Complete beginner - border advice

Hi there

I am hoping to put some borders in my back garden but to be honest I have no idea where to start.

I want a border either side along my fence. The soil is very clay like but I need to go and buy a soil test kit to find out exact pH.

Here are some pics:

Whole garden



Left side:



Right side:



I know the lawn is a bit of a state but we're going to redo that once we put a path/stepping stone up the centre. The end of the garden is a temporary set up at the mo but will ave a shed in the centre and an avairy either side for my rabbits.

So just concentrating on the borders at the mo to stop it looking so desolate.

Measurements Left side border are:
Approx 24ft long by 3ft deep

This side get most of the sunlight most of the day until about 7.30pm.

Measurements right side border are:
Approx 18ft long by 3ft deep

This side is much more shady and sunlight leaves at about 4pm

I'm not actually sure which way my garden faces *blush*

As you can see on the left side I have a Cameilia bush which needs tarting up (I need some guidance with this). It's sticking out at the mo so was hoping to dig it up and replant it somewhere in one of the borders.

I also have a florabunda rose climber which I would like to plant. I would also like to plant an apple tree of some kind.

The look I am looking for is kind of colourful meadow. So any advice much appreciated.

I know I need to edge it somehow and not entierly sure how I am going to do this. I am open to suggestions.

Thanks

 

Shivy, your border which gets sun most of the day will be facing south so you can work the rest out from there.

You have good fencing there you couls be growing things on. Roses would just love that south facing fence and so would tomatoes.

That's a big Camelia and it might not transplant well. It would be shame to loose it. Is there any way you can work it into your design. You don't mention any sitting out area. Maybe you could make one in the space between the Camelia and where your hutch is going and work the Camelia into the design that way.

I don't think you need to buy a PH testing kit unless you want to grow something with specific requirement. Most garden soil is not too far away neutral.

Good luck with the project.

 

You could do away with having lawn altogether and just have large borders on either side of the fence, with a path up the middle, perhaps with a curve, following a similar curve of the borders. I think that would look very effective and deep borders can look stunning, with the old idea of tall plants at the back, grading to small at the front, perhaps with some of them hanging over the path?

 

Thanks very much.

Yes I did wonder about the Camelia being moved. Its such a pain where it is but I guess I could work around it. I was going to prune it so that most of the foliage is at the top of the bush so I could plant around underneath it.

I was going to keep seating area closer to the house as we have a large patio which you can't quite see in the pics. However as the sun is toward the end of the garden until quite late it would make sense to put a seating area up there.

The fencing is brand new. Will hopefully grow my rose bush against it. Was hoping to get a passiflora as well.

Sussexgardener - I really like your idea but I think I want to keep some lawn. My rabbits (4 of) will have some free range of the garden every so often and so they will have a nibble and I don't want the garden full of plants which may be harmful to them. I don't want something too difficult to look after either.

I obviously need to do some more research and thinking.

Anyone have any tips on what I may need to do with the soil? Do I need to big in anything to improve drainage? I have 2 large bag of mulch from a hedge we cut down. Should I dig that into the soil?

Thanks

 

Hi Shivy.

You are starting with a blank canvas which is really good, as you can do all sorts of things that you can't do with an established garden. I think it would be well worth taking the opportunity to improve the soil. I have done this in my own garden and have noticed how much better it is. Rather than repeat what I have written before, perhaps I can refer you to this. http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/fo...lay-8892.html?t=8892&highlight=improving+clay For me, the key to gardening is to be generous. Dig in really large quantities of organic matter, sand and grit, as you will never get another opportunity like this.

If that was my own garden I would have one or two shrubs to give it some structure, but mostly I would use long flowering perennials. I would be very happy to let you know some names if you are interested in perennials.

 

Thank you PeterS. Your link to sorting the clay soil is really helpful - looks like a LOT of work eeeek!

I know you left yours over the winter to rot down but I was hoping to plant in it fairly soon. My fiance is in the navy and is away at the mo so I want something to do on the (hopefully) warm weekends and something to show him when he gets home. Would I be able to plant in it fairly soon after I have dug in organic material?

I get a fair amount of hay (and poos!) from my rabbits so I was wondering if I could dig some of that in? Apparently rabbit poos are a good fertiliser......

I love your back garden! That is exactly the kind of look I would love at either side of my garden. Lots of colours! I would really appreciate some names of pereinniels you think to be appropriate and some shrubs to break it up a bit. I think the only colours I really want is burnt orange and red and also purple of passiflora. I'm not fussed what else is in there really.

Thanks so much

 

Thanks Shivy. I did say that I was going to leave my front garden fallow over the winter - but I got impatient and planted it up a couple of weeks after the first set of pictures, as I already had the plants, albeit for another purpose.

