Forum home› Problem solving
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Scaffolding in front garden

UnionworkerukUnionworkeruk Posts: 187
in Problem solving
I need to do some work on my roof so will need to put up a tower scaffold in the front garden. I have a dense selection of Sanguisorbia Red Thunder, Panicum Purple Majesty, Helenium Moerheim. Karl Foerster grasses, Strobilanthes anisophyllus Brunetti Persian Shield plant, Sea Holly and some Japanese sedge and blue fescue.

As it is nearing autumn I wonder if I should try dig some of the larger plants up to try save them or let them get trampled knowing they are nearing the end of their  season and will be cut back anyway before next spring. The scaffold will be up for a week but the damage will be done on the two working days mainly putting it up and taking it down.  Any advice   ?     

Posts

  • AstroAstro Posts: 433
    We had scaffolding for roofing work last year in the February and they absolutely trampled the whole border to a mud bath. I'd wished I'd lifted the plants but they turned up before the date they were due and much of the damage was done by the time I'd returned home from work, I was livid. 

    Many of the plants did come back through but the soil was really compacted both from them walking on it and the from the wooden boards. I had to lift many plants later in the year just to loosen the soil because it was solid in places.






  • rowlandscastle444rowlandscastle444 Posts: 2,612
    We had scaffolding up, and while we potted up some of the plants temporarily, it gave us the opportunity to plan the area anew.
  • UnionworkerukUnionworkeruk Posts: 187
    rowlandscastle444 said:
    We had scaffolding up, and while we potted up some of the plants temporarily, it gave us the opportunity to plan the area anew.

    What did you do ? Just pot them up for the week or so then put them back or would that be too much disturbance and they need to be in the pot for longer ?
  • rowlandscastle444rowlandscastle444 Posts: 2,612
    @Unionworkeruk
    As @Astro said, the ground is likely to get compacted by constant (human) traffic. In my case, I knew I'd lose most of the plants that got left in the ground. 

    I dug the area over, added a reasonable amount of compost, and replanted those plants that had been removed. By the time I was able to complete the preparation of the soil, the plants had been in their pots for five weeks. 

    I replanted with faith, and went out to buy more plants from my local garden centre (timing was perfect) to replace those lost. 

    Obviously, they weren't necessarily the same type of plant that had previously been there, but planning had gone into this. This did involve some outlay, but I could afford it.

    Some of those replanted plants survived, some didn't. It's very much a "hoping" situation, but it worked for me. The less you can afford to pay for, the more plants you need to pot up, if possible. 

    Good luck.
Sign In or Register to comment.