This is another selection method, which I revised to become the one on the right.

There is a top-down hierarchy for selecting plants with the first level being:-

Plant Selection Level 1 -
Soil Type, Sun Aspect and Soil Moisture to give you a list of plants that will suit your Chalk Soil (Soil Type) in Part Shade (Sun Aspect) with Dry Soil (Soil Moisture).

The Plant Name Pages contain a link to photos in a plant description page in this website with availability from mail-order nursery in its comment row.

Plant Selection Level 2 -
Tree/Shrub Growth Shape and
Shrub/Perennial Growth refines that list to give the shape of the plant you want.

Plant Selection Level 3 -
Plants for Any Soil,
Chalky Soils,
Clay Soil,
Lime-Free Soils (Acidic),
Light Sandy Soil,
Peaty Soil refines that list to give you the correct plants for your soil

.

Plant Selection Level 4 - Garden Use like
Hedge,
Pollution Barrier,
Thorny Hedge,
Trees for Lawn and
Windbreak refines the list to give you the better plants for your use of them in the garden

.

Plant Selection Level 5 - Plant Use like
Attracts Birds and Butterflies for viewing,
Bee-Pollinated Plants for people who suffer from Hay Fever,
Groundcover plants to reduce your maintenance time,
Poisonous plants to avoid having in the garden for young children to sample,
Rabbit-Resistant Plants so that not all your plants get eaten by the local wildlife or
Flower Arranging Plants so that the flowers can be picked for display in the house. These plants add to the pleasure of creating and maintaining a garden

.

Plant Selection Level 6 - Plant Type like
Alpine,
Climber,
Conifer,
Deciduous Rhizome,
Deciduous Shrub,
Evergreen Perennial,
Evergreen Shrub,
Fern,
Grass,
Herbaceous Perennial,
Top Fruit,
Remaining Top Fruit,
Soft Fruit and
Trees Suitable for Small Gardens to get the right type of plant to suit the area where you want it

.

Plant Selection Level 7 -
Foliage Colour other than Green. If variegated foliage is required use green/yellow, green/white or green/other colour in garden but not 2 or all 3 of them. Addition of other single foliage colours is okay but please do not create an Xmas Tree Decoration

.

Plant Selection Level 8 - Flower Colour. Choose flower whose shade of colour will suit your planting scheme.

The Flower Colour Wheel Gallery contains photos split into 52 Comparison Pages; each page containing all the flowers of this website from 1 of the 52 colours of the Colour Wheel

.

Plant Selection Level 9 - Plant Pruning. Reviewing what maintenance requirements are needed for each plant in the remaining lists may reduce their list length further

.

Finally, Plant Selection Level 10.
Groundcover Plant List Details. Check the height, width, foliage colour, flower colour, shape etc to give you a final list.
The Plant Name Pages contain a link to photos in a plant description page from a Photo Gallery within this website with its availability from a mail-order nursery in its Comment Row.

Do not forget that many other plants besides those in this gallery are detailed in the:-

• Wildflower Gallery for the majority of the native plants of the UK with their flowers split into 13 colours, in the
• All Flowers 53 Colours in its Colour Wheel Gallery for all the plants that have flowers split into 53 colours in the other Photo Galleries, in the
• All Flowers per Month 12 Colours in its Colour Wheel Gallery for all the plants that have flowers split into 12 colours in each of the 12 months that they flower in the other Photo Galleries, in the
• Rock Garden 53 Colours in its Colour Wheel Gallery for plants that have flowers split into 53 colours which are suitable for small rock gardens and in the
• All Foliage 212 Colour in its Colour Wheel Gallery for all the plants that have their main season foliage split into 212 colours in the other Photo Galleries including those that do not have flowers.
  The All Spring Foliage, All Summer Foliage, All Autumn Foliage and All Winter Foliage Colour Wheels have their respective season foliage split into the same 212 colours for those plants that change their foliage colour from at least 1 season to another.
   
• when I do not have my own or ones from mail-order nursery photos , then from March 2016, if you want to start from the uppermost design levels through to your choice of cultivated and wildflower plants to change your Plant Selection Process then use the following galleries:-
  • Create and input all plants known by Amateur Gardening inserted into their Sanders' Encyclopaedia from their edition published in 1960 (originally published by them in 1895) into these
    • Stage 1 - Garden Style Index Gallery,
      then
    • Stage 2 - Infill Plants Index Gallery being the only gallery from these 7 with photos (from Wikimedia Commons) ,
      then
    • Stage 3 - All Plants Index Gallery with each plant species in its own Plant Type Page followed by choice from Stage 4a, 4b, 4c and/or 4d REMEMBERING THE CONSTRAINTS ON THE SELECTION FROM THE CHOICES MADE IN STAGES 1 AND 2
    • Stage 4a - 12 Bloom Colours per Month Index Gallery,
    • Stage 4b - 12 Foliage Colours per Month Index Gallery with
    • Stage 4c - Cultivation, Position, Use Index Gallery and
    • Stage 4d - Shape, Form Index Gallery
    • Unfortunately, if you want to have 100's of choices on selection of plants from 1000's of 1200 pixels wide by up to 16,300 pixels in length webpages, which you can jump to from almost any of the pages in these 7 galleries above, you have to put up with those links to those choices being on
      • the left topic menu table,
      • the header of the middle data table and on
      • the page/index menu table on the right of every page of those galleries.

There is an order in which to select plants with different plant requirements being used from Selection Level 1 to 6:-

Plant Selection Level 1 -
When you have specific Plant Uses to

• either completely influence all the plants in the whole garden
• or influence all the plants only for a small garden area

then the plants within a list from the following can located in Level 2:-

Attracts Birds and Butterflies for viewing,

Bee-Pollinated Plants for people who suffer from Hay Fever,

Groundcover plants to reduce your maintenance time,

Cultivated poisonous plants or
Wildflower poisonous plants or
Cultivated and wildflower poisonous plants with photos
to avoid having in the garden for young children to sample,

Rabbit-Resistant Plants so that not all your plants get eaten by the local wildlife,

Flower Arranging Plants so that the flowers can be picked for display in the house. These plants add to the pleasure of creating and maintaining a garden or

UK Native Wildflowers for viewing and use by caterpillars eating the leaves, butterflies enjoying the nectar from the flowers and birds eating the seeds.