As long as you dig stuff down reasonably deep, it doesn't have to be fully composted. At the time I was doing my garden I spoke to one of the gardeners at RHS Harlow Carr, which is very close to me. And he confirmed that it is more important to get it in there than that it should be fully composted.

I know nothing about shrubs, having got rid of all mine to be replaced by perennials. My garden is based on a colour theme of red, pink, purple and blue, which seems to work OK. You will need a bit more than just red and perhaps even the odd white for contrast. Perennials I like and would use again in a new garden are :-

Hotter drier side: Centranthus rubra - a great favorite of mine as it will grow in extremely dry places and flowers for anything up to 26 weeks a year. Sedum spectabilis - happy in the dry, green foliage with red flowers. Sedum telphium - similar but purple foliage and pink flowers. Hemerocallis - variation in foliage type, wide range of colours based on burnt orange. Verbena bonariensis - the see through plant.

Either side: Helenium - 'Moorheim Beauty' is a first class plant, burnt orange colour. Dicentra - early. Aquilegia - early. Salvia 'Mystic Spires' - I have 60 different types of Salvia and this one is brilliant, flowers June till frosts. Echinacea - I have lots of different named varieties - but they all look the same! There are lots of good perennial Geraniums - but it is worth going out of your way to get 'Patricia' and 'Rozanne', they are both sterile hybrids and as a consequence flower for a very long time. Phlox - many good ones. Aster - 'Monch' flowers for twice as long as any other variety.

Cooler damper side: Astilbe - range of red and pink colours including A chinensis in purple. Lythrum - I love Blush which is a soft pink. Astrantia - very long flowering.

My particular interest is in long flowering perennials - I like to get my money's worth ! And I keep records of how long they flower for. Many of the above are very long flowering.

Another long flowerer, which might just qualify as a shrub (3ft x 3ft) is Salvia microphylla (or greggii - they are essentially the same) - they flower for up to 6 months. Mine is in flower now and will go on till the frosts. And finally a real burnt orange with a wow factor is Euphorbia griffithi - 'Fireglow' or similar - but it runs a bit!

One hint. If you are going to buy a plant - say a Phlox, check this site first http://www.cgf.net/plants.php Bob Brown is a Chelsea gold medal winner, who knows his stuff. He used to be a schoolmaster and rates plants on a scale of 1 to 10. Go for one with a high rating. I have learnt a lot from him. For instance I chose Phlox 'Monica Lyndon Bell' based on his score of 10, and it is really nice.

 

Thank you PeterS - I have spent ages googling all of the plants you mentioned They're all fab :gnthb:

Particularly like Hemerocallis, Verbena bonariensis, Helenium, echinaecia, Astilbe and love the 'Fireglow'! Did some googling and love red hot poker too
Unfortunately Geraniums are poisonous to rabbits so I won't be chancing those.

I also have the following which I need to plant - any idea which side would be best?
*Rosa Florabunda (climbing rose - white buds)
*Lavendar plant
*Passiflora

Ok well today I have been having a go at tidying up the south facing side. There are sooooo many rocks, pieces of concrete and dead vines which drowned the previous fencing and is just everywhere! Do I need to try and get all of this out? I am guessing the vines would eventually rot down so long as they're not rooted? Any idea what maximum size rocks/stone I can leave in the soil?

Also the south facing bed/soil is already quite high above the the level of the lawn because our row of houses is on a slight gradient and so the garden to the left of us is higher than ours. I'm not sure how I am going to dig the bed down deep without displacing all the soil first - is this what I will have to do? Just put it on some plastic and dig it back in?
I think I will need to hem the bed in with log rolls or something like this:
http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/showthread.php/im-new-here-20938.html

Also can you tell me what I should/shouldn't be mixing with the soil?
*manure - what kind? Chicken/horse?
*Sharp sand?
*My own mulch?
*Anything else?

Can't wait to get it all started and start planting. Thanks again for all your help so far

 

I didn't know Geraniums were poisonous to rabbits. What a shame as there are many good garden Geraniums. Lavender and Rose will be happy in full sun, whilst Passiflora probably likes a bit of shade.

Its up to you, but I personally would prefer to remove all the stones and bits of concrete from my border. Stones below 10 cms and perhaps 20 cms are good for the soil, but I would remove larger ones. I would want to go down at least one spit (spade depth) and preferably a bit more. For heavy clay its worth adding sharp sand and grit (ie sharp larger stuff). I used 10 mil gravel from a builders yard being cheaper than grit. You also want to dig in as much organic matter as you can get your hands on - it doesn't matter exactly what it is - manure, compost, grass cuttings etc.

