Q Which trees and shrubs would grow in our garden, which is an old chalk quarry?
Roy Fawcett, East Riding of Yorkshire
A BOB SAYS It sounds like you have a very difficult site – very wet or even flooded in winter and dry in summer. Still, the photo you’ve sent shows a couple of trees and some scrub surviving, presumably native willows, alders or poplars.
You could add more of the trees that are surviving there, as well as field maples and hawthorns. Tough, deep-rooted shrubs like aucuba, elderberry, deutzia, viburnum and elaeagnus are worth a try too.
But I think the best approach may be to have some large movable containers. Fill them with a range of shrubs and small trees (even acid-lovers, as you can use ericaceous compost in some), moving them into prime positions for the summer, then wheeling them out of harm’s way in winter.