Plant Selection Level 2 -
You need to know what your topsoil is based on and
either
select only plants from each list in Level 1 that you require to grow in your topsoil
or
select only plants that you require from those that can either grow in your topsoil or can grow in any topsoil:-

Information - Any Soil (description of soil)
10 Plant Description Rows for Any Soil A-F
0 Plant Description Rows for Any Soil G-L
0 Plant Description Rows for Any Soil M-R
0 Plant Description Rows for Any Soil S-Z

Information - Chalky Soil (description of soil)
0 Plant Description Rows for Chalky Soil A-F 1
0 Plant Description Rows for Chalky Soil A-F 2
0 Plant Description Rows for Chalky Soil A-F 3
0 Plant Description Rows for Chalky Soil G-L
0 Plant Description Rows for Chalky Soil M-R
0 Plant Description Rows for Chalky Soil Roses
0 Plant Description Rows for Chalky Soil S-Z
0 Plant Description Rows for Chalky Soil Other

Information - Clay Soil (description of soil)
3 Plant Description Rows for Clay Soil A-F
0 Plant Description Rows for Clay Soil G-L
0 Plant Description Rows for Clay Soil M-R
0 Plant Description Rows for Clay Soil S-Z
0 Plant Description Rows for Clay Soil Other

Information - Lime-Free Soil (description of soil)
6 Plant Description Rows for Lime-Free (Acid) A-F 1
0 Plant Description Rows for Lime-Free (Acid) A-F 2
0 Plant Description Rows for Lime-Free (Acid) A-F 3
0 Plant Description Rows for Lime-Free (Acid) G-L
0 Plant Description Rows for Lime-Free (Acid) M-R
0 Plant Description Rows for Lime-Free (Acid) S-Z

Information - Light Sandy Soil (description of soil)
1 Plant Description Rows for Light Sandy Soil A-F 1
4 Plant Description Rows for Light Sandy Soil A-F 2
0 Plant Description Rows for Light Sandy Soil A-F 3
0 Plant Description Rows for Light Sandy Soil G-L
0 Plant Description Rows for Light Sandy Soil M-R
0 Plant Description Rows for Light Sandy Soil S-Z

Information - Peaty Soils (description of soil)
1 Plant Description Rows for Peaty Soil A-F
0 Plant Description Rows for Peaty Soil G-L
0 Plant Description Rows for Peaty Soil M-R
0 Plant Description Rows for Peaty Soil S-Z

If the required plant - from the 25 above - is unsuitable for your topsoil then you can grow it in

• a GrowRing as shown below,
• a Container , Amberol pot or
• Raised bed.

Locate each plant from each required list above in Selection Level 2

------>

This section of the page has no relevance to gardening at all:-

• Fiona's aim is to educate dog owners to become experts at DIY dog grooming using the information on her website.
• Having groomed your dog to look superb, she also provides details of hotels, inns etc who provide pet friendly accomodation in the UK.
• Fiona also kindly thought that
  "The Definitive Guide to Funeral Flowers" would provide you with great information about flowers that are suitable for funerals!!!

If no requirement from Selection Level 1 is required, then select the required plants from the required column(s) in Selection Level 2.

------->

Each of the above Plant Description Rows has the following columns in this order:-

Plants - Any Soil (description of soil) ,
Plants - Chalky Soil (description of soil) ,
Plants - Clay Soil (description of soil) ,
Plants - Lime-Free Soil (description of soil) ,
Plants - Poorly Drained (Bog Garden) and
Plants - Peaty Soils (description of soil) ,
Plants - Light Sandy Soil (description of soil)
in the Soil Columns.

Plant Selection Level 2a:-
Dry ,
Moist and
Wet
in the Soil Moisture Columns.

Full Sun ,
Part Shade and Dappled Sun with
Full Shade
in the Sun Aspect Columns.

Plant Selection Level 2c:-
Acid Soil ,
Alkaline Soil ,
Any Soil for Acid, Neutral or Alkaline Soil ,
Grow for Flower Arrangers ,
Front of Border with Rest of Border and Within Path (Crevice Garden) ,
Bedding ,
Grow in Pot / Container ,
Grow in Hanging Basket ,
Hedge with Thorny Hedge ,
Grow in Bog Area ,
Grow on Bank / Slope - Dry Sun is where situations prone to drought are in full sun. These include steeply sloping banks with rapid drainage, the base of a warm south- or west-facing wall; and shallow, sandy, or stony soils. Slopes have extra problems which include soil erosion, surface water, summer drought and poor access (create path using mattock to pull an earth section 180 degrees over down the slope). Then, stabilise the earth with 4 inches (10cms) depth of spent mushroom compost under the chicken wire; before planting climbers/plants through that mulch,
Seaside / Coastal Plants ,
Cold Exposed Inland Site is an area that is open to the elements and that includes cold, biting winds, the glare of full sun, frost and snow - These plants are able to withstand very low temperatures and those winds in the South of England ,
Dust and Pollution Barrier ,
Sound Barrier - The sound waves passing through the plant interact with leaves and branches, some being deflected and some being turned into heat energy. A wide band of planting is necessary to achieve a large reduction in the decibel level ,
Wind Barrier and
Use in Woodland
in the Plant Location Columns.

