Gardening and Horticulture - Which plants or shrubs?

Hi all, the problem I have is at the top of my garden the neighbour has some tall conifers which I dont mind as they dont block our sun and give us some privacy. However anything I plant under that area doesnt survive. The conifers prevent rain unless its a downpour and most water they take anyway so the soil is very dry. The conifers dont block all the light so its an area in partial shade depending on the time of day. Apart from removing the conifers can anyone recommend plants or shrubs that would thrive there, preferably something that would give the occaisonal show of colour :( :rolleyes:

Your walking in a white pine Forest the State planted for harvest some 20 years ago. What do you see growing at ground level? Same thing but an Oak, Elm & Beech Forest instead. What do you see at ground level?

Since both Forest are 20 years old & have about the same light at the under story. Why is the Pine forest so bare yet many plants including many medicinal Herbs are growing very well under the broad leaf trees.

Acid & a lot at that, is how the pines compete for space to kill out other plant life. It is possable to find some plants to grow however a raised bed or two with a sweeter soil can do wonders for many more choices. You must remove any pine needles at seasons end & again before you plant your beds. Call around for truckloads of spent Mushroon compost & enrich it then with new amendments for the new plants & Bactieria to feed on.

Take a look at our Sticky named ( Useful Garden Links ) for many more ideas I do believe I would stay with annuals so your not stuck with plants that don't do well & are hard to remove.

Raised beds solve a lot of problems like this, & potting soil or just old top soil will be too $$ or full of weed seeds you may never control. Mushroom compost has already grown the Mushrooms and is still sterile soil & at a good price at that.

PS: A small scale drip irigation System will solve your water problem nicely.

Thanks for the advice, dont know if it makes much difference but the conifers in question dont have needles and dont shed. I think I may raise the bed up though sounds like a good idea.

Hi Colin


However I know that some pines shead more than others. Let's just say you have no worries as long as none of the pine tree is allowed to release their acid into your Ph corrected soil.

Many people design their beds 4 foot wide by 10foot long. A reach of 24 inches from both sides let's you tend your Garden without getting in it. Hi-Cal limestone is much better than the Discount store Dolomitic lime. Gypsum pellets also keep your soil free from clotting & packing.

There are many links that will tell you what to add to your soil. I have 2"inch seedlings coming up now on the acre we use for the Food we put up. This is a cover crop that will add from 27 to 35 lbs of timed release Nitrogen. Nitrogen is much more important in early Spring than early Summer to early winter.

Try to keep leap frog planting your carrots & Beets so you will have them all season. We Grow Organic and have since 1972. The Organic products we have today allow us to sell blemish free Fruit & Vegetables today. In 1972 it was a 24/7 fight just to grow enough to eat. For Decades we spent 3 nights a week hand picking Slugs untill 11pm. Today Sluggo an Organic Slug bait safe for Kids, & pets control the Slugs 100 percent & we get more sleep :)

Good luck next Season. :) You have a lot more magic to help you grow better & safer than ever before.

Thanks for the advice, I'm glad I found this site :)