Can anyone help a new member

Hi Everyone,
I have joined this forum with the hope that it´s members may be able to help me.
I am a live in carer who looks after my partner.
We have just moved into a property with a garden that is 80 feet long by about 30 feet wide.
I want to dig a border up one side of the garden.
As I am unable to leave my partner very often does anyone know the best and cheapest sites and papers where I can find plants.
Also do any members have any spare seeds that they may be able to let me have to start everything off.
I look forward to chatting to many of you soon.

 

Hi Paul and welcome to the forum.

I would be delighted to hepl if I can, and have sent you a PM. Perhaps you can let us know a bit more about your gardening objectives. Do you know what sort of plants you want. ie hardy perennials that survive the winter and come back next year, or annuals that last for just one year but must be resown, or tender perennials that can flower well in the summer but need protection in a shed or greenhouse over the winter. And what about shrubs? And what sort of experience have you had in gardening?

 

Hi Peter
I have just replied to you.
If any other members could help I would be so grateful, My new garden looks like old Mother Hubbards Cupboard

 

Hi - me too - I also am a carer. My partner before & after the illness which left him disabled had no interest in the garden - but now he really enjoys it! Well worth the effort healthwise I have made to make it an interesting place to be in - for us both. I have bought plants from e bay, car boot sales and local people. I agree with earlier suggestions you need to decide what you need out of your garden first. Wheelchair access maybe, small greenhouse/shed, something just to look at from a window, scented garden to sit in etc. Start small & simple work near the house so the project can grow and have room to change as you and perhaps your partner one day can use the garden?
Jen

 

The garden has been adjusted for my disabled partner.
I am keen to try and grow most things so would be grateful for any seeds.

 

PM me your address and i can send you over some seeds from Canada, i know i have some that i will never use.
Are you looking mostly for perennials, or veggies too?

 

Paul - I have just put a packet in the post.

Its a mixed bunch. The transparent envelopes are fresh seed from my own garden. The others are remnants of old seed packets. Some are last year and some earlier. I have written the dates on most of them. Some old seed may not be viable, but the packets have been kept in the fridge and this allows some seed to remain viable for several years. However I won't be the least bit offended if you chuck the oldest stuff away.

If I may suggest; if you have a quantity of older seeds, there is no point in using lots of seed trays. What I do is fill a small pot with compost and sow the seeds in that. Old yoghurt pots, with drainage holes, would be quite sufficient. Its quite economical of both compost and space. If nothing comes up - you haven't lost much. And in many cases, with things like Nicandra, Amaranthus and Cuphea, you really only want one or two plants. I only use seed trays if I want large numbers of plants to fill an area. I have already started sowing some seeds and I have done them all in small pots. But mine are in a lightbox, where they have a high temperature and a high light level. Without that I won't sow many of my seeds to till 1st March. I will sow them inside where they have the warmth of the house to help them germinate, and by the time they have grown up a bit, it will be warm enough to put them outside.

With me plants fall into two main categories. Garden backbones and fun plants. Your main interest will probably be in garden backbone plants. These will be the common, often perennial, plants that make a garden look good, things like Centranthus, Helenium, Echinacea, Nepeta (cat mint) and many more. But in addition there will be other plants that are fun to grow. For instance Cuphea ignea is a favorite of mine, it can go outside in a pot or in the border in the summer, but needs to be brought inside the house in winter. It flowers for months, and I have two in my kitchen today which are still in full flower.

I will let you Google the seeds that I have sent. But do contact me if you have specific questions about them. I am sure you wll have lots of general questions so feel free to post these on this board. That's what it is here for, and that's the way we all learn.

 

Brightonboy, I have loads of Morning Glory, aka Ipomaea seeds drying as we speak. If you want some, send me a PM. They are a tender perennial, grown as an annual in Britain but excellent for giving a bit of height, climbing up a trellis.

 

Hi Paul......i mailed off your seeds this morning:thumb:, as i said, there is a real mish mash of seeds in there, and of course you know, when handling the pepper seeds, be careful:flag::rotfl:....some are really hot, and i did mark what ones are.:gnthb:

 

Thanks Penny I am starting a good collection now so hopefully when I get a few more I can decide which will go where.
xxx

 

Hye brightonboy I live in Wales as well, Hope your garden gets off to a good start, Nice to see all the other members sharing with you, there seeds and plants, I will have a look at what I have got for you, Could you pm me your address etc. Colin :thmb: