A back street garden

Following a couple of previous requests for help, I’ve now taken on a bigger project. Although there’s going to be a lot of trial and error, I’m more than happy for suggestions or advice from those who can, if only to help eliminate a few of the ‘errors’ that I’ll encounter along the way.

Sometime during spring this year the back street was gated. Something we’d been asking about for years, but some probably never expected to happen. One of the unexpected benefits has been the chance to add a few floral (and other) decorations, without worrying about vandalism. It started with a couple of hanging baskets, and maybe a planter or two against the wall, and just continued to expand. As more neighbours joined in, the street just looked better. The good summer season also helped.
For reference, the first picture is looking south, the second to the north.




At the southern end, it just turns & goes up to the road, alongside the end house. It’s more or less ‘wasteland’, but it’s the focus of my ‘project’ at the moment.



Officially, my ‘patch’ is the section from the sunflower, to the last of the terracotta coloured planters,



and the white & black walled section on the other side,



But as no other households at the southern end have shown any interest in adding to the displays, my neighbour and I have slowly started to fill the gaps ourselves.

 

Soon after we got started, I decided I’d like to try & grow some of my own plants rather than buying everything ready grown. I’ve taken a few cuttings for a bit of practice, and already have a few seeds germinated, and hopefully on their way to giving a bit of winter colour.

Starting back in June, I’ve been taking some dianthus, verbena & fuchsia cuttings. I wasn’t expecting much, especially as most sites I checked suggested it was too late in the season. None of my attempts at dianthus have been successful. On the first attempt, I had a look after a few weeks & all the cuttings had died. I’ve just had a look at some that I took about six weeks ago & although there’s no sign of new growth, the cuttings are all still green, so maybe I shouldn’t admit defeat just yet.

Both verbenas & fuchsias have been successful so far. I re-potted the first batch of verbena, but after a couple of weeks it wasn’t looking too healthy any more. Being short of suitable propagators, I made a ‘frame’ from a couple of green plant sticks, and covered it with cling film. Since then the plants must have grown a couple of inches. I’ll have to remove the film as it’s no longer high enough for the plants. Later cuttings still look healthy, but no sign of taproots yet. The fuchsia I haven’t made up my mind about yet. I took the cover off one of the tubs after I saw some new growth, but a few days later the cuttings started to droop, so I’ve put the cover back on again.

I’m also going to have to think about my growing space soon as well. For a test, I brought a set of shelves up from the cellar, but they’re full already.
There’s some kalanchoe on top, just to put them out of the way somewhere (I’ve also been taking cuttings from those, which are hopefully growing, from various propagation methods, in the bathroom). Next is a tray of verbena, next to the unsuccessful dianthus, Next shelf is the rest of the verbena & the fuchsias, with a tray of winter flowering pansy seedlings on the bottom shelf.



As for other seeds I’ll be trying to grow, the list currently stands at
Alyssum
Aubrieta
Bluebell
Bur Marigold
Catnip
Cornflower
Dahlia
Dianthus
Dwarf primrose
Evening primrose
Forget me not
Foxglove
Geranium
Lobelia
Marigold
Nasturtium
Nemesia
Pansy
Petunia
Poached egg plant
Poppy
Primrose
Saxifrage
Scented flower mix
Snow in Summer
Soapwort
Sonata
Sunflower
Sweet Pea
Thunbergia
Twinspur
Verbena
Viola
Wallflower
Wildflower mix

I’ve also bought a small heat mat, to hopefully help some of the seeds to germinate, as I very much doubt I’ll be keeping the house hot enough to suit all of them. I don’t think any of them require more light than is naturally available, but I’ve seen a small grow light that I may try out if it’s likely to help.


With all the conflicting advice out there, possibly in part due to many of the flowers not being native to the UK, I already have a few uncertainties that I’m hoping someone here could clarify. Some of the seed suppliers have made it a little harder as the growing instructions appear to be a copy & paste of how to grow seeds in their native country, which won’t be suitable for here.

 

Another small challenge will hopefully be rescuing some of the more tender perennials to try and overwinter them indoors. My cellar never gets overly cold, I think about 8 Celsius is typical for winter, but it can be quite damp, so I don’t know if this would make it unsuitable for some / all plants.
I’m just noting down any possible candidates as I come across them. So far I’ve got

Chrysanthemum

Begonia

Geranium

Herbs?

Fuchsias

I plan to ask my neighbour about geraniums & begonias as I think she’s been growing the same ones for a few years now. Certainly geraniums, I've read, don't have a dormant period, so will need to be somewhere light.

 

I think that’s enough of the basics out of the way. No doubt there’ll be more photos to come, and hopefully this image host will last a little longer.

I mentioned on the OP about the area at the end of the houses.



