advice for garden...

hi,

i'm about to move in to a rented house and one of the reasons we decided to choose this house was the garden:

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/gEXHg-j0Mwz1dFTjJeWnhw?feat=directlink

i think it looks quite mediterranean and i really want to maximise this area but i have no idea where to start when it comes to plants/trees etc. As you can see, there's a few plants already there but then again i couldn't tell you if they are weeds either! I would really appreciate some suggestions on what specific plants would look good here and what type of soil etc??

Cheers,

Tom

 

Yes, a "few" plants. Do you plan to paint the blue wall a different color? How much time do you want to spend with this little retreat. I am thinking easy colorful tall grasses at first. Then some colorful big huge pots with colorful plantings of tall and flowing dropping plants. Not sure where the sun is going with this area either. But thats all I have now. Soil, you can Ph that and see what plants like it, and or buy some bags of potting soil and fill in a few areas--should be fine then.

 

thanks for the quick response! we're only going to be in this house for a couple of years so painting the wall hasn't really entered my mind to be honest - why do you ask?

i know this sounds stupid but what are tall grasses? i've looked on google and it shows me different types etc anything specific you'd recommend? same goes with dropping plants too - where would i go to buy these things and how much are we looking at here?! in terms of the sun, i'm fairly sure it is south facing...

im a complete amateur as you can tell, i probably need to get myself to a garden centre and see what's about!

thanks,
tom

 

Tall grasses like Miscanthus, Pennisteum even Cortaderia (pampas - if you get it, plant in a large space, but not in the middle of the lawn!). They can self seed though but look lovely when the wind blows through them and they do provide winter interest.

 

What an easy garden to plant up Love the blue wall, you need something Architectual up there, looks like a Cordyline on the left, thats Cool, the bushy plants on the right need to go in one of the other borders.. As Suggested Grasses will look good but not Pampas, Its huge and hard to get rid of once established, Your landlord could object..B&Q sell Cordylines from £2 and if you shop about there's lots of reduced plants this time of year, just remember to mix different leaf shape's and colours and you will be ok A nice Patio set in the middle and there you go, A nice start to your garden ..

 

Hi there Tom, I reckon we could help out with some ideas - We here at The send a cow charity (www.sendacow.org.uk) were silver medalists at the Gardner's world live 2009 and we just thought we would share with you all some tips from our medal winning garden which showcased agricultural techniques that farmers are using every day in Africa but which UK growers can use just as easily here, including: bag gardens, plant tea, a keyhole garden, a tip tap and a drip irrigation system. For some information visit the send a cow website.

 

It does look like a very exciting project,the garden is lovely,
Do you want to be able to take most of it with you when you go,if so large pots ,with bamboos and tall grasses ,ferns are nice, but they die down in the winter,

it would be nice to keep the exotic feel, it looks as it will be very sheltered, which way does back wall face

 

I think it will look cool with some cordylines and grasses and a patio set. Maybe some dark blue pots to keep with the colour of the wall and u can take them with u when u move

 

The blue wall is very nice, just was asking if you planned to change the color.
As far as pot colors, was thing hot colors to pop, such as reds, oranges, yellows, some navy color.