I guess that or covering the area with stone like a rockery? Ideally I would like it as maintainence free as possible as I work alot of hours and I'm on my own so the garden is often a after thought after the house is tidy etc!
This is how the slabs are looking after a pressure wash, then bleach rubbed in with a stiff garden broom, left and wrinsed.. So a slight improvement but still pretty grubby! Anything else I can try to get them looking like new?
You could try a product called "patio black spot remover", l know other forum members have used it and so has my neighbour who was pleased with the results. That is one heck of a clematis Montana!
The slabs should be relatively easy to lift and reuse somewhere out of sight. After that the world is your oyster! The soil underneath them and up against the wall will be compacted and lacking in nutrients. So your first step should be to buy in a good amount of compost, well-rotted manure, or similar. Easiest obtained from a specialist company in those giant sacks, but bags from a garden centre will do and, in a pinch, ask at your local council. Spread on thickly and dig in. You can add layers in later years and the soil will gradually improve.
In terms of planting, you won't keep the grass out from among the primroses unless you dig it out regularly, but primroses rather like growing in grass, so it's not a disaster. If you would rather have a border along the wall, it would make sense to do the digging and soil improvement at the same time that you do the area under the slabs--then you will be able to step back and survey the shape and size of the beds as you go, and decide on the shape of lawn you want too.
Given your other post about the plants you rescued from your grandfather's garden, some of those would probably work rather well in this area. Start by positioning the shrubs on the bed, checking mature sizes online. Then walk all round and see if the spacing and heights are going to work--nothing is more annoying than having to move a shrub later on!
Having got those positioned right, plant them (to the same depth as they were originally), and firm in and water. You'll probably want to leave the perennial planting to a different day, to let things drain off a bit. But the principle is the same: position the plants on the prepared bed, think about spacing and heights, put tall things at the back and so on. I think your best bet is to go for those rescued plants here, as herbs (with the exception of a very few) need quite a lot of sun. If all this sounds too much hassle, though, you could repave with more attractive paving and then have containers. It might seem like an easier option, but bear in mind that you still need to clean the paving regularly and water the containers up to several times a week in hot weather. You may have more fun with planting it up.
If you want to keep a productive theme in the area, there are some things like wild strawberries, blackberries and even raspberries that will cope with reduced light, as they naturally inhabit woodland clearings. But even then you could interplant with things like Alchemilla mollis, Astrantia and Bergenias to make a visually pleasing effect overall.
@Cambridgerose12 Thanks again for replying with a detailed post 😊
I am not sure you can see from my recent pic I have lifted the 3 slabs up nearest the root. Unfortunately, along that part of the wall seems to be one long beam of poured concrete rather than slabs I can lift like the rest of the way down so I'm not sure what to do about that. Underneath the three slabs is alot of roots from the climber.. I have tried to take a pic showing this. So I will possibly have this area after I have turned it over and used compost as you have suggested, along with two similar areas (I will attach pics in the next post) that will have some space. I tried to rehome a few plants there last summer which seem to have taken nicely.
Those areas had strawberries previously that I moved into pots because the dog would just eat them 😅
I have weeded all along the wall now and I could put long narrow planters down it for some of the smaller plants from my grandads garden..
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That is one heck of a clematis Montana!
In terms of planting, you won't keep the grass out from among the primroses unless you dig it out regularly, but primroses rather like growing in grass, so it's not a disaster. If you would rather have a border along the wall, it would make sense to do the digging and soil improvement at the same time that you do the area under the slabs--then you will be able to step back and survey the shape and size of the beds as you go, and decide on the shape of lawn you want too.
Given your other post about the plants you rescued from your grandfather's garden, some of those would probably work rather well in this area. Start by positioning the shrubs on the bed, checking mature sizes online. Then walk all round and see if the spacing and heights are going to work--nothing is more annoying than having to move a shrub later on!
Having got those positioned right, plant them (to the same depth as they were originally), and firm in and water. You'll probably want to leave the perennial planting to a different day, to let things drain off a bit. But the principle is the same: position the plants on the prepared bed, think about spacing and heights, put tall things at the back and so on. I think your best bet is to go for those rescued plants here, as herbs (with the exception of a very few) need quite a lot of sun. If all this sounds too much hassle, though, you could repave with more attractive paving and then have containers. It might seem like an easier option, but bear in mind that you still need to clean the paving regularly and water the containers up to several times a week in hot weather. You may have more fun with planting it up.
If you want to keep a productive theme in the area, there are some things like wild strawberries, blackberries and even raspberries that will cope with reduced light, as they naturally inhabit woodland clearings. But even then you could interplant with things like Alchemilla mollis, Astrantia and Bergenias to make a visually pleasing effect overall.
Thanks again for replying with a detailed post 😊
I am not sure you can see from my recent pic I have lifted the 3 slabs up nearest the root. Unfortunately, along that part of the wall seems to be one long beam of poured concrete rather than slabs I can lift like the rest of the way down so I'm not sure what to do about that. Underneath the three slabs is alot of roots from the climber.. I have tried to take a pic showing this. So I will possibly have this area after I have turned it over and used compost as you have suggested, along with two similar areas (I will attach pics in the next post) that will have some space. I tried to rehome a few plants there last summer which seem to have taken nicely.
Those areas had strawberries previously that I moved into pots because the dog would just eat them 😅
I have weeded all along the wall now and I could put long narrow planters down it for some of the smaller plants from my grandads garden..