Botanical Plant Name has link to Mail-Order Nursery in UK /Europe in
Plant Name Column

Common Name has link to Mail-Order Nursery in America in
Common Name Column

Flowering Months of
Jan for January
Feb for February
Mar for March
Apr for April
May for May
Jun for June
Jul for July
Aug for August
Sep for September
Oct for October
Nov for November and
Dec for December
In Flowering Months Column

Height and Spread in inches with Height and Spread in cms in
Height and Spread in inches (cms) Column

Plant Selection Level 2d:-
Plant Type of
Alpine
Annual
Bamboo
Biennial
Bulb
Climber
Conifer
Deciduous Rhizome
Deciduous Shrub
Evergreen Perennial
Evergreen Shrub
Fern
Fruit Plant
Grass
Herb
Herbaceous Perennial
Remaining Top Fruit
Soft Fruit
Sub-Shrub
Top Fruit
Tuber
Vegetable
with link to Plant Description Page in this website with its availability from a mail-order nursery in its Comment Row ,
link to Companion Plants to help this plant Page ,
link to Alpine Plant for Rock Garden Index Page ; which has plants suitable for a small rock garden split into 53 colours in this website and
link to Native to UK Wildflower Plant in its Family Page ; which has the majority of the native plants of the UK with their flowers split into 13 colours in this website
in the
Plant Type Column.

Plant Selection Level 2cc:-
Comments with this plant being suitable for these other garden uses:-
Aquatic
Back of Shady Border
Crevice Garden
Desert Garden
Raised Bed
Scree Bed
Specimen Plant
Trees for Lawns
Trees for Small Garden
in the Comment Column.

Plant Selection Level 2b:-
Each tree or shrub will have one of the following growth shapes:-
Columnar in Columnar Column
Oval in Oval Column
Rounded/ Spherical in Rounded/ Spherical Column
Flattened Spherical in Flattened Spherical Column
Narrow Conical/ Narrow Pyramidal in Narrow Conical/ Narrow Pyramidal Column
Broad Conical/ Broad Pyramidal in Broad Conical/ Broad Pyramidal Column
Ovoid/ Egg-shaped in Ovoid/ Egg-shaped Column
Broad Ovoid in Broad Ovoid Column
Narrow Vase-shaped/ Inverted Ovoid in Narrow Vase-shaped/ Inverted Ovoid Column
Fan-shaped/ Vase-shaped in Fan-shaped/ Vase-shaped Column
Narrow Weeping in Narrow Weeping Column
Broad Weeping in Broad Weeping Column
Single-stemmed palm, cyad, or similar tree in Single-stemmed palm Column
Multi-stemmed palm, cyad, or similar tree in Multi-stemmed palm Column
in the Tree/Shrub Growth Shape Columns.

Mature shrubs and perennials will have one of the following growth habits:-
Mat-forming in Mat-forming Column
Stems densely cover the ground and the flowers extend above.
Prostrate or Trailing in Prostrate or Trailing Column
Stems spread out on the ground and the flowers are borne close to the foliage.
Cushion or Mound-forming in Cushion or Mound-forming Column
Tightly packed stems form a low clump and
the flowers are close to the foliage.
Spreading or Creeping in Spreading or Creeping Column
Stems extend horizontally then ascend, forming a densely packed mass.
Clump-forming in Clump-forming Column
Leaf-stalks and flower stems arise at ground level to form a dense mass.
Stemless in Stemless Column
Leaf-stalks and flower stems arise at ground level.
Erect or Upright in Erect or Upright Column
Upright stems stand vertical, supporting leaves and the flowers.
Climbing and Scandent in Climbing and Scandent Column
Long flexible stems are supported by other plants or structures.
Arching in Arching Column
Long upright stems arch over from the upright towards the ground.
in the Shrub/Perennial Growth Habit Columns.

Refine selected plants via

------->

REFINING SELECTION
of Plant Selection 3a by
Flower Colour

Blue Flowers
Orange Flowers
Other Colour Flowers
Red Flowers
White Flowers
Yellow Flowers

 

Choose flowers whose shade of colour will suit your planting scheme.

The 52 Flower Colour Wheel Gallery contains photos split into 52 Comparison Pages; each page containing many of the flowers of this website from 1 of the 52 colours of the Colour Wheel.

The 12 Flower Colours per Month in its Bloom Colour Wheel Gallery contains photos split into 12 Bloom Colours per Month Comparison Pages; each page containing many of the flowers of this website.

------->

REFINING SELECTION
of Plant Selection 3b by
Flower Shape

Bedding
Evergreen Perennial
Herbaceous Perennial

------->

REFINING SELECTION
of Plant Selection 3c by
Foliage Colour and Shape

Aromatic Foliage
Finely Cut Leaves
Large Leaves
Other
Non-Green Foliage 1
Non-Green Foliage 2
If variegated foliage is required use green/yellow, green/white or green/other colour in garden but not 2 or all 3 of them. Addition of other single foliage colours is okay but please do not create an Xmas Tree Decoration
Sword-shaped Leaves

Some heathers besides having flowers have foliage colours that change from 1 season to the next season -

• Spring (March, April, May),
• Summer (June, July, August),
• Autumn (September, October, November) and
• Winter (December, January, February).

This is one way of creating flowers from design to planting

------->

REFINING SELECTION
of Plant Selection 4 by
Pruning Requirements

Pruning Plants

Reviewing what maintenance requirements are needed for each plant may remove that plant.

------->

REFINING SELECTION
of Plant Selection 5 by
Using these Groundcover Plants

Plant Name - A
Plant Name - B
Plant Name - C
Plant Name - D
Plant Name - E
Plant Name - F
Plant Name - G
Plant Name - H
Plant Name - I
Plant Name - J
Plant Name - K
Plant Name - L
Plant Name - M
Plant Name - N
Plant Name - O
Plant Name - P
Plant Name - Q
Plant Name - R
Plant Name - S
Plant Name - T
Plant Name - U
Plant Name - V
Plant Name - W
Plant Name - XYZ

Ground Cover a thousand beautiful plants for difficult places by John Cushnie (ISBN 1 85626 326 6) provides details of plants that fulfill the above requirements.

