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Planting through cotswold chipping

davidmarfleetdavidmarfleet Posts: 2
edited January 2019 in Garden design
We have just converted our small back garden into a courtyard, replacing the lawn with a mixture of flags, cobbles and Cotswold stone chips. We have some stunning roof formed hornbeams in the Cotswold chipped area. Does anyone know if bulbs such as snow drops, crocuses, bluebells etc will grow through the chippingss? We chose Cotswold because of the solid compact effect. 

Posts

  • MarlorenaMarlorena Posts: 8,705
    Crocuses will and I expect it would be the same for the others... if it's the look you want then go for it, but I'm still digging out crocus bulblets that are spreading, likewise Alliums [ornamental onions]... they can become a nuisance..
    I don't have Cotswold but a similar colour chipping, not that this matters... and I presume you don't have weed suppressing membrane underneath.. 
    East Anglia, England
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,491
    It might depend on the depth of your chippings. I think snowdrops might be okay as they have really tough pointy leaves, not so sure about crocuses - although we do have one that persists in coming up in the middle of our old tarmacked drive! Bluebells might also thrive but can be terribly invasive. I think the only thing you can do is to try it in just one location with a few bulbs to start with.
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • Thanks Lizzie
  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,091
    reticulata iris will probably love it as long as it's sunny.
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
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