The main function of this scheme is to provide planting that can help to protect and stabilise the soil on a semi-shaded slope.
Aucuba and Berberis are tough, resilient plants that can cope with the shade and fast drainage often found on north-facing slopes.
The spreading habit of plants such as the Mahonia and Euphorbia help to protect the soil surface and can reduce soil erosion, which can be more pronounced on slopes with exposed soil. The Bergenia has a fairly shallow but spreading root system, which helps bind the soil surface.
The Ajuga helps to cover ground, reducing erosion and the drying effect of the wind on exposed soil. It will also help prevent unwanted plants from self-seeding by reducing areas of bare soil.
‘Right plant, right place’ is essential here, as plants unable to cope with the sharp drainage and part-shaded In gardening, ‘aspect’ refers to the direction in which a garden or plant is facing. This can affect the amount of sunlight and shade that plants receive, as well as the temperature and wind exposure. South- and west-facing aspects are usually warm and sunny, while east- and north-facing aspects are colder and shadier.
Additional organic mulching, preferably with homemade compost, can improve soil moisture retention and weed suppression. Mulches should be spread when the soil is already moist, to help trap some of that moisture before it dries out in summer.
1 - Euphorbia ‘Whistleberry Garnet’ is a compact evergreen perennial, with red-flushed leaves and stems, and yellow-green flowers with a bright red eye in spring.
2 - Berberis darwinii ‘Compacta’ is an evergreen shrub with small, densely-packed leaves that are tinged red in spring. Hanging sprays of small orange flowers with touches of red appear in spring, followed by bunches of blue-black berries.
3 - Aucuba japonica ‘Crotonifolia’ is an evergreen shrub with large leathery leaves that are heavily spotted and blotched with deep yellow. Small purple flowers are followed by bright red berries when pollinated.
4 - Mahonia aquifolium ‘Apollo’ is a low, spreading, small evergreen shrub with glossy deep green leaves that become purplish in winter. In early spring, large clusters of deep yellow flowers are produced in abundance, followed by black berries in late summer and autumn.
5 - Ajuga reptans ‘Catlin’s Giant’ is a low-growing semi-evergreen Perennials are plants that live for multiple years. They come in all shapes and sizes and fill our gardens with colourful flowers and ornamental foliage. Many are hardy and can survive outdoors all year round, while less hardy types need protection over winter. The term herbaceous perennial is used to describe long-lived plants without a permanent woody structure (they die back to ground level each autumn), distinguishing them from trees, shrubs and sub-shrubs.
6 - Bergenia ‘Eroica’ is an evergreen perennial with vivid purple-pink flowers in spring that appear on tall red stems, held above bronze-green leaves that redden in winter.