Using these groundcover plants in your planting scheme (either between your trees/shrubs in the border or for the whole border) will - with mulching your beds to a 4 inch depth and an irrigation system - provide you with a planted garden with far less time required for border maintenance.

|
|
|
|
|
V

Then,
finally use
Plant Selection Level 6 of
COMPANION PLANTING to
aid your plant selected or to
deter Pests
 

|
|
|
|
|
V

Plants required have now been selected and you could order them from Mail-Order Nurseries.

It may be noted that usually the tables within this site can be downloaded to a word-processing package and the starting letter of the text within each cell can make it easier to re-sort those cells/rows for your own personal - not public - convenience

.

I think the following growing method is absolutely brilliant. You end up growing your plants in a clean environment which is slug free if you put copper slug tape from The Organic Gardening Catalogue round the outside near the top of the completed Growring. At the end of the season all the planting medium in the Growrings can be mulched round your shrubs or hedge, the Growrings disassembled and stored in the garden shed with the rolled up weed control fabric. The system can then be reassembled in the Spring.

"GrowRings are an instant and tidy option for anyone wanting to plant a variety of veg in their back garden or allotment. The circle diameter and height match the comfortable reach of an average adult eliminating over reaching and muscle strain . The rings can be placed on either grass and hard surfaces and are great for lettuce and carrots and herbs as well as climbers like beans and peas.

The Rings are dead easy to dig over as they lift up like a sandcastle for the soil to be turned for harvesting spuds and are perfectly adapted to anyone trying to create viable growing space.

The white Mini-Greenhouse attaches securely to the top of the Growring with a couple of ribbons or cable ties. Like a mother ship for early seedlings the greenhouse can be set to ventilate for hardening off young plants before they are transplanted out to other Rings or beds.

The Rings are available in coloured or graphically printed versions and are fully recyclable. They are available from growrings." from www.growrings.ie.

I sent an email to Dave Roberts of GROWRINGS and he sent the following reply:-

I’ve had an idea for making a simple raised bed utilising scrap floor tiles and short lengths of copper electrical wire.  These will last for ever and the copper should help to repel slugs.  I knocked this one up in my garden this afternoon and it really is simple to make.  I’ve attached a series of how to "make it pictures" for your interest.

I got inspired by my visit to Dublin Rooftop Urban Farm and the beds they’re making from scrap containers.  Then I thought of tiles – eureka – lasts for ever.  I happened to have some leftovers in my shed.  I’ve not seen this idea before though I know in North Wales (slate country) I’ve seen rough sheep enclosures made with odd long lengths of slate wired together. The top edge could be finished off with a piece of split plastic pipe or U channelled timber trim to give a broader lip. 

Take a pile of 12 inch (30 cms) or larger scrap tiles with

pliers and some scrap 1mm square electric wire.

Using 2 lengths of wire make twists at the edges of the tile,

then, the wire goes around the tile and make twists at the edges.

Make a stack of them.

Now, twist the wire ends edge to edge

with as many as you like for your bed size.

Put in a liner - anti-weed fabric or old polythene perforated at the base,

before filling and planting your stuff.

Height in inches (cms):-

25.4mm = 1 inch
304.8mm = 12 inches
12 inches = 1 foot
3 feet = 1 yard
914.4mm = 1 yard

I normally round this to
25mm = 1 inch
300mm = 30 cms = 12 inches =1 foot,
900 mm = 3 feet = 1 yard and
1000mm = 100 cms = 1 metre = 40 inches

This table has been copied from
Ivydene Gardens Plants:
Plant Pruning

Pruning of
Woody Plants in Groups 1 - 13 and Herbaceous Perennials in Group 14 with Ferns in Group 15 and Evergreen Perennials in Group 16.

The aim of formative pruning of a new plant is to produce a balanced framework of sturdy, well-spaced branches that permit maximum light and air to reach the entire plant. Most evergreen trees and shrubs require little formative pruning, but may need light shaping after planting (plant in Autumn) in Spring, to ensure balanced growth. Formative pruning of deciduous trees/shrubs should be carried out in the dormant season (most deciduous trees/shrubs have lost their leaves by January and do not grow new ones before March), either at or soon after planting in the Autumn. If a young shrub does not have a balanced framework, cut off the sideshoots of the main stems, then select 4 or 5 of the strongest, most evenly spaced main stems from the resulting growth to form the new framework, and cut out the rest. Some plants from pruning group 1 need only minimal pruning; these include slow-growing shrubs with an intricate, ornamental branch structure whose appearance is easily spoiled by cutting back.

Some old or overgrown shrubs - such as those that produce new shoots from the base or from old wood - may be rejuvenated by hard pruning. Renovate deciduous shrubs after flowering or when dormant in January, and evergreen shrubs in mid-Spring. Cut back up to one-third of the oldest stems close to the base. Of those that remain, cut out the weak or dead wood, then rubbing, crossing or congested stems and finally shorten the oldest by half to strong buds. Repeat the following year, cutting back the remaining old main stems.

For pruning of plants after their first year from planting in your garden; begin by removing dead, damaged or diseased wood, and then crossing shoots. If the 'normal' branch is horizontal, then cut out the vertical crossing branch. If the 'normal branch is vertical, then cut out the horizontal crossing branch. Remember to see whether the crossing branch you take out will affect the overall shape of the plant less than the other one - to make sure that you do not destroy the 'normal' shape of the plant. Then follow the respective pruning action for the Pruning Group for that plant in the following table:-

Pruning Group Number

Type of Plant

Pruning Action

When

1. e.g. Acer palmatum

Evergreen and deciduous trees/shrubs that flower on previous or current year's growth and need minimal pruning

Remove crossing shoots to maintain framework.

In late winter or early Spring, when dormant; some in late summer or early autumn to prevent sap bleeding.

2. e.g. Forsythia

Deciduous Shrubs that flower in Spring or early Summer on previous year's growth

Cut back flowered shoots to strong buds or young lower or basal growth. On established plants, cut back about 1/4 of old shoots to the base, to promote replacement growth.

Annually, after flowering.

