what can i plant?

hi

where i walk my dogs everyday i walk along a stream about half a mile long with an long island running through the middle of it,which i have been thinking it would be nice to plant some flowers every time i go there but i have no idea what plant to plant,there are already daffs and snowdrops there

what plants or bulbs could i get which would flower every year?

http://img459.imageshack.us/img459/3981/1000426cs8.jpg

http://img358.imageshack.us/img358/6757/1000427ig2.jpg

http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/999/1000429ur2.jpg

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/2773/1000433ny9.jpg

http://img382.imageshack.us/img382/3345/1000421md0.jpg

[ 15. January 2007, 07:29 PM: Message edited by: pjnoodles ]

 

Hello, pjnoodles ... conjures up all sorts of things like you get up in the middle of the night and eat pasta? T'other half was in IT and he used to do that but no pjs, that's why I say that ...

Welcome and hope you enjoy the site!

 

Hi, Pjnoodles - LoL does conjure up an interesting picture..... :rolleyes: Welcome!

How accessible is this island? Could you really get to it and plant things on it? Maybe it would be worth getting in contact with those people who do raids, and plant things on places owned by the council, and so on. I can't remember their name, though..... can anyone else think of it? Something like guerillas.....?

The only problem (other than getting wet feet, that is) would be about the ownership of the island, which is why I was thinking of this lot.

I'll try to jog my memory, and hope somebody else will know what I'm going on about! :D

 

Just remembered - guerilla gardeners....

here's a link to a news item about them

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4828396.stm

 

Just a thought, pjnoodles, what about wildflower seeds as well as bulbs. I sprinkle seeds around places I don't own where I think they may look nice. Ones that re-seed themselves profusively.

Just a thought ...

 

I would not sow seeds in areas that I don't own or have responsibility for. Wildflower seeds if bought from a garden centre are often sourced from abroad and not quite the same as natives. I do grow wild flowers from seed but get them from a specialist supplier, Emorsgate seeds, who source from the wild under license. I have started colonies of primroses and cowslips in areas where they have been wiped out in the past.
Daffodils are a pain...unless they are are the rare native species that is.
In the countryside I would only plant native species. On an island i would leave it up to nature if you can. The guerilla gardeners were planting up areas of wasteland in London which is fair enough. I would like to see areas planted up with trees - native ones that is. Our towns, including mine have all these boring areas of grass, which is just mown by the council. They would be much better planted up with oak, ash and hazel - somewhere for the wildlife, for kids to climb eventually and to play hide and seek in. Mind you we have the PC nutters complaining about them being dangerous cause the kids might fall out of them, perverts might lurk in them and wild flowers might produce pollen that will make their hayfever bad!!!!! Is it my imagination or do we have more nutters nowadays than ever before? :rolleyes:

 

Totally agree with Geoff. Guerilla gardeners are a well intentioned menace. Wildflower seed that is not native can out compete our own. Plants smuggled in as tourist souvenirs can introduce pests and diseases. They can also take off like Japanese knotweed and be unstoppable because they have no local predators. If you want just one example - think of the ghastly Spanish bluebells that are swamping our own. If you care about wildflowers don't scatter packaged wildflower seed in the wild.

The best way is to work with local wildlife trusts and to volunteer your time, effort and money into properly managed projects.

 

I'm with Geoff and Hornbeam wild flower seeds can be a menace - having see what Japanese Knotweed can do and whoever introduced 'Ground Elder' must have been a bit of a sadist....
We live opposite to a very large Common where the bracken is smothering everything in sight killing off all competition

 

hi

here's some pictures i took today to give you more of an idea.

http://img459.imageshack.us/img459/3981/1000426cs8.jpg

http://img358.imageshack.us/img358/6757/1000427ig2.jpg

http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/999/1000429ur2.jpg

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/2773/1000433ny9.jpg

http://img382.imageshack.us/img382/3345/1000421md0.jpg

 

good pics Pjnoodles.

 

Looks nice as it is. Let nature do its job. Bulbs and plants that are planted would spoil it. You have the beginnings of a little copse there and nature will bring in stuff like celandine, which can be a pain in the garden, and possibly primroses. I just hope it does not get himalayan balsam, another introduced specie that will take over. However i think that is more likely on bigger rivers. Things like daffodils etc are too garish in such a lovely natural island. Enjoy the more subtle colours you get with the young shoots of the shrubs etc. If I had enough room I would have my own wood and I would get as much enjoyment out of the wild plants as I would from my garden plants. They are more useful to wildlife as well. You can't beat a good oak or hazel for wildlife or simple beauty. I think a good well grown native oak has a beauty that far surpasses any flowering tree with its ugly graft and unnatural shape.

 

If we only had native trees and plants there wouldn't be much to look at.
Although I do see where your coming from, its a bit difficult to deciede what is actually native.
Nothing stands still and we all have an effect on the enviroment in one way or another.
In the UK, I doubt that there are very few places that man has not set foot and already altered nature, why preserve an unatural landscape as most conservationist seem to want to do.
I doubt the snowdrops are native.

 

Hi PJ, how long have you been walking there have you seen it in all seasons to know what else grows there at other times of year? How about bluebells are they there?

 

But the island does look a natural landscape - its the product of natural deposition. Yes the snowdrops are not native but they are small and don't swamp the natives. Plant bulbs or other plants and it will just end up looking like a section of an urban park.
I would disagree that with just natives there would not be much to look at. I find areas with a good diversity of wild plants to be much more interesting than many gardens. Some gardens,particularly those that relie on bedding don't change much over the summer. With wildflowers you get changing patterns as the seasons progress and differnet species come in. Not far from here we have unimproved pasture and the flora is incredible. Natives in a manmade landscape. Sometimes man can enhance nature by increasing the diversity and that is what the conservationists often want to do. Another example of that is coppice woodland.

 

As I say Geoff, I can see what your saying,but......its not natural if man interferes.

A coppiced wood land is no more natural than a farmers pasture.
Its almost like saying, "if I like the final result then its OK to do it".
How often do we hear natural areas described as "wasteland, that needs to be MANAGED".
Blimey, I hate that word.