Growing sedums next to the house

Hedgerfrances1

I’m having a patio laid and intend to leave about a 7 inch gap between the house and the slabs to put grit in. The level is about 1 brick below the damp proof course. Would it be ok to plant low sedums in the grit? If so what sort of grit would be best? Also would I need to do anything regarding the low damp proof course? I saw it on a gardening programme and it looked amazing! The patio on the programme was on the same level as the inside so must have been level or 

Dovefromabove

I saw that programme ... it looked good but I’m not sure how practical that is. The idea of the grit is to be part of the drainage to keep rain etc away from the wall ... I’m not sure how well it would work if it had plants growing in/over it. 

I would rather have some shallow stone or similar containers for succulents, sempervivums etc. We love them. 

Hedgerfrances1

I know it looked amazing! As you say I’m not sure if it would make the drainage worse or not. The one on tv must have been on a level with the dpc or even above!

Hedgerfrances1

It was on gardeners world a couple of weeks ago

Jason-3

@Hedgerfrances1

Hi you need to ensure the level of the DPC is a minumum of 150 mm above your finished level. If it isn't you can get bridging. In essence the DPC is bridged by moisture. In old fashioned terms you are normally looking at 2 courses of bricks in height.

I'd suggest that your OK with one course, but imo I wouldn't put any growing medium or vegetation in, this is to avoid bridging. 

Hedgerfrances1

You’re probably right! 🤔Thanks. I’ll keep exploring 🌼

wild edges

There's some great advice here

If I was doing it I would go with the drained channel option and have a porous pipe wrapped in a water-permiable root barrier at the bottom. Low growing sedums or sempervivums would be fine as long as you keep on top of the maintenance and keep the weeds out of there. The plants reduce splash and keep the trench dryer, and the pipe will carry away any ponding water. Make sure not to block any vents in the wall if there are any.