I agree with the post above, I'd be getting in some big rocks and planting a load of ground cover alpines that will do well in those soil conditions. I'd spray first, dig in some big boulders around the area, cut a nice edge of some kind and plant it up densely. The new plants should cover the whole area and suppress weeds.
Sounds good Glasgow Dan but that only works if you've got some muscular chap handy to heave the rocks. It wouldn't be feasible for someone like me - under 5 ft and in my early seventies with a slightly dodgy back!
I do have a muscular chap , but haven't found a source of low cost rocks yet! I've got one potential lead on gumtree so fingers crossed they're still available. I've managed to clear half the border today - whoever it was that mentioned aches was completely spot on!
I've recalculated the mulch and have come up with roughly 3.6m3 and at £84/m3 I don't think I can afford it. We do have sources of free manure about (probably just off of a pile not rotted) do you think if I used that maybe under some bark it would be ready for planting in spring? I have a pile of grass clippings too that I could chuck in the mix?!
Totally agree with Paul - terrific job w.edges. Beautiful. That was a hard shift getting that done. I love the twigs/branches round the bird table. That's a great idea. Keeps those pesky starlings out, but lets the little 'uns in. Paul - I have loads of little pots kicking about - does that make mine a gardener's garden too?
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Totally agree with Paul - terrific job w.edges. Beautiful. That was a hard shift getting that done. I love the twigs/branches round the bird table. That's a great idea. Keeps those pesky starlings out, but lets the little 'uns in. Paul - I have loads of little pots kicking about - does that make mine a gardener's garden too?
Thanks it was a lot of hard graft but free stuff always has a cost somehow. In this case it was my time and labour. The twigs around the bird table worked well until the jackdaws found a technique for removing them. I'm working on a more secure version at the moment.
@Bryonycann my local nursery has a heap of dig-your-own mulch that you can shovel into an old compost bag at a charge of £1.25 a bag. I have a stash of 100 Litre bags that I keep just for that as they're hard to come by now. I don't know if anywhere near you does that but it's worked out really cheap for me over the years. Otherwise I've had loads of well rotted manure from farms and friends who keep horses. Again freecycle can be your friend, it never hurts to ask.
If the stuff you can get now is fresh then use it at the very bottom of the area you're covering and plant shallow stuff over the top for now. Mix in any old soil from pots etc to help bulk it out.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Totally agree with Paul - terrific job w.edges. Beautiful. That was a hard shift getting that done. I love the twigs/branches round the bird table. That's a great idea. Keeps those pesky starlings out, but lets the little 'uns in. Paul - I have loads of little pots kicking about - does that make mine a gardener's garden too?
I think it's 3 times 84 quid, Dan - so it's getting expensive for Bryony. I'd get that manure if you can Bryony. Lay it on as thickly as you can to suppress any growth over winter, and then you should be able to dig it in next spring or thereabouts. You could have a mix of planting, as w. edges has in his garden, but if you have a small budget, you can always ask on here for cuttings and seeds. Many people are happy to send stuff or swap bits and pieces. Repeat planting on a long border is a useful design trick too, to give continuity and coherence, and link different types of plants or colours.
I'd certainly want some evergreens and shrubs in there if it's the main border, and you're viewing it a fair bit from the house. Maybe a couple of small trees with light canopies too - Rowans etc. You can then fill in with perennials, annuals, bulbs, those lovely alpines, or anything else as you go along, while everything grows. You can adapt, add, and change things over time - most gardeners do
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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I've recalculated the mulch and have come up with roughly 3.6m3 and at £84/m3 I don't think I can afford it. We do have sources of free manure about (probably just off of a pile not rotted) do you think if I used that maybe under some bark it would be ready for planting in spring? I have a pile of grass clippings too that I could chuck in the mix?!
I love the twigs/branches round the bird table. That's a great idea. Keeps those pesky starlings out, but lets the little 'uns in.
Paul - I have loads of little pots kicking about - does that make mine a gardener's garden too?
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I'd get that manure if you can Bryony. Lay it on as thickly as you can to suppress any growth over winter, and then you should be able to dig it in next spring or thereabouts.
You could have a mix of planting, as w. edges has in his garden, but if you have a small budget, you can always ask on here for cuttings and seeds. Many people are happy to send stuff or swap bits and pieces. Repeat planting on a long border is a useful design trick too, to give continuity and coherence, and link different types of plants or colours.
I'd certainly want some evergreens and shrubs in there if it's the main border, and you're viewing it a fair bit from the house. Maybe a couple of small trees with light canopies too - Rowans etc. You can then fill in with perennials, annuals, bulbs, those lovely alpines, or anything else as you go along, while everything grows. You can adapt, add, and change things over time - most gardeners do
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...