Plants for difficult places
I hope these lists will be of use to you. They are by no means comprehensive, but constitute those plants which I have found by research or by reading, to be suitable for the various situations. I haven’t included a list of drought tolerant plants as it would be too long
Plants for damp soil, ponds and boggy areas
Key
* dry # poor ~damp ^ rich $ well drained
Plants for Chalky Soils back to top
Perennials
Achillea filipendula ‘Gold Plate’
Anemone hupehensis - Japanese anemone
Anemone hybrida – Japanese anemone
Bergenia
Ceratostigma willmottianum hardy plumbago
Dianthus
Eupatorium rugosum ‘Chocolate’
Geranium pratense and other hardy geraniums
Hypericum perforatum – St John’s Wort
Lupin Russell Hybrids (The Pages - light red)
Oregano
Rock Plants
Campanula (some)
Oregano
Thyme
Climbers
Eccremocarpus
Some vines
Annuals
Shrubs
Choisya ternata (Mexican orange blossom)
Cornus (dogwood)
Elder (Sambucus)
Jasminum officinale Hardy (summer flowering jasmine)
Plants that tolerate clay back to top
Dry clay
Ajuga (or wet)
Philadelphus (mock orange blossom)
Waterlogged clay
Ajuga
Clay
Anemone hybrida Japanese anemoneAstrantia major
Carex aurea (Bowles golden sedge)
Choisya ternata Mexican orange blossom
Day lilies (Hemerocallis)
Lamium maculatum
Monkey flower
Poplar Populus candicans ‘Aurora’
Cornus alba Elegantissima variegated dogwood
Crocosmia
Foxglove especially Digitalis mertonensis
Geraniums (hardy)
Hydrangea
Salix ‘Britzensis’ flame stemmed willow
Scrophularia auriculata (figwort)
Wild garlic
Shrubs, climbers & grasses
*dry # poor ~damp ^ rich $ well drained /*semi-dry
Plants for dry shade often have highly indented leaves
Carex elata ‘Aurea’
Choisya Aztec pearl
Clematis alpina
Clematis perle d’azur
Euonymus fortunei*
Fatsia japonica
Hypericum calycinum + others (flowers better in full sun) St John's Worts
Jasminium nudiflorum (Winter flowering jasmine)
Leycestria formosa
Lonicera nitida aurea
Ribes sanguinium
Rose ‘Veilchenblau’ (I hope to have this propagated for next year)
Syringa (lilac)
Climbers
Persian Ivy
Annuals for semi-shade
Bellis perennis winter flowering daisy
Myostis (forget-me-not)
Primula
Annuals
Antirrhinum
Forget me not (Myosotis)
Matthiola bicornis (Stock)
Mimulus (Monkey flower)
Nicotiana (I sell N. sylvestris in late Spring)
viola
Herbaceous perennials
* dry # poor ~damp ^ rich $ well drained
Agapanthus (sheltered)
Anemone hybrida Japanese anemone
Campanula lactiflora + others ^~
Cyclamen
Geranium esp. G macrorhizum, G. G. phaeum & G. sylvaticum
Hellebore Lenten Rose
Iris pseudacorus* Flag Iris
Lamium*
Lysimachia nummularia*
Lythrum salicaria Purple Loosestrife
Melissa officinalis $ prefers full sun
Mimulus
Mints – apple or eau de cologne
Physalis alkengi Chinese Lantern
Physostegia virginiana ‘Crown of snow’
Plants for deep shade back to top
* dry # poor ~damp ^ rich $ well drained
Fatsia japonica
Helleborus orientalis Lenten Rose
Helleborus corsicus #(OK in poor or stony soils)
Hypericum calycinum
Lamium maculatum (spotted dead nettle)
Symphytum grandiflorum-moist
Vinca major ‘Elegantissima’
Plants for damp soil, ponds and boggy areas back to top
Anemone hybrida Japanese anemone
Cannas can be stood in water or a bog garden for the summer
Dogwood (Cornus alba elegantisima AGM)
Fatsia japonica
Helleborus orientalis (now called Helleborus hybridus) Lenten rose
Iris pseudacorus Flag Iris
Lysimachia firecracker (good for boggy areas that dry out)
Muskingum sedge Carex muskingumensis
Poplar Populus candicans ‘Aurora’
Ragged Robin Lychnis flos-cuculi
Salix vitellina ‘Britzensis’ AGM Flame stemmed willow
Waterlogged clay
Ajuga
Iris pseudacorus (yellow flag iris)
Poplar Populus candicans ‘Aurora’
Willow Salix
In the pond
Nuphar lutea- yellow native water lily. Vigorous, needs a large pond
Muskingum sedge Carex muskingumensis (in a few inches of water)
Iris pseudacorus Flag Iris
Plants for sandy soils back to top
Verbascum bombiciferum
Rockroses
Helianthemum
Grasses – Stipa tenuissima ‘pony tails’,
Grass
Plants for acid soils back to top
Astrantia major
Aucuba japonica (spotted laurel, also good in shade)
Ceratostigma willmottianum Hardy plumbago
Choisya ternata Mexican orange blossom
Echinops bannaticus
Jasminum officinale hardy summer jasmine
Lamium maculatum