Embrace the slope?

[Hoy]

There's also a white and pink form of the Lathyrus vernus that's very pretty.

This one?




Leena, I can try to save some seeds if you are interested. Last year the slugs devoured almost all the Lathyrus vernus plants though

[Leena]

Leena, how about trying Primula sibthorpii?  Here it grows and flowers well in limited sun and when the garden gets hot and dry it disappears.  It has the ability to go dormant during the summer and then will reappear in the spring none the worse for wear.  I have had it many years in a garden disliked by most primroses.

Thank you for this idea! I was just thinking that perhaps some Primula could also grow in dry place. I didn't know that P.sibthorpii can go dormant, that is good. I have some ordinary P.vulgaris, but I will try to get P.sibthorbii in next years seed exchange.
My projects for new beds are always quite slow, so growing plants from seeds is good for me. 

Lathyrus vernus may grow too big for what I had in mind there, but I have other places where I could try it.

What do you think, would crocuses grow there? I could divide C.tommasianus this year and try some there (and they would be quite cheap to buy also)

[astragalus]

Think of adding plants that bloom in the spring and then go dormant.  Adonis amurensis comes to mind, also some corydalis.  You can even use Ranunculus ficaria 'Brazen Hussy'.  Don't gasp over this suggestion.  In my dry garden it is very well-behaved, flowers and then goes dormant. There are other named color forms to try. There are epimediums that would do well in this situation.   Dicentra cucullaria would be a good addition - it is such a graceful and charming plant.

[Leena]

Think of adding plants that bloom in the spring and then go dormant.  Adonis amurensis comes to mind, also some corydalis.  You can even use Ranunculus ficaria 'Brazen Hussy'.  Don't gasp over this suggestion.  In my dry garden it is very well-behaved, flowers and then goes dormant. There are other named color forms to try. There are epimediums that would do well in this situation.   Dicentra cucullaria would be a good addition - it is such a graceful and charming plant.

Thank you for these ideas! I have admired your rockgarden. 
Yes, plants which go dormant in the summer are a good idea. I can move some corydalis there, and I have also Dicentra cuccularia which I can divide. I don't have 'Brazen Hussy', but I have some double R.ficaria, which doesn't spread hardly at all.
Can you suggest which epimediums I could try? I have some like 'Frohnleiten' which I can divide. 'Amber Queen' may like more moisture, I think.

[Hoy]

Leena, you could also use ferns in the more shaded spots. Some are rather drought tolerant, like Polypodium vulgare, Asplenium trichomanes, Asplenium septentrionale, Woodsia ilvensis.

[astragalus]

Ferns are a great idea, I'd add Asplenium platyneuron, the dark stems give such a nice contrast.  Sanguinaria canadensis might also like this area.  Epimedium grandiflorum is great because it makes seedlings.  E. 'Fronleiten' is excellent.  The flowers really shine in dark areas.  The double flowered R. ficaria is a beauty, but I don't think you have to worry about R. ficaria being too aggressive in a dry spot.

[astragalus]

Leena, what about Iris cristata?  It accepts drought here, and holds the soil well on a slope.  And how could I forget Eranthis hyemalis, which has spread here through dry shade and is never watered.  Goes well with Crocus tomasianus (spelling?)

[Tristan_He]

Leena, if it's not too cold for you I'd be looking at Cyclamen. Also what about some of the woodland Corydalis? Possibly also Dicentra formosa varieties, if these aren't too big?

Crocus tommasinianus is lovely. I'm sure there are others that would grow there too - what about C. 'Yalta' or 'Shock Wave'? Narcissus cyclamineus too perhaps if it is hardy for you?

Gentiana asclepiadea might do ok there too, it doesn't seem too fussy. Possibly some Campanulas and Digitalis might give some later colour in dry shade.

