Having a south-facing garden will inevitably mean more watering, but a garden like this is an ideal location for a variety of plants.
A south-facing garden will have a lot of exposure to sunlight and therefore have a higher demand for water than a shady area. When planning your planting, it is important to bear the maintenance in mind, as failure to maintain watering could mean the failure of all your lovely plants! Watering is especially important during the first season of planting but should be high priority thereafter too. In order to keep moisture in the ground, once your borders are planted, you could consider a layer of mulch, bark, gravel or slate chips. It is imperative, however, not to cover the top surface of the root system of your plants. Covering over the top surface of the root system will eventually cause the plants to die. As a guide, mulch to the canopy of the plant, leaving the trunk and top surface of the root system exposed.
Despite a south-facing garden possibly being in full sun for much of the day, there is still a good variety of plants you could consider in your planting scheme. In order to create year-round interest, you could consider planting a selection of evergreen and deciduous plants, which could include:-
- Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’
This is a dwarf variety of Lavender and is very happy in a sunny position. It has an eventual height of 50cm and the small deep violet-purple flowers appear May – July. It is very hardy and is an evergreen shrub with narrow, silver-grey leaves.
- Viburnum x burkwoodii
This is an evergreen shrub with dark green leaves and highly fragrant white/pale pink flowers mid-late spring. It has an eventual height and width of approximately 1.5 – 2.5m and grows very well in full sun or partial shade. The shrub prefers a moist well-drained soil.
This is a stunning variety of Japanese maple with an upright habit. The lobed shaped foliage open crimson-scarlet in the spring becoming green\red in the summer before turning a cascade of stunning red-orange in the autumn. It has an eventual height of 3m and will grow in moist, well-drained soil in a sunny position, but must be sheltered.
This is a deciduous tree with a robust pyramidal compact habit. It has glossy dark green leaves turning shades of red and purple in the autumn and produces masses of snowy-white flowers in the spring. It will grow in full sun in either a sheltered or exposed position, with an eventual height of 12m and a spread of 4-8m (after 20-50 years).
Having a south-facing garden can, therefore, be achieved with lots of interesting trees and shrubs that will give a good amount of colour too.
If you would like help in deciding what to plant in your south-facing garden, please do pay us a visit. We will be very happy to assist and advise you accordingly.
