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C - Climber P - Perennial S - Shrub T - Tree Burglar Proof Plants
A very varied group of evergreen or deciduous flowering shrubs with a variety of leaf colors especially in the deciduous types where autumn color may also be very good. Not obviously spiny at first glance, the numerous needle-like thorns are borne just underneath the leaves so a harmless looking plant can give a quite unexpected "bite". Apart from this they're also an exceptionally useful group of shrubs for their ornamental value too!
There are a great many varieties available some being upright and some more prostrate and in different berry colors.
Plants for Dry Shade
Seasonal underplanting
Most of the trees providing summer gloom admit plenty of light in
winter. The opportunity should be seized for underplanting them with winter and
early spring-flowering bulbs. These can provide a sheet of color in their
season but complete their growing in time to be at rest once more when the shade
thickens.
In January, winter aconites, Eranthis
hyemalis , will flower in sheets - cupped yellow blooms surrounded by a ruff of
leaves. If they take to you, they will spread with their own seedlings. (For me,
they have always been an abysmal failure) These can be joined, in February, by
another great self-sower, the little mauve Crocus tommasinianus.
Tiny daffodils such as Narcissus cyclamineus and the hoop-petticoat,
N.
bulbocodium are good and there'll be blue Scilla siberica and
Chionodoxa
sardensis , none of them dying with obtrusive foliage. Spanish bluebells, on the
other hand, so common in London gardens, die horribly in May, but you might
think them worth it for their April display.
In summer there is a place for dignified bareness if all else fails. Keep it
tidy and not scruffy so it looks like a definite decision rather than having
ended up like that because you can't do any different.
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Lots of nasty spikes to put off
all but the most determined. Use these to make a hedge or grow up against a
vulnerable garden wall or downstairs window. Not really suitable for formal
neatly clipped hedges, best allowed to do their own thing for the best deterrent
effect. If you don't want to give the impression of a hedge i.e. you want a
shrub border instead, then mix up different types of Pyracantha and Berberis for
functionality with beauty.
Berberis - Barberry S
Berberis darwinii
Berberis thunbergii
One of the most useful garden shrubs, evergreen, tough and
resilient to most things (though fireblight disease can be a problem as can woolly
aphids to a lesser degree) and usually unfussy about situation and soil. They
can be pruned pretty hard and made to grow in the directions we want without
sulking. They're evergreen, produce loads of white flowers in the spring and
thousands of brightly colored long lasting berries in the autumn of shades from
red through orange to yellow until the blackbirds come and eat them. They also have lots of long, sharp and
strong thorns.
Evergreen shrub, with glossy
leaves to 8" long spotted yellow. Plants are either male or female, females
have bright red berries in autumn. Tolerant of quite deep shade and indeed
requires some shade to be really happy. Will grow in difficult situations and
tolerant of dry soil. To about 10ft high and wide but easily controlled. Frequently sold as three or
four rooted cuttings in a pot, separate them and you instantly have more plants!
What does a plant do to deserve such horrible
names? A member of the iris family, though the flowers are easily overlooked. It
produces very attractive bright orange seeds in large number that shine in the autumn when
the pods split open, and it is very tolerant of dry shade.
A group that spans very pretty plants with lovely
variegated foliage to ones that are not far short of looking like weeds.
Difficult to give recommendations, because difficult conditions often make good
looking plants appear weedy, the best bet is to try one and see if still looks
good when up against the odds. The darker the green of the plant, the more
chlorophyll and so the more likely it is to withstand shade, don't bother trying
the almost completely white types.
Variegated ground cover plant
with blue spring / summer flowers. To about 20" tall, spread indefinite, roots
as it goes. Very tough once established, and tolerates sun or shade. Vinca
minor is equally unfazed by novice gardeners or shade, will confine
itself to about 8" and a much reduced spread.
I
have grown these in and amongst mint in the least promising of all conditions
and they have performed admirably. The leaves are a fresh green and the plants
produce tiny white flowers and tiny strawberries.
The autumn-flowering Cyclamen will oblige, with pink or
white flowers. The foliage, a great asset in itself with its different shades of
green, will not develop until late autumn and will be at its best through to
April; then it withers quite naturally.