What Planting for terminal moraines type soil ?

Ronnie.Christine.K

Any ideas, We have a piece of land that is terminal moraines so very sand-like and free-draining, east facing, sunny for the first half of the day and will have a 2 m a wall behind. It is approx 20 m long x 2.5 m wide. Would like to know how many and what shrubs (and perhaps interspersed grasses) would be good for year-round colour. No water supply. Thank you. Ronnie

K67

What do you mean by no water supply?
All plants with needs huge amounts of water in their first 2 years especially on sandy soil.

Ronnie.Christine.K

There is of course water, but has to be carried. It is on a hillside so there is a supply down hill when it rains...... Ronnie

fidgetbones

So where are you and what is your annual rainfall?

Ronnie.Christine.K

Hi, This is for France (Poitiers, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France) about halfway down..rainfall average per month is 6cm - 2.5inches
Ronnie (we don't have a problem in surrey, but want to take shrubs out there)

fidgetbones

I would get Beth Chattos book on Dry Gardens. See planting list below.  Even then, you will have to give them a soak once a week in Summer until they are established.   If you don't get Frost, I would suggest Cacti or succulents.

https://www.bethchatto.co.uk/gardens/plants-for-specific-condition

 Have a look at the scree gardens as well.

 You get more rain than we do here, But I suspect it will go straight through. You may need to add organic matter if you can get it to improve the rock soil .

Dovefromabove

I would look at what grows there in the wild and then look for cultivated varieties of them. 

I would also only plant quite small plants ... they will establish much better and need less watering than larger plants which would probably need generous amounts at least for their first summer/autumn. 

Small plants will still need watering  but at least the amounts of water will be less ... worth bearing in mind if you’re carrying it.