You will need to hem the bed in with something. Just the act of digging will raise the soil level, and if you add extra material it will rise more. I use log roll as it looks acceptable, but you could use bricks, sleepers or almost anything else. It seems like a lot of work, but its worth it in the long run. The perfect opportunity is now, when its empty.

As far as plants are concerned, the main thing is to get something (anything) in and get started. If you continue to enjoy gardening you will learn as you go along, and get a better idea of what you finally want. You can buy plants but they are expensive if you have a large area to fill, so do consider growing some from seed. Remember that not all plants come true from seed. Named cultivars often only come true if that are cloned by cuttings or division - so in those cases you have to buy the plant.

 

Stones and clay have been the bane of my gardening life for the past 3 years. I now have removed all stones at least a spit, and built a raised bed where the water logging was a big problem. Clearing the stones, and turning over the clay is really a job you will not regret when it is done. seriously.

 

Do you mean pelargonium type geraniums (the ones used in summer in baskets and tubs) or perennial geraniums - aka cranesbill? If the latter, I've heard of them being poisonous to rabbits...

 

I couldn't say but all of the websites I have been on have said Geranimums are poisonous as are a lot of other plants. See here:
http://www.adoptarabbit.com/articles/toxic.html
Personally I wouldn't risk it as a sick bunny is an expensive bunny and I would be devasted if they got ill because of me!

Thank you for all of your advice. I will keep going with the stone picking then. I suspect there is going to be a few bags full of stones but it needs doing. I gave up today as it was too hot. Apparently going to be cooler next weekend so I can hopefully get more done and make a start on the other side.

How much sand, grit and organic matter do you think I'd need? I don't have a compost heap as my garden doesn't quite lend itself to it but I will ask my neighbours to save their grass cuttings so I can build it up a bit. I don't have anywhere I can put those massive bags of sand and grit as my front garden is landscaped and back garden is enclosed. If I buy bags of sand (standard size) etc how many would I need for each border? I will see if there is anywhere around here gives manure away.

Yes I was thinking log roll. We were going to make raised beds using sleepers but they're expensive and we have recently discovered we'll only be here for another few years so don't want to spend loads. Will buy some 30" high ones for the left side as that will be the higher bed.

I was going to ask about plants and the best way to get hold of them. Yes I think it would be expensive. Any idea which ones in the list you provided I can start from seed? I will go and have a look in the garden centre this week and see what there is
Will I need one of those small plastic greenhouse things to get my seedlings? I only have 2 good window sills.

Thanks again. Will post in the week and after I have sifted the prospective beds of the bigger rocks. I'm getting so excited about this project - thanks for all of your help

 

Shivy - Sorry, I meant to reply earler but I have been tied up for couple of days. There is no right amount of sand and manure. In my post about my front garden I said I used of ton of sharp sand, a ton of gravel and a ton of manure on an area 26 ft by 20 ft. In retrospect it would have been better to have used 5 tons of each! I think you just have to use as much as you can physically manage and can afford. But remember the more you use the more it will raise the soil level. Though most of that will be due to the act of digging and will settle down again.

Most of the plants I mentioned can be grown from seed, But Aster 'Monch' and Salvia 'Mystic Spires' can't. The Salvia is sterile and Asters never come true from seed. When I started gardening, I grew all my first plants from seed - though I bought a number as well as I couldn't resist going to garden centres.

As far as perennials are concerned, which is my interest, if I was starting from scratch I would buy a copy of Hessyon's guide to garden flowers. This is the commen series that you may well have seen. It lists all the popular garden perennials. They are popular because they are good. Don't worry about about thick RHS books on plants - to get that thick they have to include many obscure and lesser quality plants. I would then get the Mr Fothergill and Thompson and Morgan illustrated seed catalogues. And I would select a number of seeds. Having made a list of say 10 packets, I would buy them either from the catalogue or from the local garden centre if they were cheaper. Remember you will be growing plants mainly for next year, but some could still flower this year. You can grow them all outside now, but grow them in seeds trays or sow several seeds in a pot - not direct in the ground. They will need some sort of tranparent cover to stop them drying out. Remember you only want say 10 plants of each - and you may get 2000 seeds so you don't have to sow all of them. Give them a bit of shade. The sun is so fierce it could dry the compost very quickly.

I would still go to garden centres, with one or more of these booklets. The more you look the more you learn. If you take a book, you can see the plant itself and then read about it. Its much easier to learn that way. I still like to but things, but only things that cannot be grown from seed. This is usually the named cultivars that are partiularly good. But don't worry about named varieties of say Aquilegia - there are thousands of named varieties and really any one is as good as another and no better that what you can get from a seed packet.

Best of luck