Question
I am designing a Garden in the south west of england, my design must keep "in sync" with the existing thomas hardy style cottage house. i want to use native grasses and native trees to brittan, what grasses are native to england?

Also i need to use clay brick and lyme mortar but dont want the lyme to damage the soils nice neutral composistion. and finally what grass can be used as a screen to hide a compost heap other than bamboo? thanks james

Answer
Hello,

For grass,I would suggest the following:

English Rye Grass (lolium perenne). This is a hardy and cold tolerant grass,related to fescue. Remains green year round. It is not related to the grain rye. Excellent lawn grass and good for erosion control.

Smooth Meadow Grass (poa pratensis) 'kentucky bluegrass'. Good lawn grass.

Blue Sheep Fescue Grass (festuca ovina). Hardy and drought tolerant. Makes good ground cover. Tolerates wide range of soil conditions.

Rough Meadow Grass (poa trivialis). Pasture type grass.

Various sedges and rushes have a grasslike appearance but some will only do well in damp or wet soil.

Sweet Vernal Grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum). A pasture grass. Produces an odor of vanilla. Has medicinal value as skin ointment.

For screening of the compost I would suggest:

The Common Reed (Phragmites australis). Grows to 2 meters high.

Miscanthus. An ornamental grass. Grows to about 2 meters high.

If the lime is kept on the wall and not spread out on the ground,it will not affect your plants to any degree. For the lime to adversely affect the plants it would have to be incorporated into the soil. The lime will not leach from the mortar after it has hardened to any extent that it would harm your plants.


Trees native to England include:

Alder (Alnus glutinosa)
Crab Apple (Malus sylvestris)
Ash (Fraxinus excelsior)
Birch (Betula)
Box (Buxus;Southern England Only)
Cherry (Prunus)
Plum
Elm (Ulmus;The English Elm ranges in southern Great Britain only and is doubtfully native. The smooth leaved elm is native to southern Great Britain only).
Hawthorn (Crataegus;laevigata species is native to southern Great Britain only.)
Hazel (Corylus).
European Hornbeam (Carpinus;Southern Great Britain only.)
Small and Large Leaved Linden (Tilia cordata; Southern Great Britain only.)
Field Maple (Acer campestre; Southern Great Britain only.)
Pedunculate Oak
Sessile Oak
Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris)
Poplars:
(Aspen (Populus tremula)
(Black Poplar (Populus nigra; southern Great Britain only.)
Rowans and Whitebeams:
European Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia)
Common Whitebeam (Sorbus aria) and several related apomictic microspecies.
Service Tree (Sorbus domestica; recently discovered growing wild on a cliff in south Wales)
Willows (Salix spp.; several species)
Bay Willow (Salix pentandra)
Crack Willow (Salix fragilis)
White Willow (Salix alba)
Almond-leaved Willow (Salix triandra)



Native large shrubs. These larger shrubs occasionally reach tree size:

Alder Buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula)
Purging Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica)
Elder (Sambucus nigra)
Common Dogwood (Cornus sanguinea)
(Common) Sea-buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides)
Spindle (Euonymus europaeus)
Sallow, Goat Willow (Salix caprea)
Grey Willow (Salix cinerea)



Naturalised trees:

From Europe:

Maritime Pine (Pinus pinaster; rarely)
European Black Pine (Pinus nigra; rarely)
Norway Spruce (Picea abies; rarely)
European Larch (Larix decidua)
European Pear (Pyrus communis; sometimes regarded as native)
Plymouth Pear (Pyrus cordata; sometimes regarded as native)
Cherry Plum (Prunus cerasifera)
European Beech (Fagus sylvatica; widely considered native to southern England, but probably a stone-age human introduction)
Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus)
Norway Maple (Acer platanoides)
Sweet Chestnut (Castanea sativa; a Roman introduction)
Turkey Oak (Quercus cerris)
Common Horse-chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum)


From Asia:

Japanese Larch (Larix kaempferi)


From North America:

Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta)
Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis)
Black Spruce (Picea mariana; rarely)
Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)
Grand Fir (Abies grandis)
Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla)
Western Redcedar (Thuja plicata)
Lawson's Cypress (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana)
Monterey Cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa; rarely)

Good luck. Let me know if I can be of further help.

Mark Harshman
http://www.mahdrafting.com
Email: [email protected]

http://www.scribd.com/markscrib47