3. e.g. Kerria

Deciduous shrubs that flower in Spring or early Summer on previous year's growth, and produce new growth at or near ground level.

Cut back flowered shoots to young sideshoots or to strong buds low down on branch framework, to encourage new growth.

Annually, after flowering

4. e.g. Hydrangea macrophylla

Deciduous shrubs that flower in mid to late Summer or Autumn on previous year's growth.

Trim off last season's flowerheads to the first bud beneath each flowerhead. With established plants, cut back about 1/4 of old shoots to the base, to promote replacement growth.

Annually, from early to mid-Spring.

5. e.g. Prunus triloba

Deciduous shrubs that flower between late Winter and early Spring on previous year's growth.

Cut back all stems to strong buds or to developing shoots close to the base of the plant, to promote replacement growth.

Annually, after flowering

6. e.g. Buddleja davidii

Deciduous shrubs that flower in mid to late Summer or Autumn on current year's growth.

Cut back to low permanent framework. For Sub-Shrubs, and for drastic renovation, cut back all flowered stems close to the base.

Annually, as buds begin to swell in early spring.

7. e.g. Cornus alba

Deciduous trees and shrubs that, when pruned hard, produce colourful winter stems, or large or brightly hued foliage, as ornamental features. Plants that flower on previous year's wood do not bloom if pruned this way.

Cut back all stems to within 2 or 3 buds of the base, or to the permanent framework. Feed or apply well-rotted farmyard manure, and mulch to compensate for loss of wood.

Annually, in early Spring.

8. e.g. Camellia, Rhododendron

Evergreen shrubs that flower between Winter and early Summer on previous or current year's growth, and need minimal pruning.

Trim or lightly cut back shoots that spoil symmetry. Dead-head regularly if practical (unless fruit is required).

Annually, after flowering. Remove dead and damaged growth in mid-Spring.

9. e.g. Eucryphia

Evergreen shrubs that flower between mid-Summer and late Autumn on previous or current year's growth, or that bear insignificant flowers, and that need minimal pruning.

Trim or lightly cut back shoots that spoil symmetry. Shrubs grown for foliage often tolerate harder pruning. Dead-head regularly if practical (unless fruit is required).

Annually, or as necessary, from mid to late Spring.

10. e.g. Calluna, Erica, Lavandula

Evergreen shrubs that flower on previous year's growth in Spring or early Summer, or on current year's growth in late Summer or Autumn. (Tree heathers require only minimal pruning).

Cut back flowered shoots to within 1" (2.5cm) of previous year's growth.

Annually:

• after flowering, if flowering on previous year's growth.
• in early or mid-Spring, if flowering on current year's growth.

11. e.g. Akebia, Clematis montana

Vigorous, deciduous and evergreen climbers that flower on previous or current year's growth, and need no regular pruning.

Trim to fit available space; carry out renovation pruning as needed

Annually, or as needed:

• after flowering, if flowering on previous year's growth.
• in late Winter or early Spring, if flowering on current year's growth.

12. e.g. Solanum crispum

Less vigourous, deciduous and evergreen climbers that flower on previous or current year's growth.

"Spur prune" by cutting back side-shoots to within 4 buds of it's main stem. Thin out overcrowded shoots by unravelling every branch onto the ground. Then, retie the main branches to its support - this could be chainlink fencing from 24 to 60 inches (60-150 cms) with twine not with plastic, metal or rubber. Then starting at the base, inspect each sub-branch and tie it to the climber support. Then tie the next one if there is room; if not cut it back to within 4 buds of its connection to its parent branch. And carry on up that sub-branch, until all its sub-branches have been dealt with. Then repeat the process on the next main branch system, until all the branch structure has been retied. You will end up with a lot more flowers and a better looking climber. This complete process may well need to be done every 2 or 3 years, so that you do not end up with a thick mass of twigs and a leafy climber on the outside after 4 to 5 years.

Annually:

• after flowering, if flowering on previous year's growth.
• in late Winter or early Spring, if flowering on current year's growth.

13. e.g. Ceanothus

Wall trained, deciduous and evergreen shrubs that flower on previous or current year's growth.

Cut back flowered shoots to within 4 buds of permanent framework. Trim outward-facing shoots and those growing towards the wall.

Annually:

• after flowering, if flowering on previous year's growth.
• in late Winter or early Spring, if flowering on current year's growth.

14. e.g.

Herbaceous perennials.

Apply top dressing of bone meal.

The plants produce vigorous shoots. When the plant is one-third of its final height, pinch out the weak shoots.

Cut shoots down to the base, and remove dead and faded growth and weeds. Divide perennials every 4 years to maintain vigour and replant the divided portions elsewhere in the garden. To appreciate grasses and other plants during the Winter, delay cutting and mulching until early Spring. Apply a 4 inch deep mulch of organic matter such as Spent Mushroom Compost or Bark.

Apply bone meal in early Spring after rain.

Each Spring

Every Autumn

15. e.g.

Ferns

Remove old fronds. Divide every 4 years to maintain vigour. Apply top dressing of bone meal and apply a 4 inch deep mulch of organic matter such as Spent Mushroom Compost or Bark.

Each Spring

16. e.g.

Evergreen perennials

Apply top dressing of bone meal.

Remove dead and faded growth and weeds. Divide perennials every 4 years to maintain vigour and replant the divided portions elsewhere in the garden. To appreciate grasses and other plants during the Winter, delay cutting and mulching until early Spring. Apply a 4 inch deep mulch of organic matter such as Spent Mushroom Compost or Bark.

