Plant and Lawn ideas

jt2012ad

Hello,

I wondered if anyone could please give me advice regarding a corner of my garden that I'm considering revamping.

I have attached two photos below with regards to this.

Along the side of my shed, I have a very narrow strip of soil which I have thought of doing the following and wondered what readers thought would be the best option:

- Using it as a flowerbed

- Turfing over it; this would involve putting grass all the way up to the shed wall and would mean having to mow that last part of the lawn ''side on'' to cut properly

- Putting down bark to mask the existing strip of soil

If I was going to go for the flowerbed option:

I have plenty of perennials around the garden but if I am to plant shrubs etc..., I was thinking of evergreens on the strip by the shed so that they would mask this soil strip/flowerbed all year round. The problem with this is the ''overhang'' on to the lawn (which of course I can keep well trimmed), but I wondered if anyone had any ideas of small slow growing evergreen shrubs that would be suitable for this strip?

The second issue is that the flowerbed which meets with the strip of soil by the shed is drastically raised and cannot be levelled off to the level of the soil strip. This is due to the way the fence has been put in which is the boundary fence for both me and my next door neighbour.

Where the flowerbed drastically raises, I currently have a rosebush there that I am going to remove and plant elsewhere. I am wanting to purchase a fast growing evergreen plant that will grow outwards and will screen/mask the drastic drop that is currently very visible.

I would be very grateful for any advice that anyone could please give to me.

Many Thanks

AnniD

The simplest thing to do with the thin strip by the shed would be to put bark down, but you may find that you are forever putting it back as blackbirds etc. love fossicking about in it and tossing it everywhere. 
Personally l would go for the shrub option to try and make the shed a bit less "severe". 
Would it be possible for you to widen the strip ? Bear in mind that the shed will act as a rain shadow, so if you can widen it that will help and it will also help the plants establish. 
A lot depends on the orientation as well, is it sunny or shady ? One shrub that springs to my mind is sarcococca , evergreen and with small but strongly perfumed flowers in late winter.

JennyJ

I would make the border wider so that there's room for shrubs to grow without having to be constantly cut back when they overhang the grass, and choose a mix of different foliage shapes and colours.  Euonymus "Green Spire" apparently stays narrow and upright, but a border of just those would be quite dull (unless of course you're after a uniform hedge-like effect).

didyw

I successfully grew a chaenomeles against a shed wall in my last garden.  That was the north facing side of the shed.  It took 2-3 years for the chaenomeles to cover the side of the shed but it was beautiful.  Can't remember which variety - it had red flowers.

But I think you will need to widen the strip next to the shed whatever you decide to plant.

Sorry, but couldn't really see what you meant by the drastic drop.

jt2012ad

Thanks to everyone for your input; it's greatly appreciated.

With regards to the drastic drop, I'm really sorry as I didn't explain it very well.

Basically, where the rosebush is on the picture, there is quite a drop down to the soil strip and I'd preferred like to dig the flowerbed where the rosebush is, down to the level of the strip against the shed but unfortunately, I can't due to fence/boundary issues. I also can't do it the other way round; raise the level of the strip to be the same as the bed with the rosebush as it would be too high.  I'm going to get a plant which will grow out and mask over the change in levels between the beds.

Once again, thank you to everyone for your advice.