@GardenerSuze, I look forward to and have been enjoying your gardening 'diary'. I admire your determination and hard work. You have achieved so much in such a short space of time. Hopefully it won't be long before you can sit back and enjoy your labour of love. Well done, keep up the good work.
@Meomye Thankyou so much for your kind words, they give me confidence and support. At one point I thought that the clay and the dry 'pan' beneath would defeat me. A job that years ago I would have taken in my stride. Luckily no aches and pains but it has been very tiring.
Just a short run of garden still to tackle and it is draining now. So many people hurry to get a new build garden planted and established without digging down to see what type of ground their newly aquired plants will be dealing with. I hope this thread encourages anyone with a new build to take a look before planting.
The pot contains my Portuguse Laurel, it was a lovely straight hedging plant for four pounds now year three it is starting to look like a 'lollipop' but still only small. To the left of the photo where the pots are is the final run to dig down. Some things have been planted knowing full well they will need to be moved.
The small bed behind the chair is home to Calamagrostis Karl Foerster planted in a grid. I have managed to find some lovely plants of Verbena bonariensis as fillers for this year. They grew like weeds in a small dry area of my old garden. Here they may be a challenge but finding out is part of the fun!
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
@punkdoc I'm just a little older than @Fairygirl as is mentioned way back at the beginning so very young OAP's. This thread is now so long that I am sure I have repeated myself many times. A sign of old age I think. It has been a great way of keeping notes for my own use whilst sharing with fellow gardeners.
I was very lucky with the hard landscaping I knew of an established Landscaper with RHS medals. I never thought they would be interested in helping with my new build garden. However their staff need continuous employment and smaller jobs are always needed. The work was done by a' great gang of two' both showed their skills when it came to the raised beds. A drawing was put together but I was able to explain roughly what I wanted and that helped with budget. I didn't get any other quotes I was so lucky they agreed to do it for me.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
Just to add managed to break the shaft on my new spade as shown earlier. Wilkinson Sword with a ten year guarantee. This is only the fourth spade I have broken over the years. I will be taking it back for a hopeful swap it was expensive. All the other spades I have broken were old and none of them belonged to me, this one was purchased Jan 2024.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
Spade returned and a refund received. It would seem that they have had lots of these returned with the same problem. I will look out for the Burgeon and Ball equivalent. I also purchased a Kent and Stow hoe, it is very narrow so easy between plants.
The main concern is still just how wet it is will these plants drown before their roots have a chance to get going. No chance to sort the last area where the 'pan' remains just too wet. The lawn is also wet despite the use of a fork. Not so positive today but thats gardening.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
@GardenerSuze I don't know how I missed this thread last year, but well done Suze, you're powering through it all so far aren't you? I can't wait to see this year's photos as things fill out and it takes shape! I did flick through every page to look at the photos (@Plantminded half of them are yours, and your place is gorgeous!) and I didn't read much, but I did notice you mentioned how good your new spade is - what make is it please? I desperately need a new one!
@Slow-worm This thread is very long I have to speed read and still repeat myself. I purchased the spade early Jan and have broken the shaft already. It was Wilkinson Sword from the lightweight range. I loved it but maybe it wasn't up to the job I was doing. Other companies make these, very sharpe and easy to use. @Plantminded has offered some invaluable help and I am still looking for Euphorbia Miners Merlot for the raised beds. I saw it in a GC miles away on a freezing cold day and just wanted to get inside. So it still remains on the list.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
Just a thought about Euphorbia Miners Merlot @Gardenersuze, disappointingly mine didn't retain the rich burgundy tones I expected over winter and looked rather miserable. Two of the variegated Euphorbias I added last year didn't live up to expectations either. I've decided to grow only the green leaved ones now with acid green flowers which I prefer. I hope this feedback helps you!
Posts
At one point I thought that the clay and the dry 'pan' beneath would defeat me. A job that years ago I would have taken in my stride. Luckily no aches and pains but it has been very tiring.
Just a short run of garden still to tackle and it is draining now. So many people hurry to get a new build garden planted and established without digging down to see what type of ground their newly aquired plants will be dealing with. I hope this thread encourages anyone with a new build to take a look before planting.
The pot contains my Portuguse Laurel, it was a lovely straight hedging plant for four pounds now year three it is starting to look like a 'lollipop' but still only small.
To the left of the photo where the pots are is the final run to dig down.
Some things have been planted knowing full well they will need to be moved.
The small bed behind the chair is home to Calamagrostis Karl Foerster planted in a grid.
I have managed to find some lovely plants of Verbena bonariensis as fillers for this year.
They grew like weeds in a small dry area of my old garden. Here they may be a challenge but finding out is part of the fun!
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
I was very lucky with the hard landscaping I knew of an established Landscaper with RHS medals. I never thought they would be interested in helping with my new build garden. However their staff need continuous employment and smaller jobs are always needed. The work was done by a' great gang of two' both showed their skills when it came to the raised beds.
A drawing was put together but I was able to explain roughly what I wanted and that helped with budget. I didn't get any other quotes I was so lucky they agreed to do it for me.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
All the other spades I have broken were old and none of them belonged to me, this one was purchased Jan 2024.
I also purchased a Kent and Stow hoe, it is very narrow so easy between plants.
The main concern is still just how wet it is will these plants drown before their roots have a chance to get going. No chance to sort the last area where the 'pan' remains just too wet. The lawn is also wet despite the use of a fork. Not so positive today but thats gardening.
I did flick through every page to look at the photos (@Plantminded half of them are yours, and your place is gorgeous!) and I didn't read much, but I did notice you mentioned how good your new spade is - what make is it please? I desperately need a new one!
@Plantminded has offered some invaluable help and I am still looking for Euphorbia Miners Merlot for the raised beds. I saw it in a GC miles away on a freezing cold day and just wanted to get inside. So it still remains on the list.