The Grand Plan

Catztail, thank you for that link - they sound fantastic!! I'll have to get some on payday!

Westwales, do you have any pictures of your garden? I would love to see them!

Well, I planted some lily's but they almost immediately got an infestation of lily beetles :( I've tried to get rid of them whenever I see them but the destruction they have caused is immense. Is there a natural pesticide, like vinegar, that I can use?

I've tried to do a little bit in the garden every night after getting home from work, so its progressing slowly.



Hanging baskets:


Is anyone able to identify this plant for me and tell me where it is best suited please? I love it and want to make sure that it thrives....


I planted a peony one night, but now realize that the ground there needs a bit more work, so I might remove it and turn the earth over a bit more or work around it...



Can anyone recommend some good plants to encourage butterflies, bee's, etc....

 

Wow

Louicopp,
it's coming on GRAND. I am retired now but still remeber after a hassle workday, how good it was to enter the garden in the evening and let the cares of the day sink into the ground like water.
That last shrub is Ceanothus which is in flower at the moment. They are not a shrub for life but 6 years or so to enjoy. Someone else will be along to give you some ideas on things to attract the B'S AND B'S,
Jenny
you are doing great with it and at the end of this Summer season, you will see visually the progress you have made - just enjoy....

 

Hi louicopp,

Anything with single flowers are good for bees and butterflies. If you look at Sarah Ravens website she lists loads of plants that are good for pollinators and the bumblebee conservation website is also good, these are where I got my ideas for planting. I have put Cosmos, Rubeckia, Calendula,Coreopsis in this year all are benificial to pollinators. Perennials like Hebe, Sedum, Echchina, and Buddlejas good. You can get dwarf Buddlejas now that grow to about a meter if you are limited for space. Hope this helps.

Rusty

 

Just another note most garden centres now carry the RHS good for pollinators logo, which is a picture of a bee on the label.

Rusty.

 

I honestly didn't realise that this could be so addictive!! I've been planting some more border plants today and in the area where there's cement at just a few inches I have planted some poached egg plant seeds.

I think I'll pop along to the garden centre tomorrow and look out for some of those plants - thanks for the heads up with the RHS Pollinator logo...that will help greatly

Jenny, thank you It really means so much when all of you with so much experience think its coming along well.

 

Looking good so far

That corner under the tree on the top bit is crying out for a Rhodo or two.

 

Have just seen this thread : you are doing so well with it

 

You should see the state of the top bit now!! The grass is waist high and we have so many nettles :( That's our next job! Apparently, a stray cat has adopted that part of the garden as his home, so we're now feeding him and supplying shelter

 

Thank you Stacy! I haven't been able to do much with the garden since I last posted; either because the weather has been rubbish or because I've been busy but I'm off this week and as the weather is so lovely I'll be spending lots of time out here

 

I thought I would share some updated pictures as its been quite a long time since I last posted.

The border has come along quite nicely although progress had slowed to a virtual stop.

This is of the area outside out backdoor and by the path leading to the stairs to the top part of the garden

and from another angle

This is the other end of the border where we are looking to plant hardier shrubs


Can anyone tell me what this plant is? I'm pretty certain its a weed but my husband liked it and wanted to plant it, so we did.


And then here are some pictures of some of the flowers.




We have a large area of the border, perhaps around 5 foot, that has concrete very close to the surface. In some areas its just an inch under the dirt and in other areas probably around 4 - 5 inches. I know that in the shallower areas there isn't much we can do and so will have to put a feature of some sort there, but does anyone have any ideas of plants that will tolerate a shallow area like this?

The other thing that I would like ideas of is plants that I can add now which will be bigger, both in width and height than those I already have.

Thanks for reading

 

The one your husband calls a weed is a Buddleia and those flower plumes will be a lively shade of pale purple. It will attract butterflies and bees which is good news. I think you will like it Louicopp. Lovely show of colours there too,

 

Jenny, thank you so much for your reply. I've just looked Buddleia up and you are right. I love it! I especially what to try and create a haven for wild life so that's perfect!

 

Another happy GC member. That's you,me and many others too. You'll see,
Jenny

 

Very easy to take cuttings too if you want to plant it elsewhere in the garden. I have mine in a planter.