, EVERGREEN groundcover, preferably
tall and characterful rather than ground-hugging. If the sun ever
shines all day here, then the area to be planted gets full sun for that
whole day.

I know practically nothing about plants, so I would be very grateful if
other members could pull out from the following list those plants which
you know to be dense, very hardy, and evergreen. I hope you can see
I've done as much research as I can myself already! All I am really
sure of is that all the following plants are shallow-rooted, which is
vital for our drainfield location. However, lavender is frequently
described as "hardy", just like most of the following, although we have
found that lavender is easily killed off here in winter.

My final list of candidates is (in no particular order):
snip

Does 'drainfield' imply - as I suppose it must - that this land is wet all
the time? Although they won't give you height, heathers might do the dense,
hardy bit. Don't take my word for it because neither of us has ever
gardened where you are but you could do worse than talking to neighbours to
see what they'd advise.
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
Exotic plants, shrubs & perennials online