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Turning ugly waste land into edible garden
James2015
Posts: 2
Hi All,
I have an ugly waste patch of land between my house and the road. It is approx 1.5m from the house wall to the pavement and about half way along it the drain goes to the sewer system.
I have taken out the fence and cut down the large tree that was there (recommended by surveyors when we bought the house) and it is now a muddy patch of land.
I want to plant something along this boundary that will look nice but also provide something that can either be eaten or fermented! Is this even possible so close to the house wall?
Any thoughts on what to plant?
0
Posts
Hi, it is south facing and gets the sun most of the day. It also gets the full force of the wind so its really exposed.
My only concerns are the dog walkers... or rather their dogs urinating on small low down plants
I will be replacing the hedge to the left with an edible hedgerow of sorts, thinking sloe bush's etc here is a better side on picture
Be careful about the soil level. Where is the damp proof course in your wall? It must be above the soil level Or you may get damp inside.
I think contamination from dog waste and wee is an issue. As suggested maybe currants, I would not want to eat any ground level crop.
Sage, Lad's Love, Rosemary, Mint, Lemon Balm in large pots, preferably plastic pots so less likely to get nicked.
fruit bushes, gooseberries are good as they are spikey, it keeps the marauding local kids away from my fruit!
Herbs are a good idea, they like dry soil, and need little care. You can always create compartments for the mints as it does spread. My rosemary, mint, lemon balm, oregano and savory are almost perfect plants for the lazy person.
I once grew herbs in my south facing, against the wall, small front border. It wasn't the mint that was the problem, it was the sage. Grew like a Russian vine. I had to to put it somewhere else in the end
I dug out my sage. The label said 1m across, but no, it grew much bigger, and it was covered in small white flies. I will note that my rosemary is nice but easily broken, so nit good if footballs etc hit it.