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Different plants like different conditions. Some like full sun, some like part sun/shade.
I would just relocate them to suit what way the garden faces and where the sun lands.
I personally would never use any sun reflecting device. Or advise the use of one.
Maybe others will say different, but that's my 50p's worth. For whatever that's worth.
Craig.
as Craig says different plants for different locations which include soil, shade, sun and atmosphere eg salt winds etc. as you say reflecting the light could cause problems even to neighbours as the sun moves all the time
Yeah, think it's a bit of a risk using this. The problem is that where you want the plants doesn't always correspond to the best place to put them (if at all). Guess this is why those sun reflector things are so expensive.
Thanks all.
This is precisely why you need to select plants that are suitable for the location.
Or don't buy plants that don't suit the soil, dampness/ dryness, pH of soil, full sun, partial shade / full shade, wind exposure, sand / pollution / coastal salt / road salt, etc
Stright forward mirrors are a method of bringing light into shady areas, or using white flowering shade loving plants.
On another note, you mention on your Fastgardener site, that a gardener will plant, plants the customer has supplied...
We take issue with this...when we plant plants, we are putting our name to something, growing & surviving, this relies on selecting the right plant for the right location, and a good quality, weed free specimen.
In our experience, many people buy the wrong plants, unsuitable for their garden, plant them in the wrong place, etc.
So would a pro gardener, plant the plants the client supplied, maybe?
Hi Geoffrey,
You're right that customers don't always know what plants will thrive in their garden, and where to place them.
The difficulty with this is two fold, and I'm coming purely from the customers view/attitude;
1. I want these plants 'here' so they're visible from the lounge/kitchen window/they'd look really nice here, even though it's a bit too shady. We can replace the plants if/when they get sickly.
2. Part of the 'fun' is going to the garden center and browsing the plants and picking the ones you like etc. This is what Sunday mornings are for!
Thinking of ways to help appease the customers with their demands. Doesn't look like there's an easy solution other than educating them about their soil type/sun positioning.
As always, we're looking at ways to improve our offering and managing plant sales is one of them. Know gardeners would also prefer to supply plants as there's a margin too ;)
So, doesn't look like there's anyone that would recommend or has used milar outdoors.....going to have to try an experiment myself and report back (unfortunetly I'm like one of the customers I mention).
Hi Mike,
The first thing is plants are not cheap and if you're paying someone to plant them as well, really opting to plant them in the 'wrong' place, to see them die to then have to start again, a rather expensive futile exercise.
Choosing the right plants is not just about them dying though, it's also about them being suitable from other perspectives e.g how big they grow, how fast they grow, how easily and rapidly they propagate themselves, how toxic they are re: children, pets, less able adults, and how thorny / spiky they are or will become.
In addition how prone they are to pests and disease, etc...
And how prone they are to becoming a 'real' nuisance or how dangerous they can be e.g Aconitum
Plants can cost from £zero to £1000's, a tray of pansy's £3 or a mature Olive tree £500...
Most GC's sell the same range of plants from the same range of growers, but their are 1000s of genus, species and varieties they don't stock.
Many gardeners have different expertise and business models, We sell and supply plants with a margin for sure but also markedly cheaper than most Garden centre's.
However Garden Centre's can be a good introduction to the world of plants, can inspire you and can tempt to GYO