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"Cursed" Border
RBManc
Posts: 59
Hello,
I am a newbie to this forum (but not necessarily a newbie gardener) so I hope I have posted this in the correct category. I apologise in advance for quite a lengthy post.
I live in the North West of England (Manchester) and have a fairly large garden. As with the majority of gardens in Manchester our soil is clay-based, though I have been gradually improving the soil in the whole of the garden over the years. The garden still gets somewhat waterlogged in winter but nothing too major.
I'm quite happy with most of the garden borders now but there is one I am struggling with and, honestly, I think it's cursed.
The border gets full sun from early morning to mid-afternoon and is slightly sloped. Anything I plant in this border just dies after one season. I've tried quite a lot of different plants for different situations in this border and barely any have survived more than one year - the survivors being geum, shasta daisies, and a coreopsis that has suffered badly with mildew and will probably die this year. I've got an orange ball tree (buddleia globosa) in at the moment which has plenty of green growth but hasn't flowered (possibly because it doesn't get enough sun but I'm hoping for it to get tall enough to pop above the fence and get all day sun) and a geranium rozanne which has spread massively but the flowering is "meh".
There are a few things which I think might contribute:-
1 - The previous owner of our house planted virgina creeper and there is a lot of it - it pops up all over. I dig bits out here and there but I really like it so don't want to get rid completely. I am wondering if it is a hungry plant and is sapping the soil of nutrients.
2 - There is quite a big cherry blossom tree (about 25ft High) near this border - I never hit any cherry blossom roots when I'm digging but I wonder if this is sapping the soil of nutrients.
I used chicken manure pellets elsewhere in the garden as a general feed - should I incorporate some of these into this border? Or should I dig up my existing plants and incorporate some manure?
Any thoughts are welcome and thank you for reading.
I am a newbie to this forum (but not necessarily a newbie gardener) so I hope I have posted this in the correct category. I apologise in advance for quite a lengthy post.
I live in the North West of England (Manchester) and have a fairly large garden. As with the majority of gardens in Manchester our soil is clay-based, though I have been gradually improving the soil in the whole of the garden over the years. The garden still gets somewhat waterlogged in winter but nothing too major.
I'm quite happy with most of the garden borders now but there is one I am struggling with and, honestly, I think it's cursed.
The border gets full sun from early morning to mid-afternoon and is slightly sloped. Anything I plant in this border just dies after one season. I've tried quite a lot of different plants for different situations in this border and barely any have survived more than one year - the survivors being geum, shasta daisies, and a coreopsis that has suffered badly with mildew and will probably die this year. I've got an orange ball tree (buddleia globosa) in at the moment which has plenty of green growth but hasn't flowered (possibly because it doesn't get enough sun but I'm hoping for it to get tall enough to pop above the fence and get all day sun) and a geranium rozanne which has spread massively but the flowering is "meh".
There are a few things which I think might contribute:-
1 - The previous owner of our house planted virgina creeper and there is a lot of it - it pops up all over. I dig bits out here and there but I really like it so don't want to get rid completely. I am wondering if it is a hungry plant and is sapping the soil of nutrients.
2 - There is quite a big cherry blossom tree (about 25ft High) near this border - I never hit any cherry blossom roots when I'm digging but I wonder if this is sapping the soil of nutrients.
I used chicken manure pellets elsewhere in the garden as a general feed - should I incorporate some of these into this border? Or should I dig up my existing plants and incorporate some manure?
Any thoughts are welcome and thank you for reading.
0
Posts
The cherry could be adding to your problems and I would hope it is a good distance from your house. I wonder if you need to improve the soil but also add lots of grit, could be expensive but your soil will be more open and free draining all year round. You could then plant for these conditions.This is something I have tried myself with a new border but it hasn't as yet been through the winter. It is full of Cosmos Rubenza at the moment whilst the plants mature and it has worked well.
I do realise that this is going against nature and I haven't been able to break through the pan of clay below completely but I have opted for some tough plants that seem to be ok. I guess the winter months will be the proof especially if it is wet.
I'll take a photo of the border when I get home from work but so far it has killed off Campanula Persicifolia, Astilbes, Salvias, Rudbeckia (which I knew weren't really suitable for that area), a Hypericum and an Erysimum.
I should probably do a soil pH test too.
The cherry is quite far away from the house and isn't very pretty - we only really keep it because the birds like it.
I've added quite a bit of compost in over the years but maybe not enough - I'll also try adding some grit. I have a spare bag around that I can try for now. I've tried planting for damp conditions but I didn't think about the fact that it is quite dry over summer.
Hopefully your new border will pull through the winter!
Soil is ALWAYS improved with lots of muck - organic muck, not bags of potting compost, and grit helps with clay but it would be very surprising if nothing grows there. It may just be that you need to feed your soil more and choose the right plants. And you need a gap between the creeper and new planting.
I have persuaded a number of things to cope in my garden but I think it's important to know what's killing yours before you put in any more.
Here is a photo of the top part of the garden as a whole with the cursed border over to the right - this was taken in May/June when everything was a bit happier. You can just about see the large cherry blossom at the far right with the virginia creeper climbing up. The Hawthorn is in the cursed border (I forgot that was there because I don't like it but the blue tits often nest in it so it can stay) and the other large shrubs/small trees in the back right are in their own raised border.
I think my best plan of action is to take everything out, dig in plenty of manure (I have a farm down the road who regularly get rid of their well-rotted manure) and possibly try to incorporate some grit.
Also, now I am looking at the photos the border does look quite congested so maybe it is time for a general re-design
@pansyface - No gas leaks that I am aware of!
@Posy - the plants survive and do well for a while and then all seem to get root rot. When I was looking at the campanula, the dead plant just snapped away leaving the roots behind and upon digging around the roots to investigate, they were rotten. That is the case with all the plants that die there.