I’m hoping to make the patch a little ‘less ugly’. Earlier this year, as a bit of an experiment, I ‘scraped’ the surface of a couple of metres of the soil before sowing some wildflower seeds. I say scraped, as the soil is extremely poor quality, more rock & stone than soil, with some clay in there too. All I did was loosen up the top couple of inches, enough to give hope to any seedlings that managed to germinate. The results, despite the lack of sunshine, were good enough that I decided to dig over a little more. It didn’t help that I lack the appropriate tools, a spade being my main tool, but I managed to dig down about 25cm, clearing most of the bigger stones. I’d say a little over half has now been dug over (as far as the pile of stones just below the red barrier).

I’ve since been sowing a selection of wildflower seeds. First down was a ‘wildlife mix’, and then a woodland mix. I still have another 2 packets to add (cornflower & cornfield). Hopefully something among them will find the conditions good enough to grow & flower. I’ve also tried sowing some bluebell seeds. Racking my brains for any woodland (shade loving, hopefully) plants, it was the first I thought of. Later in the autumn I hope to get a few bags of leaves to spread over the patch. I don’t know if it will help, but it won’t do any harm.

The big problem with the strip, other than its north facing aspect, is that the neighbouring property has some Leylandii (or something similar) trees. It’s these that block out most of the sunlight, and they also block most of the rain, so some of the ground remains quite dry, even after downpours. The photo above was taken at about 3pm, and the sunlight is still some way from the bed.

More recently I’ve had another idea, to create a raised bed / rockery on the bottom corner. Some of this would then be visible along the rest of the back street. At first I thought to make it about 120cm wide, but my neighbour suggested 150cm would be better. I’m probably limiting it to about 60cm deep from the wall.
For a simple raised bed, I’ve probably enough rocks to build about 3 high. I thought it may be interesting to create some sort of sloping rockery, but have no idea how to set about constructing it like that. For now I’ve just spread a layer of stones to give an idea of its position. I’m now waiting for inspiration to strike, or some suggestions from people on a friendly gardening forum.

 

What a difference the plants have made Chris, they've really brightened up the area. I noticed fencing to the right in your second image, would it be possible to grow climbers up that?

I have an area under five 60-80ft pine trees that is in shade for most of the day. The soil is bad too but I've found that wild primroses work well there, although the leaves will become limp in drought conditions. There are also bulbs - natural snowdrops and crocus. I planted out Iris Reticulata last year and although they haven't multiplied yet, they seem to be happy and flowered well. I will also try Anemone 'Blanda', miniature daffodils and other shallow rooted plants when I get round to it.

You spoke of Geraniums, did you mean Pelargoniums? Geraniums (Cranesbill) below are herbaceous perennials, long flowering and bees love them. Well worth considering.

 

Are the seeds you are intending to grow for next year ? It will be a waste of time and effort sowing now except for - For get me nots .

Looks like Pelargoniums Sheal , I just pop mine on the windowsills over winter .

 

@Chris20 I am really impressed with The Back Street Garden and what you are doing.
We are Cat Slaves too.

 

I also like the Backstreet Boys.

 

Everybody will want it that way, it's larger than life!
I have daughters by the way, that's how I know the songs!
Good job Chris, a very rewarding project

 

The jury is still out on that!
The fencing is only 'lightweight'. The owners of the unit have said no hanging baskets or containers. Whether or not they'd mind plants growing up it, remains to be seen. As you can see from the photos, a few bits have already been attached to the fencing. Personally I think it would be ideal for sweet peas among other stuff. Even if the fence isn't used it will be easy enough to make something. I'm thinking of stretching some netting between a couple of bamboo canes next year. All I need is a space.

Yes to Pelargoniums. I think like many, I've just got used to referring to them as geraniums. They were labelled as such when I got them, and even some of the big plant sites refer to them likewise, so there's little chance of me mending my ways.

I do have Cranesbill on my original list of potential buys, but it never made the shortlist. I assume it's not sold buy either of the suppliers I used.

It's all for next year, if I can get organised enough to grow them all. I think some of them don't flower until the following year, but I'll look into that more, nearer the time.

Thanks for the reminder about the Myosotis. It's on my list for sowing last month (whoops), but with everything going on, I forgot about it. The only other seed I have listed for indoor sowing this year is Aubretia. It suggests either spring or autumn, and I thought that with having so many to look after next year, I'd try starting these earlier.


With regard to the fenced end of the street, a few photos of the neighbours' decorations.




Not much on the other side (yet?)

 

I'm hoping the pansies & viola I've planted will grow in time for planting this winter, but I'm wondering if I left them covered too long. It said 2-3 weeks to germinate, so I just left them for 3 weeks to be sure. Compared to other images & videos I've seen online, they look very long & stringy, so I'm less optimistic now.





Fortunately they're cheap and plentiful at this time of year, so the preparation for winter is underway anyway.




