Planting around a cesspit manhole cover

kari.milburn

I'm helping my friend to design her garden, and her cesspit is to the left but center garden! I'd like to do a grasses boarder around it to hide the cover, but still give access. Are ornamental grasses safe to grow around the area? Access can be left to the rear and side of the cover, but I want to hide it from other areas of the garden. Any and all ideas welcome!!

Lizzie27

Yes, grasses would be fine, something like miscanthus 'flamingo' (pinky plumes) would look good if your soil is suitable.

kari.milburn

Have now been told it's a clay soil!!!

Nollie

I have a similar problem with a fairly new bio-digestor, its buried centre left too, looking at it from my patio. I was a bit wary of planting anything in front case the roots wander towards the leaky pipes of the drain field. Instead, I made a large square frame of timber around the two access covers and filled it with interlocking decking tiles that easily lift out for access when required, so its a kind of platform. My plan is to group some lightweight pots on it or perhaps use it as a base for a metal sculpture, nothing too heavy and again, easily moved. I haven’t decided yet, but making a feature out of it rather than trying to disguise the manhole cover might be an option?

kari.milburn

I actually thought about putting in a large decking area with section over the pit on wheels so it rolls underneath the other when access is required! But that patio would never be used!!! She has potted plants on it at the moment, and looks odd because her lawn is so huge!!! 

Nollie

I see what you mean, Kari, everyone would be asking, ‘why has she got those pots sitting in the middle of the lawn?! Thats why I oversized my ‘platform’ so it looked planned and purposeful. I’m leaning toward an abstract metal wire sculpture at the moment. I can see it in my head...