North facing garden and patio?

Weyhey

Sorry in advance for the long post, please bear with me.

Newbies to basic gardening. Trying to be a bit environmentally friendly (leaving patches of garden wild, not using dangerous weed killer or fertiliser, small things).

We have a 100ft North facing garden, 15 ft or so just outside back door never gets any sun ever (shade from house and neighbours extensions on either side) and is always cold even on the hottest days. In this section what we thought was grass was actually weeds and moss. We dug it up and tried planting some shade friendly plants here last year but lots died and weeds and moss took over and it looked terrible.

It was also a shame to see the garden unused by the kids during winter as grass sections were just too mucky and wet, if they did go out they only stayed on the narrow path that goes along the centre of the garden.

As such we decided to look at laying patio in the shady section outside the back door and then a bit elsewhere which gets sun from lunchtime onwards. The shady section is never going to get used for table and chairs but we thought we could add pot plants to it and maybe the kids might use it for a play area some times.
Going to get a few quotes soon but my head got melted trying to research it all. Cement evil, Indian sandstone huge cause of child labour, increase flooding risks, staining of slabs etc. etc.

What paving stones are the least harmful eco wise or even less bad than others etc.?

Are there any more suited to shady damp sections than others?

I see permeable patios being mentioned but got confused as to what these are – if these are suitable for shady damp areas what do I need to look out for?

Do I need to make sure patio is laid on sand rather than cement so water goes to water table rather than drains etc.?

Does it make a difference if patio is raised inline with kitchen floor or at same level as rest of garden (my preference)?

Any advice is hugely appreciated.

looksee

Paving a continuously shaded area sounds like the best solution. Whatever paving you go for is likely to grow moss or algae (not inevitable, but a fair chance) so you need to make sure it is well drained. Paving onto sand is not much help if the sub soil is impervious, maybe a very slight slope and a long drain might give better drainage, if you can direct the water to somewhere it will be able to dissipate.

I would not put sandstone in that area, I don't have personal experience but I suspect it would be a nightmare to keep clean. You need something that will be non-slip and cleanable. I would probably use the common cement paving slabs myself in that situation, but I realise this might not be a popular choice. I do not feel the need to keep paving sparkling clean, I prefer the weathered look.

You might be able to leave a bed to one side and fill it with ferns which will be very happy in a shaded area. Go for rather bigger ferns and all they require is removal of the dead fronds once a year.

A pic would help in answering some of your other questions.

Hocus Focus

It's not a good idea to have it level with your kitchen floor as you might get water flooding in - we made that mistake when getting our conservatory built, and had to bail out the kitchen before breakfast every morning until the roof went on!
I agree with Looksee's suggestions; go for some big 'architectura'l ferns to the back and smaller ones to the front. A good garden centre should be able to give you some other shade tolerant plants to complement the ferns.
Regarding the eco considerations surrounding paving materials; imported ones would have a much larger carbon footprint than those coming from closer to home.

Bixy

If going for concrete paving, choose a textured one to prevent slipping if the area if likely to be damp.

Hocus Focus

Bixy wrote: »

If going for concrete paving, choose a textured one to prevent slipping if the area if likely to be damp.

+1. And to keep it free of green algae, spray once a year with Patio Magic, (from any good hardware or garden centre).