Planting ideas please

JudyN

I've been busy!

This was a failed wildlife meadow (too shady, too dry, too acid) which became a rather random bed of plants I didn't know what to do with and the odd wild flower that was attractive enough (to me or to pollinators) to earn its spot. But it needed structure... The octagonal border is made of planks form old rotted compost bins. OK, it won't last that long but by the time it rots we'll know if we want something more permanent... or we'll have some more planks!

I'm all about wildlife - the central pot is filled with nettles as I wanted to have some somewhere but didn't want them to get invasive, and nasturtiums (waiting for ladybirds to discover the black aphids...). I'd love suggestions for plants that would grow well, attract wildlife, and look good - I really am bad at the aesthetic aspects.

As mentioned, the site is shady (you can see how heavy the shade is to the left), dry, sandy and acid. In my fantasies, it would have a herb garden feel - but herbs tend to like sun.

In the back left corner are some Japanese anenomes which I'm planning to keep as they seem happy. On the right it some cerise lychnis coronaria whic I don't really like, but it seems happy, which can't be said for most plants I try here, so maybe I should learn to live with it! I'm thinking of alchemilla close to the octagon and have some in the garden I can relocate. I really fancy lavender next to the path - theoretically it's too shady, but I've seen a deal of 40 plugs for £9.95 with Mr Fothergills so worth a try.

Also possibly dwarf comfrey, which is meant to be excellent for wildlife. Hellebores are a possibility, too.

Any more ideas for what would make this look like a really attractive area, please?