Those of us who garden know how healing and supportive being in a garden is, and how it can keep you going regardless. I have had some ups and downs healthwise but my garden has been my salvation, even when only able to sit and look at it. There is always something going on, and it helps you to look forward. A bird table and feeder is brilliant for bringing visitors and movement very close,, robins are lovely companions and soon become quite tame if they are fed mealworms, their favourite meal. The activity can be watched from indoors if necessary, you can buy feeders which stick to the window with suction pads and tits will soon find them.
Hi Suze I want to thank you for your input which I think is in part responsible for the wonderful response. I will let you know when the work begins and if i can ill forward some photos. Kind regards Stuart
Hi @GardenerSuze I didn't read the very first post, and didn't understand what you were asking in the post where you mention a few of us. Now I'm up to speed, sorry to hear about your niece.
My views are quite skewed by the very hot and dry Summer we had in London this year. It forced us to ruthlessly evaluate what required work (mostly watering), versus little to no work. Here's what we learned:
1) Make trees and shrubs the core of your garden. A mix of evergreen and deciduous is good, as evergreen-only really limits your choice. Our favourites; Pittosporum, Choisya, Pyracantha, Abelia, Phormiums, Cotinus, Privet, Cotoneaster, Hawthorn, Sorbus, Black Elder.
2) Perennials often require a lot of work (watering, deadheading, staking, etc). We have reduced ours to Geraniums, Sedums and a few Echincea and Astelia.
3) We have stopped growing annuals
4) We reduced our pot collection (originally about 80) to about 20. If your niece can get away without any pots or containers, when I would recommend that. It will make maintenance in hot weather much easier.
5) We have almost no plants now which are water hungry, even if it meant losing ones we long cherished. It's easy to become seduced at the garden centre, but focussing on plants which are happy in drier soil/drought will save your niece a lot of watering.
6) Grasses are great, but we have found many of them require lots of water in baking heatwaves. I would include Calamagrostis Karl Foerster in this category, even though others might disagree. Our Miscanthus sinensis was the only grass which really coped well with prolonged heat. Some of the Stipa's were good too, but we no longer have any.
We have either gravel or paving around our planting beds, and find these the most low maintenance. Grass is better for nature, but cutting and watering might make this impractical for your niece. I have read that artificial grass gets very hot, and not great for cats and dogs, so I would avoid that (plus it's dreadful for nature).
@stuartwilson134 I think the above comments from @KeenOnGreen are well worth considering when it comes to the kind of summer that we have just experienced. You are looking for low maintenance and hands on experience of how difficult gardening has been this year need thought. Suze. Thankyou KeenOnGreen This is important information for anyone planning a new garden.We are all going to have to make changes.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
Thanks to keen on green for the very practical and relevant insights, your information is very helpful as i hadn't given enough thought to the practical issues of our recent dry hot weather patterns. so i will now looking at water solutions as well.
The location and climate of your niece's garden are the most important things. Soil type too. Many shrubs will cope with almost anything, but it's a terrible waste of money planting anything if it won't survive in the site
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Just to add to @KeenOnGreen’s very useful insights, I suspect many plants (and gardeners!) went into shock a bit with the unexpected UK temperatures in summer as they weren’t acclimatised to it. I grow a wide range of shrubs, roses and perennials in higher summer temperatures but they do need establishing and watering well before they can cope. However, even some of my most established drought tolerant perennials suffered in 45ºC+ and needed extra water. The salvias, echinacea, rosemary, nepeta, gaura all did ok. The heleniums, achillea and dahlias didn’t!
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
@Nollie I think my biggest concern was all the mature trees that were suffering. A lot of trees have been late to loose their leave as it has only recently turned cold. Could we see a situation where leaves remain on a tree and new ones also start to grow. A worrying thought.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
@stuartwilson134 I recommend "no lawn" rather than artificial lawn if possible. Just perennials that need only care once a year, mostly in Spring time (March). As dovefromabove said once, "a Deutzia (shrub doesn't need to be cut". There are other shrubs that don't need care and just live a life as it is. I can confirm that a collection of Echinacea, Rudbeckia, Heleniums, and Verbena bonariensis, surrounded by some higher Stipa grasses don't need more attention than in Spring time.
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A bird table and feeder is brilliant for bringing visitors and movement very close,, robins are lovely companions and soon become quite tame if they are fed mealworms, their favourite meal. The activity can be watched from indoors if necessary, you can buy feeders which stick to the window with suction pads and tits will soon find them.
My views are quite skewed by the very hot and dry Summer we had in London this year. It forced us to ruthlessly evaluate what required work (mostly watering), versus little to no work. Here's what we learned:
1) Make trees and shrubs the core of your garden. A mix of evergreen and deciduous is good, as evergreen-only really limits your choice. Our favourites; Pittosporum, Choisya, Pyracantha, Abelia, Phormiums, Cotinus, Privet, Cotoneaster, Hawthorn, Sorbus, Black Elder.
2) Perennials often require a lot of work (watering, deadheading, staking, etc). We have reduced ours to Geraniums, Sedums and a few Echincea and Astelia.
3) We have stopped growing annuals
4) We reduced our pot collection (originally about 80) to about 20. If your niece can get away without any pots or containers, when I would recommend that. It will make maintenance in hot weather much easier.
5) We have almost no plants now which are water hungry, even if it meant losing ones we long cherished. It's easy to become seduced at the garden centre, but focussing on plants which are happy in drier soil/drought will save your niece a lot of watering.
6) Grasses are great, but we have found many of them require lots of water in baking heatwaves. I would include Calamagrostis Karl Foerster in this category, even though others might disagree. Our Miscanthus sinensis was the only grass which really coped well with prolonged heat. Some of the Stipa's were good too, but we no longer have any.
We have either gravel or paving around our planting beds, and find these the most low maintenance. Grass is better for nature, but cutting and watering might make this impractical for your niece. I have read that artificial grass gets very hot, and not great for cats and dogs, so I would avoid that (plus it's dreadful for nature).
Thankyou KeenOnGreen This is important information for anyone planning a new garden.We are all going to have to make changes.
Many shrubs will cope with almost anything, but it's a terrible waste of money planting anything if it won't survive in the site
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Just to add to @KeenOnGreen’s very useful insights, I suspect many plants (and gardeners!) went into shock a bit with the unexpected UK temperatures in summer as they weren’t acclimatised to it. I grow a wide range of shrubs, roses and perennials in higher summer temperatures but they do need establishing and watering well before they can cope. However, even some of my most established drought tolerant perennials suffered in 45ºC+ and needed extra water. The salvias, echinacea, rosemary, nepeta, gaura all did ok. The heleniums, achillea and dahlias didn’t!
Just perennials that need only care once a year, mostly in Spring time (March).
As dovefromabove said once, "a Deutzia (shrub doesn't need to be cut". There are other shrubs that don't need care and just live a life as it is.
I can confirm that a collection of Echinacea, Rudbeckia, Heleniums, and Verbena bonariensis, surrounded by some higher Stipa grasses don't need more attention than in Spring time.
I ♥ my garden.