Flowers to grow in patch full of tree roots

[Ilovearcticroll]

We have a raised border with several big-ish trees and shrubs. There is a patch of ground that gets decent amounts of sun and has bluebells, tulips and other bulbs in it.

I'd live to plant seeds for summer flowers but the ones I planted last year (a wildflower mix) didn't really do anything.

I will readily admit I didn't help them much and would love to know how to do better this year. Not bedding type plants-but something that will give colour in the summer and feel a bit like the slightly random mix of bluebells and various tulips that gives such a lovely bit of colour now.

Would I be able to find something to sow without messing too much with the bluebells and bulbs, or do I need to just make the effort and do thinks a bit more properly? This is the year to learn, I think. Funds are there for seeds but not lavish amounts of cash!

Any advice gratefully received 🙂

I'd love whatever I grow to attract bees and other insects 🙂

Your biggest issue is going to be the trees and shrubs taking all the water and nutrients. Prepare the ground with lots of compost to give them a fighting chance.

Books I've read say out down some layers of newspaper then a decent depth of compost over the top. I'm not sure how much the newspaper will really do, but imagine you're making a series of containers in amongst the tree roots then grow things that will cope with that.

Try sowing marigolds and cornflowers. Water daily with a fine spray if it doesn't rain

I have big cherry tree with lots of roots, I have Achillea cerise queen under it which does fantastically well and very long flowering, a Geum, loads of gladioli though their flowering season is very short, lots of muscari bulbs

Forget me nots do well in shady rooty areas too. I think because their roots are quite wide and shallow so aren't affected as much by the tree roots. We have some under our mature trees that self seeded there with the bluebells (and lilly of the valley). They look very sweet so we've left them there.

Forget me nots do well in shady rooty areas too. I think because their roots are quite wide and shallow so aren't affected as much by the tree roots. We have some under our mature trees that self seeded there with the bluebells (and lilly of the valley). They look very sweet so we've left them there

If you have a wetter/slightly boggy area of the garden I highly recommend water forget me not.
‘Regular’ forget me not is biennial so no flowers in the first year, the water version is perennial and flowers year.

Maybe ferns would grow there. I have crocosmia under trees, tall green leaves, but they don't flower there. And some hostas which are smaller than usual.
Foxgloves would probably grow there. I have some London Pride growing in full shade by a wall but you would probably have to water it. It is tough as old boots but a smallish plant, has been there over 20 years with no feeding!

We have some pink geraniums like these shireplants.co.uk/geranium-nimbus/ and they grow under trees and are great ground cover too.

Last year I planted some nasturtiums which spread nicely.

Thanks so much for all the advice. I had planned to plant some of the suggested, so will try those. And the newspaper layer sounds interesting.

Lamium, known as dead nettle ( not stinging) is a good ground cover under trees.

We have a very similar sounding bed to you with a couple of big trees in what would otherwise be a very sunny situation. The bulbs do ok because they come up before the leaves on the trees grow, but after that, it's "game over".
One thing that seems happy there all year round is this: www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/91464/Erysimum-Bowles-s-Mauve/Details - (or in fact any Erysimum) - they seem very happy there and flower for weeks on end from spring to get through til autumn. You'd get one in almost any decent garden centre.

Sadly that wouldn’t work on my heavy clay soil . I have a couple of salvia plants which I planted last year. They survived the winter and have some nice green foliage sprouting up at the moment.

In our heavy clay woodland borders we have hardy geraniums, foxgloves, alchemellia mollis, hostas, ferns, Solomon's Seal ( which looks lovely at the moment) Japanese anemones, columbine and tons of pulmonaria which grows like mad and even outcompetes the ground elder. The various Pulmonaria are in flower now- there's pink, blue and white and they look great, but otherwise they're just ground cover really.

There are bluebells too. It's a border at the back of the garden and I just leave it to it tbh- it's survival of the fittest!

Oh yes and as BeeBumble says, the lamium is battling with the pulmonaria for supremacy

Poppies and ox eye daisies. Super low maintenance and they'll self sees.

space under trees is probably very dry and at least a bit shady. Most plants that grow under trees will flower in the spring (bluebells etc) before the tree gets going. so you will struggle to get bright summer flowers to grow there. I would go for lots of ferns instead, to get a pattern of greens and interesting leaves.

look up Beth Chatto - gravel garden for plants that can cope with dry conditions

Parietal-that makes so much sense-spring bulbs do well, but in the summer the trees are the bosses! I'm a tiny bit hopeful that taking one big tree out might have helped a little. Going to plant ferns and foxgloves!

Well, they haven't flowered yet, but I ended up putting lots of compost on the ground and planting the seeds from the cover of Gardeners World mag (zinnias, cosmos, calendula, echinacea and something orange a bit like poppies that I can't remember the name of. They are doing pretty well. There is more sun now we've brutally cut back the trees but time will tell if they get enough room in amongst the tree roots. Being very diligent about watering so 🤞