Gardeners?

[Spinney]

I have done a not bad job with my limited space, even if I do say so myself. View attachment 129305

Thought people might like to see some of the rest of Marmion's patch...

 

[Tin Pot]

What about some dogwoods, or Mexican orange blossom (my favourite plant... Evergreen, scented, can be pruned to size). And I agree with the tree peony, I've got a large one but it's yellow, your's looks to be a nicer colour).

I have no idea what any of those are.

 

[Spinney]

I have no idea what any of those are.

Google is your friend...

 

[Tiger10]

I have some beans you can plant . Will swap for a cow or something .

I have a simmenthal x, how many beans have you got .

 

[PeteXXX]

If your budget is limited, either by choice or necessity, you could contact a local gardening club, or ask/check freecycle for something to plant.
It's amazing what people will give you for nothing.

 

[Spinney]

Cheapest way to do hawthorn (apart from stealing it from the wild!) is to buy bare-root plants - but you can only plant them in the winter. And it will take a few years for them to thicken into a proper hedge.

 

[Tin Pot]

Never thought I could feel sorry for a daffodil - but even it has lost the will to live.

DO SOMETHING/ANYTHING!

I've removed the stones, dug it up, found that there an old subterranean wall cross ing, watered it, layer fresh compost and covered with a metal mesh to stop the foxes messing it up.

Not sure which wildflower mix will go in yet. One decent bush at the front would be a good idea.

Have another two sections to prep that sort of size, but they already have mature plants to work around.

 

[furball]

Try to dig the fresh compost into the existing soil rather than just sitting it on top. This should encourage better root growth.

 

[Tin Pot]

Try to dig the fresh compost into the existing soil rather than just sitting it on top. This should encourage better root growth.

Have done but not enough to bring much of the old to the surface.

A daffodil used to live here.

 

[fossyant]

Laurels are nice..fook laylandii..lol privet hedges are good too

+1 We have laurels at both sides of the house.

 

[Salad Dodger]

Hydrangeas. The bloody things grow like triffids. Cut them back to an inch above the ground, and by next summer they are huge great bushes again! I had to dig some out to get rid of them. Roots went down for miles. Bloody things.....

 

[PaulSB]

From the images we are discussing a patch about 6x8 feet with poor shallow dry soil and shaded by a cherry tree or similar.

Sadly multipurpose compost will have little or any impact. Obtain some well rotted rotted manure - you'll see it advertised near stables 50p a bag - make sure it is rotted. Spread a layer, 4/5" deep, over the area and then fork the soil over to the depth of your fork, about 9." If it's not rotted fork in and leave overwinter.

If you want to surpress all weed growth put down a barrier of some sort, plastic sheeting, old carpet, Mypex (commercial product available in garden centres), plant through this and cover with wood chips, bark etc.

Given the size of the area suggested none of the plants suggested will give much of a result. I would recommend simple perennials tolerant of poor and dry soil. Consider Hosta, Geranium, Astilbe, Hellebore, Solidago, Anenome, Sedum, Alchemilla, Aster, Gailardia, Aquilegia, Geum, Hemerocallis, Euphorbia. You'll find flowering examples of these in most garden centres from now till July. Avoid anything which is vigorous or large or it will quickly dominate the area. If the prices put you off make a note of what you like and then find a retail nursery which will probably be cheaper than the retail emporium garden centres have become.

Half a dozen decent perennials will fill the space in the first season and should cover most of the area by next summer. Being perennial they die down in winter making it easy to tidy up.

You could plant bulbs at a later date for early spring colour.

 

[summerdays]

Better still, if you can, plant the bulbs round the base of the perennials at the same time. They look after themselves and you will know where they are in between times so you don't accidentally dig them up.

I've taken to putting bulbs in pots in the autumn for a show in the following spring, then every time I plant a shrub I stick in a few bulbs from the pots at the same time (when you can't get bulbs in the shops).

 

[growingvegetables]

... old carpet, ....

Maybe NOT carpet?

At least, not unless you are sure it is made of entirely natural fibres that will eventually degrade. The nylons and polyesters, in the tuft or in the backing, will not - and for generations afterwards, you will be picking out threads, strings, tufts and clumps of somebody else's taste in colour, so vile they they threw it out.

Just a tuppennyworth from a veteran of several allotment plots. Sorry - that I pick out one word alone from your post suggests the memory is not a pleasant one.

 

[summerdays]

Maybe NOT carpet?

At least, not unless you are sure it is made of entirely natural fibres that will eventually degrade. The nylons and polyesters, in the tuft or in the backing, will not - and for generations afterwards, you will be picking out threads, strings, tufts and clumps of somebody else's taste in colour, so vile they they threw it out.

Just a tuppennyworth from a veteran of several allotment plots. Sorry - that I pick out one word alone from your post suggests the memory is not a pleasant one.

Agreed ... Mr Summerdays used some old carpet to put at the bottom of our compost heap when we moved into our current house.... I dug down to the bottom this year to do a bit of repair and found lots of bits of small nylon bits of carpet throughout!