[Leena]

Thank you again for the ideas!
Ferns, YES! We have Polypodium vulgare growing wild in our property in the woods, I can try it easily. The other ferns Trond suggested are not so easy to find (though some should be native here, so they are hardy), but there is an Estonian fern grower who comes to sell his plants to Finland every spring, and I will have to ask if he has some of the ones suggested. I've grown a lot of plants from seeds, but haven't yet tried ferns from spores. Asplenium platyneuron looks lovely, too.
Epimediums go with ferns, and so does Dicentra, and in a dry place it may not grow so big. Sanguinaria canadensis is one of my favourite plants, I grow it in moist woodland bed, but I could try it also in drier place.
Iris cristata is new to me, though I have many other irises. It is another plant which could be started from seeds, and it should be hardy here (now that I googled it).
Eranthis and woodland Corydalis, yes, but I'm not sure if N.cyclamineus is hardy enough to that place. I have some ('Tete a Tete), but they grow in quite sheltered spot and I cover them with dry oak leaves for the winter to prevent the soil freezing too deep. Of course they are so cheap to buy that I could try anyway.
Last summer I planted my first Crocus heuffelianus in dryish woodland bed, I hope they will start to grow and multiply there, but they haven't come up yet. With crocuses there is always fear of voles eating them and wild hares eating the flowers, but they bring so much colour in the garden early in the spring that I want to grow them anyway.
Gentiana asclepiadea grows quite big, are there any other smaller Gentiana which can be grown in dry semi-shade?

[Gabriela]

Leena - Iris cristata is indeed hardy and also has a white form. As for Gentiana, from my own experience I would try G. cachemirica. It did very well for a few years in a quite shaded spot, beneath a large Polygonatum, plus many other crowded plants (I was afraid to move it actually). It is a beautiful trailing gentiana, with slender stems. With more sun towards late fall, the foliage takes lovely reddish tones, just like G. scabra.
Also G. scabra can be tried, it does well in part shade; I don't know how much drought will stand.

[Leena]

Gabriela, thank you. I will make a note to myself about Gentianas you mentioned!
It is good to have a list of plants ready when in the autumn new seed lists appear, otherwise I don't remember them.

[Tristan_He]

Here are some photos of my (still under development) vertical crevice garden. I'll mostly be planting it up with cuttings and small plants raised from seed, including from the SRGC seed exchange. The slate is local in these parts so comes free!

[Tristan_He]

Some of the plants that have gone in, including those bought from the Kendal show the other week:



Primula 'Tantallon'. I take no credit for the flowers!



Tiny Primula cawdoriana. Very interested to see how this does.



Primula 'Redpoll'



Primula hoffmanniana



Saxifraga oppositifolia.

[ian mcdonald]

Tristan, you have started a very good topic here. As gardeners we like to grow as many plants that take our fancy but how often do we stop and consider the natural habitat of those plants. We buy the plants because we like them and put them in our gardens, often wherever we can find a space. Perhaps more time should be spent on what kind of habitat the plant needs, even before buying. It is very disappointing to see the plants struggle to survive and eventually give up the fight. The plants requirements should be the main concern. What type of soil does it need, acid, alkali or neutral. Is it an upland plant, a woodland plant, does it need permanent moisture, seasonal drying, seasonal wetting? I, like many gardeners, like to grow as many plants as possible, in a very small garden. How often have I been left with so many plant labels in the ground resembling a graveyard of ex plants. I have tried to create a range of habitats but in a small space this is not always possible. The front "lawn" has become a mini-meadow, with no chemicals used and only cut when the gas man can,t find the meter. The pleasure it gives is far better than the comments from neighbours about how untidy it is. I do not want a lawn that looks like a bowling green, to me that might as well be plastic grass. A dry stone wall is the nearest I have managed to a rock outcrop but if someone with muscles like popeye did the work I could supply the rocks.

[Tim Ingram]

I agree with you Ian! As our garden has matured (and maybe I have too) I have come to view plants more and more ecologically, which is to say sometimes untidyly in the garden. Unfortunately we don't have slopes or rocks in the garden but it is still possible to find niches for all sorts of species and the greatest test of all is when choice plants begin to self-seed and naturalise. The garden becomes more and more subtle and closer to a natural planting that has a succession through the seasons. This takes time and how good it would be if that view came across in the gardening media more.

As an example - but nothing to do with a slope (sorry) I am excited to see a lot more bulbs self-sowing under trees in our lawn. The prospect of this as it develops over the next few years is enticing.