new garden - deciding how to start!

Discussion in 'Garden Projects and DIY' started by Sian in Belgium, Sep 7, 2012.

  1. ARMANDII

    ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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    Despite you being such a good friend, Sheal....................Naah!!!:lunapic 130165696578242 5:
     
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    • Sheal

      Sheal Total Gardener

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      Spoil sport! :heehee:
       
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      • Sian in Belgium

        Sian in Belgium Total Gardener

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        progress on the eye bed...

        I have started laying a brick path across the bed, so that I will be able to access the herbs easier.

        bricklaying 016.JPG
        There will eventually be a circle around the willow (rather than the letter G!). I thought it would probably be easier to get the two straight paths done, and then work around the circle (probably with a rope guage looped around the willow, so it ends up in the centre of a circle, rather than being off-centre in an oval!)
         
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        • Sian in Belgium

          Sian in Belgium Total Gardener

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          yayy! finished laying the path. The circle in the centre was v tricky. I think working with hand-formed bricks (and having to clean them from mortar, etc first), so different shapes, heights, etc, and also working with lots of part-bricks, pushed me to my limits. Still, I'm never one to walk away from a challenge! Pictures to follow!
           
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          • Sian in Belgium

            Sian in Belgium Total Gardener

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            a tad late, but here are the photos of the finished brick path, and also of the planting of lavender plantlets brought back from my parents' home at the weekend... herb bed progress 061.JPG the finished path

            with close-up herb bed progress 062.JPG

            With the lavenders (and lambs ears) planted herb bed progress 064.JPG
            herb bed progress 066.JPG
             
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            • ARMANDII

              ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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              That's a really good project you've done there, Sian:thumbsup::snork: You'll just need to keep an eye on weather erosion on the banked border but the Lavender will love that situation due to the natural drainage.:snork:
               
            • Sheal

              Sheal Total Gardener

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              That's looking great Sian and the brick path was a good idea. :dbgrtmb: Now you have the joy of watching it mature over the next few years.
               
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              • Sian in Belgium

                Sian in Belgium Total Gardener

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                Must do an updated shot of this bed....
                We have a brick edge going next to the lawn as well, to make mowing easier. Just wide enough to have the left-hand wheel of the mower on, so at I can cut tight up to the edge. I had not realised how the bed has started to mature already!

                Starting to think about next year's projects. Obviously, I want to develop this one further, with more planting, etc.
                should I get the climbing roses going across the front of the house, or work on the bed opposite the patio? The roses will be planted in the bank "above" the garage, and then grown across an arch onto the wall of the house.
                The bed opposite the patio can be very exposed. I have already planted a philadelphus there, hope it will cope with the position. Underneath there is currently a day-lily (no idea what, as it stubbornly refuses to flower!) and very little else. The bed drops away very suddenly, a slope of about 1 in 2.... Hmmm decisions decisions!
                 
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                • Sheal

                  Sheal Total Gardener

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                  Ideally the roses should be planted from now until early in the new year. If you can get that done it will leave you free to work on the bed opposite the patio. My own experience of Philadelphus in sandy soil was not good, it suffered badly, but having grown one in a previous garden on clay it did really well. I don't think they are keen on exposed sites either Sian so I think it may battle to flourish. But who knows, there are always exceptions to the rule with plants. :)
                   
                • ARMANDII

                  ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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                  Well, if your roses are bare rooted then Sheal is right, plant them from November to early Spring...........but if your roses are in pots then you can plant them at any time of the year:coffee::snork:
                   
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                  • Sian in Belgium

                    Sian in Belgium Total Gardener

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                    Lol armandii, I haven't actually bought the roses yet. Still trying to choose them.... I want good scent, and also ones that will cope with sandy soil, as that part of the garden is sandy.

                    Sheal, the philadelphus is in the one patch of clay soil that we have. It is bizarre, there is a little strip of clay below the patio. I don't know whether it is "native" or imported. (The clay, that is, not the plant!)
                     
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                    • ARMANDII

                      ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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                      Well, I hope you find the roses you want, Sian. As for sandy soil, I garden on a depth of 350' or more of pure sand. It's taken me years to get roses to grow and flower properly because they generally don't like it too sandy. I've had to bulk up the soil tremendously over the years to get them into a happy state. I would recommend that you add as much compost and manure as you can to the site!!!:snork:
                       
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                      • Sian in Belgium

                        Sian in Belgium Total Gardener

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                        Well, a quick update on garden progress is, no progress!

                        We are about to spend a seemingly small fortune on sorting out the roof drainage from the building. Instead of all the roof runoff either going across the drive (and in front of the only door to the building), or down a broken down pipe to the holding chamber below the patio, we will have....
                        Working guttering
                        Down pipes that lead to underground drainage
                        A working down pipe (plus 3 new companions)
                        A new patio

                        Not really much point working on stuff until this is all done. We will probably be accessing the house via duckboards, as it is!
                         
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                        • Sian in Belgium

                          Sian in Belgium Total Gardener

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                          I have just been taking some photos of the house pre building work, so tried to take similar shots to those from 18 months ago. Thought it might be an interesting comparison.... photo(1) (800x598).jpg
                          you can see how the grass is struggling, after so much rain. We've not had as much as the UK, but it has still been rather wet!

                          photo(2) (800x598).jpg the woodstore, with about 1/2 tonne of fresh conifer logs :-(
                          We had a sudden violent storm here at the weekend, and the largest tree in the garden was twisted, and then fell onto the neighbours garage. Still, people west of here lost roofs in the same "twister" storm, as it travelled across the country.

                          photo(3) (800x598).jpg The island bed, that had lovely daylillies last summer. You can see how mild it has been here - the foliage is still intact!

                          photo(6) (800x598).jpg The eye bed, looking a little sleepy! (drizzle rapidly closing in, sorry piccies are getting darker!)

                          photo(8) (800x598).jpg
                          the top corner, with the veg bed. I tried to keep cloches on the winter lettuce, but the wind kept taking them off and putting them in strange corners, and sometimes the street, so I gave up!

                          photo(10) (800x598).jpg Sad that all the foliage of a tree can be reduced to a couple of piles of chippings...
                           
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                          • Sian in Belgium

                            Sian in Belgium Total Gardener

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                            just a few more to go...
                            photo(12) (800x598).jpg what is important in this photo is what is not there! The neighbours extension did not used to be visible. There used to be a fine conifer totally filling the gap, coming out further into the garden than the shed. Last Saturday, it was caught and twisted by a storm gust, we think it then fell into the cherry tree next to it. The cherry branch gave way, and the tree slowly slipped off to lie on the neighbours roof. the base of the trunk pushed and rotated the shed about 12" off it's base :-(

                            photo(14) (800x598).jpg
                            A nice positive end to the "walk around" though. All those little specs of green are spring bulbs that are coming up!

                            photo(15) (800x598).jpg ...and finally, another shot of the eye bed, that was the "archeological dig" site for most of last summer. The central circle is jam-packed with bulbs coming up, and most of the herbs look happy :-)
                             
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