Planting ideas`
Topsoiled
Posts: 113
Hopefully the most suitable place to post - but as I value a lot of the advice on here it would be great to get some of your ideas!
Okay so following some work I have a berm around the edge of my garden/field approximately 150yds long, 8ft wide by 4 foot high. There's a hedge behind it but its pretty open and light but partial shade. The soil is poor subsoil - neutral, very sandy and stony excellent drainage and I'm in the south west.
I've had a few nicotania hollyhocks sunflowers cornflowers etc growing well but as leftovers from elsewhere. I am after is ideas for planting up the whole thing on a shoestring providing cover and colour. I thought some forget me nots and pulminaria, would be good as edging plant (just run the mower over if they encroach onto the grass), but any other ideas?I like the idea of drift planting, but would like to keep it cheap as cant afford to buy the huge quantity I'd need to cover it all.
Posts
Given that it's poor but well-drained soil and such a large overall area, how about a meadow wildflower mix? You get a lot of seed for the money and it would be very beneficial to wildlife.
In case it helps, you would need to sow about 3g per square yard and you have about 400 square yards so would need 1.2kg of seed costing somewhere in the region of £40 to £100.
Thanks for the reply BobtheGardener - I think that's my fall back position. A lot of the garden is grass/meadow although the grass is taken over the flowers now. Ideally I would like something more structured or formal and struggling for ideas of cheap effective solutions. But you may well be right!
There are quite a lot of different mixes available these days as well as single wild species and all without grasses (often called 100% mixes) so you could perhaps do some areas with single species and others with various different mixes. Certainly the cheapest option I would think. Some sites to look at:
http://www.wildflower.org.uk/creative-wildflower-seed-mixes/
http://www.bostonseeds.com/products/2/Wildflowers-Seed/47/Wildflower-Seed-Mixtures-100/
I expected to see some Merffs as well!! you live and learn.
Tetley - what perennials did you plant? - that's sounds like you had something similar and did something that could work for me...
Didn't know what a berm was either, but I like pansyface's and Lyn's replies...can't beat Sellers ...
'There is a meuth in my reum'... brilliant!
You could sow perennials from seed - they'll get to a decent size while the wildflower mix is doing it's thing, and you can get those in the following year
Take a look on the Seed Swap thread here Topsoiled. You'll get a few bargains from the kind forum folk
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Hi,
Might look lovely with some hardy geraniums .... the sort that spread quickly such as Geranium 'Ann Folkard' which will soon cover a large area and is great for hiding the dying foliage of bulbs ... also Geranium x cantabrigiense 'Biokovo' which is evergreen for me (south Scotland) and is another good spreader.
They won't mind that the soil is poor just now (my geraniums are thriving and I garden on the site of an old sawmill), and if you can mulch whenever you have anything spare it will soon improve.
The suggestion to ask around for freebie splits is a good one, but if you do have to buy go for a big plant and split up and you could soon have it covered.
A single bee creates just one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
Brilliant Tetley - sounds like my sort of gardening! I think freebies and begging are the way to go and if I have the time, lots of perennial seeds as Fairygirl suggests. I'm also a big fan of Geraniums - so I'll look out for those, Bee witched. I've a few around (not sure of the species) but I'll split if big enough. Never seem to have much luck with direct sowing, which would make life easier but I'll do half in the greenhouse and half direct and cross my fingers.
Hi Topsoiled. Do you have any local friends/groups that do gardening or that you could do swaps with? I am frequently receiving giving self seedlings / divided perennials to friends. Cheap as chips as you use what you have, I also keep old pots and recycle them to use to carry self seedlings etc.