Apply bone meal in early Spring after rain.
Every Autumn

17. e.g. Bamboo

PROBLEMS CAUSED BY PLANTING TREES TOO CLOSE TOGETHER, UNLESS YOU WANT AN IMPENETRABLE CONTINUOUS HEDGE

• "How Much Room Should I Allow?
  With all these considerations, when you are looking for trees to plant, look at the final sizes listed for them and then get out into the garden with a measure, to see how much room you really have, considering all the things we have talked about here. Look at the places you were thinking of planting and consider the following distances.
  To protect foundations, sewers and drains, allow the following spacings:
  • Small trees, such as flowering dogwoods, magnolia, or smaller conifers – allow 10 feet.
    • Medium-sized trees, such as fruit trees, birch trees, or larger Japanese maple – allow 20 feet
    • Large-trees, like sugar maple, oaks, Gingko, or flowering pear – allow 30 to 50 feet
    • Large, aggressive trees like poplars, silver maple or willows – allow 100 feet
• Distance From Buildings and Other Trees
  There are other factors worth considering when planting near your home, besides protecting foundations. First there is visual scale. A typical two-story home, with a pitched roof is 20 to 25 feet tall. Many trees, evergreen or deciduous, will grow 60 to 80 feet tall, and right alongside your home that is going to look pretty silly. Besides that, overhanging branches can break, causing roof damage, or if the whole tree comes down in a storm it will demolish most of your home. Far better to plant trees that grow no more than 40 feet tall within a 20 feet radius around your home. Keep those larger trees further away, where you can see and admire their beauty, without any risk.
  Consider too the width of the tree. As a rule of thumb, if you half the width listed for a mature tree, that should be the minimum distance away from the house – even then the branches will in time touch the windows. So a better rule would be two-thirds of the listed width. That is also a good rule for spacing trees apart, if you want them to retain their individual identity. Trees planted close together make a nice forest, but that may not be the garden style you had in mind!"
• View these pages for further details -
  Without replacing Soil Nutrients, the soil will break up to only clay, sand or silt ,
  Subsidence caused by water in Clay and
  Use water ring for trees/shrubs for first 2 years.
  
   

Outside the shop of Gillingham Street Angels in Chatham, Medway Council has installed a new tree in a 2 x 2 metre area with stakes. Photo taken on 30 june 2023 by C. Garnons-Williams.

Some material was placed in that 2 x 2 metre area after the tree was planted and then a wacker plate was used to vibrate that material down at 3.2 metres per second with 520 Kg per square metre pressure right up to the trunk of the new tree. Any tree roots under that would have been crushed by that vibrating 1146 pound pressure, which is more than half a ton.


When planting these trees in the next 2 years, try not to kill every one.
Soil for plants must have air in it for the roots to use to go places; so do not use waker plates to kill them off. I hope that this process of hammering down the earth for each of the new tree roots in Medway will not be repeated to waste the £125,000 funded by the Forestry Commission's Urban Tree Challenge Fund with its matched funding of £125,000 from Medway Council and the £115,000 from the Local Authority Tree Fund over the next 2 years from 2 December 2022.

WHY IS THERE NO MEMBER OF THE MEDWAY STAFF OR ITS HIRED CONTRACTORS WHO KNOWS ANYTHING ABOUT PLANTS AND WHO ALLOWS THIS, AND
THE NEGLECT OF THE OTHER TREES IN THE CHATHAM HIGH STREET THAT ARE NOW BEING CUT DOWN DUE TO NEGLECT IN ALLOWING THE PROTECTIVE METAL STRUCTURES ROUND THEM TO BE GROWN INTO BY THOSE TREES WHICH THEN KILLS THE TREES?

Unfortunately the material that was pressured down was not soil, because on Thursday 25 May 2023, I saw that tarmac had been laid on top of that material in the 2 x 2 metre area right up to the trunk of the new tree.
Did you know that is also what Guernsey did in September 2019?
This stops water etc as detailed in point 10 below from interacting with the crushed roots of that tree, so that the

• Forestry Commission,
• Medway population who are funding this £125,000 matched funding and
• the Local Authority Tree Fund
  will be very grateful to Medway Council in wasting their funds by planting trees and then proceeding to kill them.
  
