Oriental Poppies wwyd?

[MerylSqueak]

I have a patch if very unprepossessing garden to one side of our wooden steps. It's shady with very poor and stony soil. It's about a meter square.

It's currently has a very well established clematis at one side growing up a fence and otherwise is absolutely full of oriental poppies. These are gorgeous but for a very short part of the year.

I'd like to grow something with them to boost that part of the garden for longer. I've put in bulbs (just about because it's so stony) but they've never come up.

I want to try and improve the soil also but can't dig anything through without totally digging up the poppies.

I am worried that if I try to thin them I will damage the roots too much because the soil is too stony and ruin a display that is quite stunning albeit for a short time. I'm also worried about disturbing the roots of the clematis.

I also don't know of a companion plant that would thrive in such a small space in such horrible conditions.

Should I just leave well enough alone?

You can improve the soil without digging by mulching with a layer of composted manure or strulch over the top while the plants are still dormant.

As for companion plants, how big is the space and how densely do the poppies grow?

Thank you for your reply. This is the space. I'm not sure what the plant at the back is. Maybe grape hyacinth from memory but it doesn't flower really.

I've got compost I can put down today but wasn't sure as there's so much growth already.

I'm more worried about how compact and stony the soil is.

Scratch up the surface of the ground a little and scatter cornflower, nigella, borage and cosmos seeds (just off the top of my head). They'll do fine in poor soil and will usually re-seed the next year.

And nasturtiums for later intge year

Both good ideas. Thank you.

Calendula seeds would work too. Although it depends how shady it is.

Thank you. I have some of those I didn't plant last year.

Oriental poppies don’t mind having all their leaves cut back after flowering. So you should have room to sneak later flowers in beside them. Dahlias are the obvious choice - shouldd dc be up and doing soon after the poppies are dpne.