Plant Combinations for an Abundant Garden. A. & G. Bridgewater

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       Ideas suited to the types of garden

       Your garden might well be, in some way or other, uniquely tricky, but the good news is that there will be all sorts of exciting ideas and options that you can use to best advantage.

      Small shady garden with moist soil Try a woodland theme with a small sitting area or “glade” positioned to catch available patches of sunshine. Go for woodland plants that positively enjoy damp shady conditions, like ferns, ivies, some grasses and bamboos, hostas, Polygonatum, primulas and hydrangeas.

      Small shady garden with dry soil A good idea is a woodland glade theme with shrubs and trees like fuchsias, Parthenocissus (Virginia creeper) and Acers (Japanese Maples) around the borders. Have a large patch of lawn for the “glade.” Extend the woodland glade theme by spreading a mulch of woodchip around the shrubs and trees.

      Small sunny garden with dry soil Position a gazebo or arbor so that it catches most of the sunshine, and then have a small pool with appropriate planting. You could have Eichhornia (Water Hyacinth), Aponogeton distachyos (Water Hawthorn) and a whole range of lilies.

      Sloping garden with stony soil Take advantage of the stony conditions by making the garden into one large alpine rock garden. Bring in large feature rocks and stone troughs, and grow alpine plants like Thyme, Sedum (Stonecrop), Iberis (Candytuft) and Phlox subulata (Moss Phlox).

      Large garden with wet clay soil Turn the whole garden into one big water garden with a large natural pond at the center and areas of bog garden to catch the runoff from the pond. Have all the usual plants in the pond, with the marginals around the pond blurring into bog plants like irises, primulas, ferns and Hemerocallis (Daylilies).

      Garden with back-to-back houses Position a pergola at the bottom of the garden, with trellises to each side, and then plant climbers to grow over it. You could concentrate on Clematis – search out the various spring, summer, autumn and winter varieties – so that you have foliage, buds and flowers all year.

      Garden sloping down from the house Create a flat terrace area close to the house with steps running from the terrace down to the lawn and flowerbeds. You could have a cottage-garden feature in the lower garden with wildflowers like Viola odorata (Sweet Violet), Lythrum salicaria (Purple Loosestrife) and Lychnis flos-cuculi (Ragged Robin).

      Garden sloping up from the house Dig out the ground close to the house and build a patio. You could have steps leading up the slope with ponds and waterfalls at various levels. The idea is that you can sit on the patio and view the water and plants as they cascade down the slope.

      Small garden ringed by high walls Fix wires and trellises on all the walls and then plant a whole range of climbing plants. You could have Parthenocissus (Virginia Creeper) and Pileostegia viburnoides on the shady walls, and plants like Wisteria and Lonicera (Honeysuckle) where there is sun.

      Small walled courtyard garden Build a pergola that more or less fills the space. Cover the top of the pergola with clear plastic sheet so that the courtyard is roofed over. Put a small wall feature on one wall, and plant grapevines on the underside of the pergola so you can sit out in all weather.