Plants that do well in London clay?

[MsGazelle]

I have moved into a house with a little garden with big flower beds and no plants in them. I am sick of trying to keep up with the weeds that are fighting their way through the membrane and bark that got chucked down by previous owner. So I am looking for advice on what to plant.

The soil is clay. Thick London clay. We dug over a bit of one flowerbed to plant some donated plants from my FIL, and it was a blinking nightmare. But with a ton of compost dug in things seem to be growing.

I am not a very keen gardener. I have always cut corners in the past and ended up killing things. This time I want to do it properly, but I also want to make it as easy for myself as possible.

So, any recommendations for easy to look after plants that will thrive in clay?

Look in your nieghbours gardens and see what grows best. If you are not great at plant identification you could take a camera and show the photos to someone at your local garden centre.

Roses, hydrangea & fuchsia are all making a good go of it in my London clay. I am hoping to improve the soil over time by adding manure in autumn and a fresh mulch of bark chippings in spring. The mulch also keeps the weeds down. I am sick of digging it over.

I love fuschia so glad to hear they grow well. Digging it over is such a pain, isn't it? It also got all the dormant weeds in ours very excited. I will be putting bark down once it's all properly planted to try and help keep the weeds out.

Looking in neighbour's gardens not really an option as the fences are too high and from what I have spied out of windows, many are going for the decking/patio approach to gardening.

Clay is actually a really good growing medium once it's been opened out as it contains lots of nutrients which your plants will love.

You should try digging in coir compost or even horticultural grit (the v small sized one). Dig it in deep, around a spade and a half's worth, to improve your drainage.

My soil was like yours and after a few seasons of digging in well rotted manure I have a fantastic soil.

It's really worth doing as any plants you buy will need the oxygen around their roots in order to survive. Happy planting!

Yes, my London clay soil is much better after a few years of mulching with composted bark every spring.

As well as the plants already mentioned, I would suggest heucheras. I've only been planting them in the last couple of years but they are really thriving. Hardy geraniums also seem to be very happy.