Our Front Bay

[David Nicholson]

On the front of our house is a bay window which doesn't go down to ground level and I call it a "floating" bay. In the past I've tried to plant out the area beneath it but because it is dry it rapidly became a haven for all the cats in the neighbourhood, of which there are many I tried all the methods I could think off to keep them off including laying carpet grippers with the nails uppermost but all failed abysmally. Finally I planted a Juniper and this did the trick but it grows like "Topsy" and I'm forever having to cut it back.

I'd really like to have another go at planting up the area but whatever I plant will need to be planted "heavily" to leave as little bare soil as possible. The area faces North West(ish) and as I said gets very little natural moisture. Any suggestions as to what to plant gratefully received.

[ranunculus]

Hardy cactus?  They will deter the pussy cats!      ... and look nice!   

[Lesley Cox]

You could try some bulbs which need a very dry summer rest and over plant with the juniper or whatever cover you decide on, something that has a central root rather than rooting along.

A friend of mine had a whole sunroom cantilevered over her garden and planted two or three smallish rhododendrons and other things including the little South African annual Chareis heterophylla (often mistakenly labelled Felecia bergeriana) and did so very successfully with the addition of a thin drip hose along the area so that it was kept damp when needed. Her Rh. lepidostylum flowered heaps better than mine has ever done in the open garden. She also had a selection of small-growing Nerine forms and they flowred a treat. Most were of her own breeding in beautiful colours from pale apricot to deep crimson, some smokey.

[David Nicholson]

Mmmmmmmmmm.

Thanks Cliff but I'm not into Cacti.

That would cost me a small fortune Lesly. Maybe the bulbs, but I was thinking along the line of Saxifrages, what do you think?

[ranunculus]

Mmmmmmmmmm.

Thanks Cliff but I'm not into Cacti.

That would cost me a small fortune Lesly. Maybe the bulbs, but I was thinking along the line of Saxifrages, what do you think?

A massed planting of Sempervivums perhaps?

[David Nicholson]

Semperviviums: A possible there.

[PDJ]

What about digging out a bit and creating a gravel area with pots plunged. No bare soil for the cats plus being able to change over tired plants.

[David Nicholson]

A possibility also, thanks Paul

[Maren]

Large multicoloured pebbles, no maintenance and definitely no cats.

I use this method on my allotment, where we have feral cats who look after the rats. I grow hardy fuchsias out of the pebbles. But being deciduous, that may not work for you. Perhaps an evergreen scented bush like Sarcococca??

[ranunculus]

Semperviviums: A possible there.

An image from David Charlton's lovely garden in Derby.

Sempervivums and cyclamen.

[ChrisB]

I have the same problem David except mine faces due south.  At first I thought I'd try growing things there, but the jasmine I planted to grow up the wall liked the area too much  It took a long time to get it all out.  So now its graveled.   Like yours, mine gets very little moisture.  I put a couple of my fish box sinks there planted with a range of alpines, but they do need a bit more moisture than they get under that shelter, so I moved them.  This year I put some pots of pelargoniums out there for the summer, and I've a mind to put some cyclamen in there more permanently.  But I don't have the cat problem.... something prickly would help I'm sure.  Yours sees a bit more shade than mine though, so the prickly shrubs are out of the question I guess.  Good luck!

[Lesley Cox]

Definitely NOT saxifragas if you can't keep it damp and at least partly shaded. I like the idea of a pebble bed with interchangeable pots. They could be fuchsias or begonias or anything bright and colourful and not too small. No need to plunge the pots if they were reasonably thick walled.

[David Nicholson]

Thanks for your help folks. Lots to think about there.

[Tim Ingram]

David - we had a similar area in a previous house and it proved of not much use for any plants! We stored wood there for the wood burner. I don't suppose that's of much help! Otherwise I tend to agree with Lesley - a surfacing of large pebbles and changeable pots of long flowering plants.

[tonyg]

Cyclamen hederifolium should do OK under there.  Planted between a few large pebbles/small rocks spaced so as to leave insufficient room for feline activities.