ISO Advice: Scented walkway

Medz

Apodemus said:

A lot of good suggestions above, but Medz needs to filter these lists for his actual location.  Latitude, altitude, aspect and exposure may well conspire to make some of the suggestions unviable.  Many of these lovely plants are from warmer and drier climes than ours and may struggle depending on where Medz is located - I’d love a Mediterranean garden, but sadly it’s just not possible for me in rural Inverness-shire!  

I live in Kingston Upon Thames. Attached is the compass reading at the front of my house with my back to the front door. 

My rear garden where the new path is will be the direct opposite of this. I hope this information is helpful. 

Apodemus

Medz,  thanks for that... you are clearly far enough south for most of these plants to do OK.  And certainly altitude shouldn't be an issue (Wow - so far from the sea and only 10m above sea level!   I can see the sea from my kitchen window but I'm at 100m!).  And your garden is presumably sheltered enough to ensure that exposure isn't a problem. Your house aspect might be an issue, though - presumably the decking only gets sun in the morning?  Or are the roof angles and surrounding buildings  low enough to get late afternoon sun?  Will it get enough sunlight through the winter to let the vegetation dry out and avoid rotting?  I would make sure that the soil between the pavers (and alongside the path if that is where you are planting) has a lot of grit incorporated into it to make sure that is is properly free-draining.

Davesnave

Trial and error rather than plumping for one thing is the way to go. I'm at 500' in a wet area and my nerines spend time virtually underwater for weeks in the winter, so the textbooks would say they're impossible where I have them., but there they are, thriving where we put them 10 years ago.

If it were me, I'd put some good doers in, like ajuga and origanum, to get things stable, then remove some of those as the planting develops. Soil full of roots will offer a different environment from virgin areas sparsely planted with tiny plants and a prayer that they quickly knit together.

Apodemus

Good point about the impact on drainage and microclimate of having good root systems. 
Re your comment on nerines, I once managed a hay field in the tropics which had a clump of some form of wild amaryllid, which flowered beautifully most years.  It was located in a hollow which became a pond during prolonged rains.  

Medz

Davesnave said:

Trial and error rather than plumping for one thing is the way to go. I'm at 500' in a wet area and my nerines spend time virtually underwater for weeks in the winter, so the textbooks would say they're impossible where I have them., but there they are, thriving where we put them 10 years ago.

If it were me, I'd put some good doers in, like ajuga and origanum, to get things stable, then remove some of those as the planting develops. Soil full of roots will offer a different environment from virgin areas sparsely planted with tiny plants and a prayer that they quickly knit together.

Googling ‘ajuga’ and ‘origanum’ ... 😊

Medz

Davesnave said:

Trial and error rather than plumping for one thing is the way to go. I'm at 500' in a wet area and my nerines spend time virtually underwater for weeks in the winter, so the textbooks would say they're impossible where I have them., but there they are, thriving where we put them 10 years ago.

If it were me, I'd put some good doers in, like ajuga and origanum, to get things stable, then remove some of those as the planting develops. Soil full of roots will offer a different environment from virgin areas sparsely planted with tiny plants and a prayer that they quickly knit together.

I purchased yesterday 4 Ajuga - a pair of two different ‘versions’  Thanks for the tip! Best wishes. 

Davesnave

Ajuga aren't especially scented, but the bees like them and you'll need some anchor plants for the dark days of winter when some species shrink away.

Medz

What are anchor plants? 

Davesnave

Plants that are there permanently, even if they aren't the stars of the show or being particularly exciting at a given point in time.

Medz

Davesnave said:

Plants that are there permanently, even if they aren't the stars of the show or being particularly exciting at a given point in time.

Thanks Dave. I understand now.  I bought some carpet phlox. Is that an anchor plant? Also would you mind giving me a couple examples of anchor plants so I know what plants to look at.