I decided the raised bed wasn't going to build itself, so decided to make a start on it, and see if any ideas sparked. I finished the third row, which was the height I'd originally planned, based on availability of stones. I could probably get enough to add another layer, but hesitated when I realised that each extra layer will probably need another 4 bags of compost! There's also the concern that one of the neighbours has young children, and they do sometimes play in the back street unattended. The higher it goes, the more it's going to hurt if one of the kids pulls a stone off.



Unfortunately, work has now stopped on the bed, albeit hopefully just temporarily, after someone complained about it.
Suggestions on construction & content are still welcome though.

Last pic for the day, just to show that it does at least get a little light occasionally. I think this was about 5pm.

 

I don't think anyone would object to any plants that are light in weight like the Sweet Peas. You could also try Cobaea and Ipomaea.

Pelargoniums have been wrongly labelled for many years and I think it's about time this was corrected.

I'm quite happy to send you some of the blue one I posted in the picture above if you are interested. It's clump forming so no roots running off elsewhere. It's a tough plant and I've put a spade through it many times to split it up for others that have been interested.

As soon as the first seedlings start to appear they should be uncovered and also removed (if they are in one) from a heated propagator. This will slow down growth and as long as they have plenty of light shouldn't become leggy.

Was the complaint from a safety point of view Chris?

 

Thanks again to @Perki for the reminder. The forget-me-nots are now sown & on the windowsill. Hopefully there will still be enough natural warmth for them to germinate.

Thank you for the offer, but I think I've got more than enough to keep me busy & fill the beds for now. (maybe next year? )

No additional heating, just in a covered tray on the windowsill. As mentioned before, I think I probably kept them in the dark for too long. I left them in darkness for a full three weeks.Of the seeds visibly germinated, the seedlings are mostly 2 - 3 inches long with just one tiny pair of leaves. I'll be off to the shop tomorrow to buy a couple more trays of pansies anyway. I've decided that a couple of my hanging baskets are not worth keeping any more, so I'm going to tidy them up. It will also give me some early practice at bringing in some pelargoniums, as that's about all that is still growing in them.

No. There's a neighbour on a nearby street who can best be described, at least for those of a suitable vintage, as a 'Victor Meldrew on steroids'. He's known for moaning and complaining.
The green door at the end of the street is to access, or rather exit from, some of the back gardens on his road. Although we (myself & street neighbours) were informed this door was for use in emergencies only, 'Victor', as I now refer to him, says he is free to use it as he pleases. He also brought along another neighbour, who says the wall against which I built the raised bed belongs to him, and he doesn't want us building up against it.
While their comments contradict the information some of my neighbours had got from the council, and indeed I think one of my neighbours is intent on clarifying the situation, I'm of the view that life is too short to bother about such issues. I was, after all, just trying to brighten up a small piece of 'wasteland'.
We have since removed all the stones, and I'll go back to 'plan A', to just try & grow some wild flowers on it.


Elsewhere on the street:
I'm not doing much myself outside, although a few of the neighbours are still busy adding decorations. I went out this afternoon to see someone had hung some wind-chimes underneath the basket opposite my gate.



I thought nothing more of it while chatting. It wasn't until sometime after, when someone explained all the hints they'd been dropping me, that I became aware of what the decoration actually is.

Spoiler

Because of my tendency to wind people up, or more accurately, try to persuade others to do the deed, I've been given the wooden spoon award for being the street's biggest stirrer.
A spoon to be removed if I behave, one to be added if I don't. Needless to say I've accepted the challenge. It shouldn't take long to get a dozen holes filled. If progress is too slow, I could cheat. I have three spoons of my own I could add, just to boost the score.

Needless to say, we all get on very well.

 

You're welcome. Remind me next year if you decide you want it.

Oh well, we learn by our mistakes and there's plenty of those when it comes to gardening.

Victor Meldrew....there's always someone that has to spoil things isn't there?

I like the wind chimes. My only comment... a sense of humour keeps us going. I wonder what keeps 'Victor' going?

 

I'm loving this thread. There seems to be a growing trend of turning boring old, largely disused back alleys into beautiful communal gardens, and I think it's great. Long may that trend continue.

To be fair, I understand his concern. There is a risk that the moisture from the raised bed against the wall will over time rot the mortar that holds the wall together. There is an easy solution to this problem though, and that is to leave an air gap between the raised bed and the wall. Of course that does mean you'll need more materials to build an extra wall at the back of the bed, but resourceful folks like you and your neighbours should be able to scavenge materials for free. For the back it doesn't need to be anything nice as it will be out of sight. Old recycled bricks or breeze blocks spring to mind.

As for Victor Meldrew, have you tried to engage him for his ideas on this? I find that often miserable gits are only miserable gits because they feel like they've been left out. Sometimes if you explain what you're trying to do and ask them for their input, and genuinely listen to their answers, they suddenly feel included. Sometimes their initial reaction is a bit defensive but once they realise you're genuinely interested I find they generally soften up. Not always, some people are just miserable gits, but it's worth a try. Who knows, Victor might become a good friend, and involvement in your project might enrich his life and make him a nicer person.