garden design

[Rosemary]

Hello new member here,
need help our garden is 45ft long and is underneath an oak tree ( preserved) so nothing really grows especially the lawn want to make a sort of woodland garden a glade type of thing but cannot decide on how to go about it any ideas would be really really welcome

[christine]

I walked a dog through a 'woodland glade' this morning, in the middle of which was a huge old oak. There was nothing underneath it for yards, only leafmould! But go to your library and get a copy of 'The Adventurous Gardener' by Christopher Lloyd. Turn to Section 3 (page 112 in my edition), which is headed Small Garden, Large Trees, which he wrote in response to a lady who had a garden only 75ft by 45ft in which there were 4 large sweet chestnut trees (circumference about 7ft) which suffered from Tree Preservation Orders. I'd type it out for you, but it runs to 7 pages. Hope you find the book, the rest of it is a good read too.

[christine]

Another good book - 'Perfect Plants for Problem Places' by Gay Search. Lots of suggestions there for you.

[christine]

I've been back there this morning and took note of what was growing under the outer spread of the branches of the old oak - stinging nettles (lots!!), some half-hearted docks, and a low ground cover of ivy with a few celandines shining through. And here and there some 'lords and ladies'.
So it might be a good idea to start off with some ivies instead of grass that won't grow- the small-leaved varieties grow more quickly than the large-leaved ones - while you're deciding what else to put there.
Whatever you eventually plant will require watering and feeding regularly - the oak will take most of the goodness and moisture from the soil as well as acting as an umbrella when it's in leaf. So you should dig in as much humus as possible before planting to help the new plants get started.