East Drive Bed
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This bed runs along the east side of the driveway, separating that from the Wild Flower Meadow. It is 19 m2 in area :
Accordingly, it enjoys sun from early morning until mid-afternoon when it falls under the shadow of the house. The bed was an existing one when we took over in 2015 but heavily infested with weeds and what roses there were had been allowed to sucker so only the strong [wild] rootstock remained. The soil is full of pea shingle from the drive so is very free-draining and was initially full of building debris from the 1930's.
It took several years to clear the bed of debris and weeds from end to end and in that process much plant material was thrown away. The only plant still in the original position is a red-stemmed cornus, presumably Cornus alba. However, various plants were found and retained : an evergreen honeysuckle [Lonicera japonica? or L. henryi?]; a lot of Muscari armeniacum; some red species tulips; some snake head fritillaries; some Centaurea montana. The rest of the bed has been planted from divisions of plants in the sister bed, purchases and plants brought down from Chelsfield : all in all a very eclectic mix which will hopefully provide interest most of the year.
Full details of the plants can be found in the East Drive Bed plant list and the context of this area within the garden can be found on the Plan and Areas page.
