[Ignore the arrows and scribbles, this was a quick photo for the person who came to pick up the junk.]
I have a typical side yard strip that I’m trying to fill with low maintenance perennials (ideally native and pollinator friendly). All of this junk is gone and I’ve dug out the grass – last year I threw in some mulch to make it look a little more put together but never got around to planting anything.
Any suggestions as to what might be good for some ground cover, and a little bit of height to block the view of our trash cans from the front of the house?
Issues:
– between our house and the neighbors house it only gets a few hours of sun daily.
– soil is very heavy and clay-y, although I can work on that a bit to get some air in there.
– close to the house I’m hesitant to put anything that’ll develop invasive roots
– I’m in PA (if that helps in terms of zone/weather).
Thanks for the help!
by Material_Spirit348
3 Comments
I’d move all the junk first
A variety of shade loving sedges would look great there. Plant em densely and forget about them once they’re established.
~~I’m going to just assume we’re looking at a full sun situation based on how baked things look in the photo.~~
For height and structural interest- Maybe a row of little blue stem grasses. Just the wild species would probably be good but the standing ovation cultivar is known for having a sturdy, upright structure. You could also intersperse with a different looking grass like sideoats grama for added visual interest. There are also a bunch of beautiful switchgrass cultivars out there.
For groundcover- something like yarrow or pussytoes (look up Antennaria parlinii). Maybe wild strawberry.
From there you can intersperse with whatever native perennials flowers suit your fancy. A lot are very well accustomed to dense plantings and you can probably drop the mulching once your groundcover has established.
***Edit- I missed the “few hours of sun” part in the original post so take all of the above with a big grain of salt lol. Sedges as recommended by another could be very practical for the space but you’ll have trouble getting the height you want.