Cheers all - very inspiring. I have 3/4 acre of basically grass at the moment - so lots to do. Was thinking of turning a bit of paddock into a nurseryplot to raise lots of perennials for transplanting.
Excellent idea. If you are raising from seed, and have no greenhouse, one of those plastic growhouses will last a year or two until you have built up your stock.
Hi Lyn. Glad you like it. That clematis is an alba luxurians and was perfectly happy on its obelisk last year but this year it grew much bigger and used the echinops for support to great effect.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
I created a large woodland style bed a couple of years ago which is still very much in it's infancy. I found that spreading a decent mulch of bark chippings between the baby shrubs and trees suppressed weeds / retained moisture and also allowed me to walk around the bed to plant up perennials and bulbs as I acquired them.
I will continue to maintain a plant free 3' wide bark path at the back of the border and will try to leave at least a couple of narrow paths through the border for access.
I have grown lots of plants from seed to save money and I also try to select plants at the GC or nursery which look as though they will divide into at least 2 or 3 plants. A nursery bed is a great idea. I use a large raised bed for this as the soil in it is much better for baby plants than my heavy clay. The plants also require less watering and attention than plants in pots. Keep your eyes open for deals in the press as well - I have just bought 30 named (baby) hellebore plants for £1 each and a load of cyclamen corms for much less than GC prices.
Enjoy planning & creating
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
Verdun - 21st Dec is my OH's birthday. As he always reminds me with a Monty Python nods-as-good-as-a-wink - it may be the shortest day - but it's also the longest night
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
So right Verdun, all around the garden it I see signs of it springing into life, hellebores in bud, aquilegia showing all the new tiny leaves, bulbs popping up, lots of things just waiting.
Your garden sounds just like mine was, all grass, dad had put shrubs around the egde but wasnt much on flowers, he liked his vegi plots best.
Conservatories are brilliant for getting the seeds going, I start mine off in the kitchen, then out to the conservatory, then to the greenhouses or the plastic ones, if Incan find them after the winter winds.
I just cannot grow cyclamen, dont know why, too damp maybe?
I saw a gorgeous huge frog in the pond, he was biege and white mottled, just laying on the bottom, when I looked in, he just tilted his head to look at me.
I had a strange bird here today, well, strange to me, he was running up and down an old rotting post, very eratic, picking insects out, at first I thought it was a rat by the movement, it was the shape of the nuthatch, but bigger and was very pale cream with the most strikingly white breast. Anyone know?
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
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Cheers all - very inspiring. I have 3/4 acre of basically grass at the moment - so lots to do. Was thinking of turning a bit of paddock into a nurseryplot to raise lots of perennials for transplanting.
Excellent idea. If you are raising from seed, and have no greenhouse, one of those plastic growhouses will last a year or two until you have built up your stock.
Hi Lyn. Glad you like it. That clematis is an alba luxurians and was perfectly happy on its obelisk last year but this year it grew much bigger and used the echinops for support to great effect.
Fidget - i do have a large conservatory which may help
Fabulous beds & views Lyn. You too Obelixx.
I created a large woodland style bed a couple of years ago which is still very much in it's infancy. I found that spreading a decent mulch of bark chippings between the baby shrubs and trees suppressed weeds / retained moisture and also allowed me to walk around the bed to plant up perennials and bulbs as I acquired them.
I will continue to maintain a plant free 3' wide bark path at the back of the border and will try to leave at least a couple of narrow paths through the border for access.
I have grown lots of plants from seed to save money and I also try to select plants at the GC or nursery which look as though they will divide into at least 2 or 3 plants. A nursery bed is a great idea. I use a large raised bed for this as the soil in it is much better for baby plants than my heavy clay. The plants also require less watering and attention than plants in pots. Keep your eyes open for deals in the press as well - I have just bought 30 named (baby) hellebore plants for £1 each and a load of cyclamen corms for much less than GC prices.
Enjoy planning & creating
Verdun - 21st Dec is my OH's birthday. As he always reminds me with a Monty Python nods-as-good-as-a-wink - it may be the shortest day - but it's also the longest night
Fabulous photos of your beds. All look very colourful and healthy.
So right Verdun, all around the garden it I see signs of it springing into life, hellebores in bud, aquilegia showing all the new tiny leaves, bulbs popping up, lots of things just waiting.
Your garden sounds just like mine was, all grass, dad had put shrubs around the egde but wasnt much on flowers, he liked his vegi plots best.
Conservatories are brilliant for getting the seeds going, I start mine off in the kitchen, then out to the conservatory, then to the greenhouses or the plastic ones, if Incan find them after the winter winds.
I just cannot grow cyclamen, dont know why, too damp maybe?
I saw a gorgeous huge frog in the pond, he was biege and white mottled, just laying on the bottom, when I looked in, he just tilted his head to look at me.
I had a strange bird here today, well, strange to me, he was running up and down an old rotting post, very eratic, picking insects out, at first I thought it was a rat by the movement, it was the shape of the nuthatch, but bigger and was very pale cream with the most strikingly white breast. Anyone know?