Why does my garden look raggedy?
PurplePoppy
Posts: 48
I was wondering if anyone else's garden looks a bit raggedy after all the May / June perennial flowers have finished?
I'm beginning to think something is wrong in my garden (or I'm doing something wrong!). I started the growing year by replenishing the borders with my own homemade compost, putting in slow-release fertiliser (Vitax Q4), and mulching with Strulch. For awhile my garden looked very good. But now, many of my plants seem to be suffering a bit - wilting or browning or yellowing leaves, lots of snail damage, little growth. In general, the garden looks a bit rubbish (my honeysuckle is turning brown. I don't know if it's just that the roses and geraniums have had their first flush and other spring flowering plants are done, or if it's suffering from lack of feed / water / sunshine, or even too much water. I try to water well at least once a week. Last year I seem to remember July was filled with flowering plants.
On the plus side, at least my Japanese anemones are developing flowers...
Posts
Have you chosen perennials which flower in just may and june, or ones that flower at different times?
I didn't think I did - I have a large number of roses, foxgloves, verbena bonariensis, African lilies, a number of perennial geraniums (Johnson's Blue, palmatum), hydrangeas, delphiniums, oriental poppies, salvia, veronica, aquilegias, rhododendron and camellias ...
I know that some are strictly spring (i.e. the poppies and aquilegias and ericaceus plants) but I'm concerned about why even the plants which are flowering (or should be about to flower) don't look particularly healthy.
Have you got a photo of the plants?
Mine looks a bit raggedy but if I were to cut off the finished flowers, (and do a bit of weeding
), it would soon look a lot better
In the sticks near Peterborough
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Thanks for the reassurance, bekkie. I live in London and the garden is south-facing, so you probably are right.
I'll try and get some photos to post, nutcutlet. Perhaps my problem is that I cut back all of the spent flowers / foliage, and now it's exposed all the plants who seem to have been suffering (perhaps from the competition). (I too completely understand the bit about weeding...!). Also maybe I simply need to add some annuals for more colour, as you say...
Would it be a good idea to water the plants with some seaweed feed?
I also wonder if the compacted soil is part of the problem. I did loosen it with my own compost earlier in the year, but it's still become very compacted. Perhaps adding some more might help rejuvenate the bed?
I find seaweed feed is always a good idea, i also use sm3 from the organic gardening catalogue is very good, not trying to be patronising, dont get the leaves wet when its sunny