  
  This copy of point 7 comes from the Home page:-
  7. 166 trees in the pavements in a short section of a road in Funchal, Madeira are being slowly, starved, dehydrated, asphyxiated, poisoned by tarmac and concrete, burnt inside their hollow trunks, roots pounded by 40 ton lorries or shoes of pedestrians, and allowed to rot until killed off during February 2019 (see information in Problems with trees in pavements in Funchal, Madeira in January/February 2018 Page, which appears to have had no effect) as shown by my 433 photos in the following pages:-
  • Death of tree roots and
    • Death of tree trunks/branches caused by people.
    • Solution to problems for trees caused by people using irrigation -
      Growth of Pollarded Tree in Hotel Garden in 1 year provides a water solution to this destruction.
    • Damage to Tree Trunks 1, 2, 3, 4 caused by people,
    • Damage to Tree Roots caused by people,
    • Area of Open Ground round trees,
    • New Trees in pavements 1, 2,
    • Irrigation of current trees,
    • Watersprouts on trees,
    • Crossing Branches in trees,
    • Utility Equipment with tree Foliage,
    • Lights on trees,
    • Bycycle Lane in Pavement,
    • Public Gardens alongside pavements,
    • Hotel/Private Gardens alongside pavements,
    • Current Permeable Pavement Surface round trees and
    • Irrigation and Fertilising of trees. "Understanding Fern Needs
      Ferns have the same basic growing requirements as other plants and will thrive when these are met. There is nothing mysterious about the requirements - they are not something known only to people with green thumbs - but the best gardeners are those who understand plant requirements and are careful about satisfying them.
      What, then, does a fern need?
    • All plants need water. Water in the soil prevents roots from drying, and all mineral nutrients taken up by the roots must be dissolved in the soil water. Besides water in the soil, most plants need water in the air. Adequate humidity keeps the plant from drying out. Leaves need water for photosynthesis and to keep from wilting.
    • All green plants need light to manufacture food (sugars) by photosynthesis. Some plants need more light than others, and some can flourish in sun or shade. Most ferns, however, prefer some amount of shade.
    • For photosynthesis, plants require carbon dioxide, a gas that is exhaled by animals as waste. Carbon dioxide diffuses into plants through tiny pores, called stomata, that abound on the lower surface of the leaves. In the leaf, carbon dioxide is combined with the hydrogen from water to form carbohydrates, the plant's food. This process takes place only in the presence of light and chlorophyll, a green pigment found in plant cells. To enhance growth, some commercial growers increase the carbon dioxide level in their greenhouses to 600ppm (parts per million), or twice the amount typically found in the air.
    • Plants need oxygen. The green plants of a plant do not require much oxygen from the air because plants produce more oxygen by photosynthesis than they use. The excess oxygen liberated from the plants is used by all animals, including humans. What do plants do with oxygen? They use it just as we do, to release the energy stored in food. We use energy to move about, to talk, to grow, to think - in fact, for all our life processes. Although plants don't talk or move much, they do grow and metabolize and must carry on all their life processes using oxygen to release the stored energy in their food.
    • Roots need air all the time. They get it from the air spaces between the soil particles. Overwatering displaces the air between soil particles with water, thereby removing the oxygen needed by the roots. This reduces the root's ability to absorb mineral nutrients and can foster root-rot. These gases need free access to the roots:-
    • Nitrogen Cycle -
      Nitrogen is the most commonly limiting nutrient in plants. Legumes use nitrogen fixing bacteria, specifically symbiotic rhizobia bacteria, within their root nodules to counter the limitation. Rhizobia bacteria fix nitrogen which is then converted to ammonia. Ammonia is then assimilated into nucleotides, Amino Acids, vitamins and flavones which are essential to the growth of the plant. The plant root cells convert sugar into organic acids which then supply to the rhizobia in exchange, hence a symbiotic relationship between rhizobia and the legumes.
    • Oxygen Cycle -
      No nutrient absorption occurs at the root zone unless oxygen is present.
    • Carbon Dioxide -
      Plant roots uptake carbon dioxide to provide carbon for parts of the foliage.
    • Plants need minerals to grow properly. The minerals are mined from the soil by the plant's root system. If a certain mineral is missing, such as calcium needed for developing cell walls, then the plant will be stunted, discoloured, or deformed.
    • Some plants tolerate a wide range of temperatures, whereas others are fussy. If the temperature is too high or low, the machinery of the plant will not operate satisfactorily or will cease entirely.
    • The basic needs of plants are not hard to supply, but growing success depends on attending to these needs with care and exactitude. The remainder of this chapter is devoted to a discussion of these requirements, with the exception of mineral needs, which are discussed in Chapter 5."
    • You can see further damage done to trees in pavements in Madeira in these pages:-
      Pavements of Funchal, Madeira
      Damage to Trees - Pages
      1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
      6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
      11, 12, 13
      for trees 1-54,
      14, 15,
      16, 17, 18, 19, 20,
      21, 22, 23, 24, 25,
      for trees 55-95,
      26, 27, 28, 29, 30,
      31, 32, 33, 34, 35,
      36, 37,
      for trees 95-133,
      38, 39, 40,
      41, 42, 43, 44, 45,
      for trees 133-166
      
      
      
      Let us repeat point 10:-
      10. Since I was adding to the 97 out 706 ferns to the Fern Gallery, I thought you might be interested in the following to explain why the current treatment of growing plants in pavements in Madeira is lacking in care:-
      
      This row gives a very clear overall description of the
      Cultural Needs of Plants
      from Chapter 4 in Fern Grower's Manual by Barbara Joe Hoshizaki & Robbin C. Moran. Revised and Expanded Edition. Published in 2001 by Timber Press, Inc. Reprinted 2002, 2006. ISBN-13:978-0-88192-495-4.

By the bus stop for the 145 after the George Pub on City Way, Rochester, there is a mature tree killed by honey fungus. A few yards away, there is a new building being built with a great deal of heavy steelwork. The lorries bringing that steel do not put down supporting trackways and so the pavement had 2 deep indentations in it. The roots of this mature tree were in that area and would have been broken by this and that is where the honey fungus got in. Having infected that tree and killed it off, the fungus went up about 20 yards to a pollarded tree that had been knocked to a 45 degree angle by a heavy duty motor vehicle and infected that as well. When Medway Council sent repairers to relay the pavement tarmac, I informed them about the trees. The dead trees have not been removed and so that honey fungus will continue up and down City Way on the grass and tree verge between the road and the tarmac pavement, and into the gardens along that side.

Like the new trees that had died of disease in a car park of a new Aldi store in Gillingham, nothing was done about them by Medway Council for about a year, while Aldi continued to sell garden trees from the same car park area.

Perhaps it might make sense if all the trees under the protection of Medway Council were identified, put onto a map and their details held in a database and what happens to each in each year. Then have a department to look after them on a continuing basis. Unfortunately Medway trees are only dealt with when they have died or in the case of trees in Chatham High Street where the trunk has exceeded the space within the metal fence surrounding it and the metal has entered the trunk - once a circle of metal has gone into the trunk then the 1 cell thick cambium layer has been breached and everything above it dies. Because nobody has stopped this from happenning, good mature trees have been killed off by neglect due to no maintenance staff.

This section of a table was copied from
Ivydene Gardens Flower Shape and Use in Landscape for all Wildflower and Cultivated Plants in this Website Gallery
 

This table does have the links attached to its cell text content, because of memory,
they are in Tables 2 and 3 within TABLE B (the fifth in the row) of
Evergreen Perennial Shape Gallery Map Page
 

These 2 systems of comparison:-

The Evergreen Perennials have

• Plant Description Pages
• their flower colour compared in a 7 Flower Colour per month Gallery
• their Flower Shape compared in a Gallery, and
• their Plant Use compared in another Gallery

Every Plant detailed in this website has

• Plant Description Pages or row in a table
• their flower colour compared in a 7 Flower Colour per month Gallery
• their Flower Shape compared in a Gallery, and
• their plant Use compared in another Gallery

are detailed in the TABLE A on the right

PLANT USE AND FLOWER SHAPE GALLERY PAGES
compares the use and flower shape of plants in this website
- WHICH ARE THOSE PLANTS FROM OTHER GALLERIES BESIDES THE WILDFLOWER SHAPE GALLERY -
 

combined with those already compared in
Bedding,
Bulb,
Evergreen Perennial,
Herbaceous Perennial and
Roses
pages as linked to in row

Topic - Use of Plant in your Plant Selection Process
in the TOPIC table - on the extreme left - at the end of this page with

Tip Colour background as shown in the cell above.

