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How to rejuvenate an old border?

EmptyheadtimeEmptyheadtime Posts: 366
in Problem solving
After 15 years or so of neglect I am planning on redoing the border in the back garden. For the past years I have left it to the kids as I got fed up with plant after plant dying from footballs etc. However now the kids are older its time to bring it back to life. I found an old picture of what it was like.......

And this is it now.....


My biggest issue is how do I dig it over ready for planting. Currently it is really compacted (quite a bit of clay) and full of roots from existing plants and trees. Digging a good hole last summer for a couple of new lupins was tough. I gave it a good mulching a few months ago and believe it or not there are a good few bulbs, lupins, aquilegia, poppy and geraniums in there I would like to keep.
How do I get the soil workable? Should I bite the bullet and dig up all the plants then dig it over and replant them (don't really want to do this) or is there another way? The picture only shows about half the bed as there is a similar length to the right.

Posts

  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    Ironically, digging the plants up is what l would do !
    I would definitely divide it into manageable sections rather than trying to do it all in one go. Keep the plants you definitely want either in temporary pots, ot trugsi f they're only going to be out of the ground for a short while.
    It may be worth hiring a rotovator if it's so hard to dig conventionally .
  • KiliKili Posts: 1,104
    edited February 2022
    I wouldn't dig it over. I'd just stick a fork in and wiggle it back and forth you don't need to disturb the bulbs you have planted.
    Use the no dig method and put 3 or 4" inches of mulch on top now. When your ready for planting I would spread FBB over the whole bed and the existing bulbs will just push through when the soil warms up.

    'The power of accurate observation .... is commonly called cynicism by those that have not got it.

    George Bernard Shaw'

  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I would widen the border, to make more planting space without too much disturbance to the trees and shrubs, and more in proportion with the high wall. Lift and move the perennials. Many can be split if want more - they'll benefit from it.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • Chris-P-BaconChris-P-Bacon Posts: 943
    Have a think if you're happy with the block wall - there's nothing wrong with now & if you're happy with it, no problems but if you'd like to change it..perhaps paint it or add trellis etc, it's a good time to do it now (how about trained fuit up the wall?).
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    I agree with Kili and Jenny. I wouldn't dig it over either. Make it wider and just dig the holes where you want to plant, then add mulch. 
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • EmptyheadtimeEmptyheadtime Posts: 366
    Hmmmm. Thanks everyone for your responses. I hadn’t considered widening the border but there is no reason not to so I may do that and continue to mulch this year. If it doesn’t work I may bite the bullet and start over next year and just dig it over (as best as I can). As for the wall, it doesn’t bother me, there is clematis, ivy,wisteria etc that cover lots of it in the summer and also a reed screen around the patio bit we sit at, so the bit in the picture is about all thats bare and if my plants take this year most of it should be hidden.
    thanks again.
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