Solid Clay in full sun - tall plant suggestions?

[Catname]

We have a telegraph pole in our garden that we want to mask a little. I dug a border and planted a holly and clematis last year and they are holding on but not thriving. We knew the lawn was prone to getting very boggy in winter and have realised that there is a lot of completely solid clay we could sell to potters elsewhere in the garden - so probably beneath what was dug out.

With the wet winter, no rain in April, and being in the sun for several hours a day, the border has turned into a dry, solid pan.

Any suggestions for lowish maintenance plants that would thrive in these conditions? Ideally reaching 2m or taller and evergreen.

You describe my soil exactly. It's impossible to weed unless it's rained, dig down and it's pure clay subsoil. So what grows in my garden that's tall and evergreen?
Lonicera nitida. Tiny yellow leaves, can be clipped to shape or even used as a hedge. I have one which acts as a screen / windbreak.
Ceonothus. Grows against a wall so a pole would do. Dark green foliage and blue flowers in June. Don't get the version called repens, it's a low growing one.

Thanks Squirrels, I had Lonicera Nitida in my last garden and it was really easy to manage. I planted a Ceanothus Trewithen (sp?) Blue elsewhere in the garden last year. It was a tiny plant so no cuttings yet - another opportunity to look round the garden centre! Those two would be a lovely combination - thanks for the suggestions

I’ve soil like this and camellias thrive in it.

Don’t write the clematis off, the first year they focus entirely on their roots, the second isn’t much better it’s only the third they really start to make their presence known.

I wonder if an evergreen honeysuckle would work ?

I have potters clay and yes lonicera thriving in a particularly improved area .Elsewhere in the garden I have a healthy honeysuckle .I've not been able to dig far down where it's planted because there seems to be a lot of rubble so I'm not sure if that is also a clay subsoil . I have dumped lots of compost on top of it's roots and it's significantly improved .

Don't roses like clay ?

I have really shitty, heavy clay here too, and I'm finding that the supposedly thuggish climbers aren't doing well in it (multiple clematis armandii are dead or dying, and I have a montana which hasn't grown an inch although it's at least still alive!)

I bought some dirt cheap climbers last autumn (the sort of thing that was 6 for £15 or similar) which turned up so small I almost binned them but tossed them in anyway with very little care, and they're taking off merrily. Some clematis, some honeysuckle. Also just planted a couple of slightly bigger evergreen honeysuckle (mostly henrii) and they're looking very healthy, as are a pair of clematis early sensation.

Jasmine and star jasmine both died spectacularly, including 5 really big mature star jasmine. Cold or clay, take your pick

Roses tend to like clay (ours are doing pretty well). Surprisingly the two wisteria I planted are also holding on and in bud although not a leaf to be found - think it's the weather though.

If you want a climber then my passion flower is doing well. It was an Aldi £1.49 special and was beautiful last summer.
Clematis don't do well in my soil, as well as being clay it's also alkaline so no camellia here.
Much of my garden was a farm yard ot one time and is also based on ironstone. Dig down a few inches and it's either solid rock or rubble. Making a flower bed is more like mining than gardening but I have dug out enough stone to build walls.

I think roses do like clay because I don't really like roses but felt obliged to plant one given as a gift and it still flowers beautifully 25 years later.

The Camellia wouldn't work as it's in too much sun but a possibility for another border.

I don't really do roses as I don't like the thorns 😀 but I have got Zephrine Drouhan on my list of things to buy if I see it. I had it before and it was a star performer.

The clematis I planted were cheapie jobs from the supermarket so hopefully are just getting themselves settled. I was reading about planting bare root yews and the suggestion was to only create the minimum space for the roots so there were no air gaps for water to get trapped and drown the plant - maybe the tiny plants work best because of something similar.

I've got a mistreated cutting of a Belgian honeysuckle that I could pop in too. Probably stands a better chance in the ground than out of it. I am a bit of a plant hoarder with many plants in pots waiting to be planted 😳

Squirrels It's interesting that your garden was a farmyard. Ours was originally part of a market garden but I've not seen any evidence of good soil around the edges of the plot. The original owners apparently used the garden as a croquet lawn so it was mostly grass. They would be horrified at the state of the grass at the moment 😀

There are some pretty much thornless roses - I have David Austin Veilchenblau and Lichfield Angel which both have minimal to no thorns. The Lichfield was particularly noticeable as it arrived at the same time as another one (Princess Alexandra) which was a prickly pain in the ass to even plant

The Veilchenblau in particular are growing really well on a north facing wall in heavy clay. God knows how.

In my heavy clay, part shade I have a leycesteria purple rain. It's an enthusiastic grower and has lovely flowers in the summer. Everyone comments on how lovely it is.

I'll have a look at those roses. Thornless, looking good and smelling lovely are the best combination for me, although I do make an exception for Rosa Glauca as it's such a great leaf colour.

I'm smiling at the leycesteria suggestion. I have a ratty one of those in a pot too (brought as a seedling nestling in beside another plant from my old garden) and I was looking at it yesterday trying to decide whether or not to keep it. They are attractive to look at, and the birds love them, but they self seed like crazy and most of my neighbours had them before courtesy of the birds spreading the seed around. I'm definitely looking to reduce garden maintenance as it's a bigger garden and I'm getting older 😀

Lonicera henryii. Strongly growing evergreen climbing honeysuckle

You would have a much greater choice of plants if you first dug a load of compost, well rotted manure, or even just decent quality topsoil into the plot round your telegraph pole, OP!
I have horrible clay soil - my village used to be an island, centuries ago, and my house sits on what used to be the clay river bed of the Tay, before the river course moved south. My garden was dramatically improved by dumping a lorry load of topsoil onto it, then digging in the contents of my compost heap for many years.

I have clay soil, plants have been a bit hit and Miss.

Things that are doing well....

Dog wood (looking huge this year).
Buddleia.
Clemintis Montana (took a while to establish but this year it’s looking good).
Honey suckle
Jasmine
Fox gloves
Lupins

Pretty much everything else seems to have died or just not thrived. I have recently planted a camellia but it’s not looking great, hydrangeas are looking dead from last year.

The border is only about 5ft around the front of the pole because we just want to mask the view of it from the dining room but the suggestions of different plants will come in useful elsewhere.

I've added lots of compost and grit to the new beds we've had dug elsewhere in the garden but I'm reticent to dig (or use my new Aldi tiller - which has absolutely revolutionised my feelings about digging) too much near the pole as our electricity cable comes out of it somewhere and I'd prefer not to electrocute myself 😀 I will add what I can before planting this time though.

Same soil here too. Buddleia is doing well (it appeared from nowhere and I’ve kept it). Jasmine is surprisingly doing OK too.

I add on top of my clay soil rather than digging in. It’s really helped. So lots of clippings and manure in winter. Leave it for the worms to drag down.