Strip
Site

Early Spring Border Special Garden

Spring Epheme-rals Special Garden

Plans for Beds and Borders
Site

Summer Border Special Garden

Cottage Garden Special Garden

Beds
Site

Late Summer Border Special Garden

Autumn Border Special Garden

Borders Site

Shade Border and Woodland Garden Special Garden

Meadow Garden Special Garden

These pages in this section of Yellow Background are
List of Perennials by Landscaping Site - xxxx

with Plant Type, Evergreen or Herbaceous or Deciduous, Sun Aspect and Listed Species

from Landscaping with Perennials by Emily Brown. Her ideas about Perennials (a plant that lasts for more than 2 growing seasons) include most of the other plant types except Annuals and Biennials for use in America

Long Bloomers

Back of Border, Alley, and Too Tall for Words Special Garden

White Flower Colour

Blue or Almost Blue Flower Colour

Lavender Flower Colour

Lavender, called Blue Flower Colour

Yellow Flower Colour

Orange Flower Colour

Pink Flower Colour

Red & Scarlet Flower Colour

Bedding Out and Bedding Out of Roses

Bedding for Filling In

Bedding for Screening

Maroon Flower Colour

Flowering Stem between 24-48 inches (60-120 cms)

Flowering Stem over 48 inches (120 cms)

Bloom by Season
Jan-Feb

Bloom by Season
Mar-Apr
 

Bloom by Season
May-Jun

Bloom by Season
Jul-Aug

Bloom by Season
Sep-Dec

Bedding for Pots and Troughs

Bedding in Window Boxes

Bedding in Hanging Baskets

Foliage
Blue-Green

Foliage Grey-Green

Foliage Grey

Foliage Varie-gated

Foliage Height
1-7 inches (2.5-17.5 cms)

Foliage Height
8-23 inches (20-57.5 cms)

Foliage Height
24- inches
(60 and over cms)

Bedding Foliage

Bedding:- Spring

Summer

Winter

Foliage Only

Other than Green Foliage

Foliage
Bold

Foliage Finely Cut, Delicate or Compound
+
Finely Cut

Foliage Aromatic

Perennials for Ground Covering in Shade

and 3

Long Lived

Trees in Lawn

Trees in Small Gardens
 

Wildflower Garden

Attract Bird
Attract Butterfly
1, 2

Climber on House Wall

Climber not on House Wall

Climber in Tree

Rabbit-Resistant
 

Woodland

Pollution Barrier

Part Shade

Full Shade

Perennials which prefer Moisture

Perennials which do best on Margins of Water

Perennials which are Drought Tolerant

Perennials which tolerate Dense Shade

Perennials for Poor Soil, Full Sun

Tough Perennials (or easy Maint-enance)

Single Flower provides Pollen for Bees
1, 2, 3

Ground-Cover
<60cm
60-180cm
>180cm

Hedge

Wind-swept

Covering Banks

Patio Pot

Edging Borders

Back of Border

Poisonous

Wildflower Form and

Evergreen Perennial Form

Wildflower Form and

Evergreen Perennial Form

Mat-
form

Mat-forming

Prostrate or Trail

Prostrate or Trailing.
 

Climb
 

Climbing

Cushion or Mound

Cushion or Mound-forming

Spread or Creep

Spreading or Creeping

Clump- form

Clump-forming

Stem- less.

Stemless.

Sword-shape
Leaf

Sword-shaped Leaves

Erect or Upright

Erect or Upright.

Arching

 

Arching

Adjacent to Water

Bog Garden
 

Tolerant of Poor Soil

Winter-Flowering
 

Fragrant

Wildflower Use and Evergreen Perennial Use

Other than Only Green Foliage +
1, 2

Bedding or Mass Planting

Ground-Cover

In Water

Coastal Conditions
+
Coastal

Speciman Plant

Under-plant

Not Fragrant

Exhibition

Standard Plant is 'Ball on Stick'

Indoor House-plant

Grow in an Alpine House

Grow in Hanging Basket +
Basket

Grow in Window-box

Grow in Green-house

Fragrant Flowers

Not Fragrant Flowers

Upright Branches or Sword-shaped leaves

Plant to Prevent Entry to Human or Animal

Coastal Conditions

Attracts Butter-flies
+ Butterfly Usage
of Plants

Attracts Bees +
1, 2, 3
and Forage Calendar

Grow in Scree

Grow in a Patio Pot

Grow in an Alpine Trough +

Rock Plant

Edging Borders

Back of Border or Back-ground Plant

Tolerant on North-facing Wall

Cut Flower

Potted Veg Outdoors

Potted Veg Indoors
 

Into Native Plant Garden

Naturalize in Grass

Natural-ized Plant Area

Resistant to Wildlife

Thornless

Raised Bed Outdoors Veg
 

Grow in Alkaline Soil A-F,
G-L, M-R,
S-Z

Grow in Acidic Soil

Grow in Any Soil

Grow in Rock Garden

Grow Bulbs Indoors

Wildflower in Soil and Evergreen Perennial in Soil

Chalk +
A-F, A-F,
A-F, G-L,
M-R, S-Z

Clay +

A-F, G-L,
M-R, S-Z

Sand +
A-F, A-F,
A-F, G-L,
M-R, S-Z

Lime-Free (Acid) +
A-F, A-F,
A-F, G-L,
M-R, S-Z

Peat +

A-F, G-L,
M-R, S-Z

Any +

A-F, G-L, M-R, S-Z