Newbie with a boring garden

Hi there!

I've been browsing this forum for a bit and it's great - already noted plenty handy hints!

I am in a rented house with a gravel drive and a big lawn. There is also a row of hideous, 30-40 foot conifers (?leyllandii?) alongside the drive which afford considerably more privacy than I really need. Don't quite know what I can do about them, so far I have trimmed to 6ft (all I can reach with loppers!).

The frosts here in winter are horrendous so will limit what I can plant, and I also have two dogs which really enjoy using the lawn as a racetrack, so that has to stay. Although it's not my house, I am here for the foreseeable future and would be glad of any suggestions on non-labour-intensive ways to make the garden look lovely!

So far, I have tidied up the front wall of the house by removing the scabby weeds there and planting a few pots of heather and thyme, which are now flowering beautifully. I have today planted a jasmine and a honeysuckle by my fencing, and a potted wisteria which will hopefully climb the drainpipe. I have done the rounds with weedkiller on the weeds growing through the gravel, and burned off what I can with a blowtorch.

[ 25. August 2005, 04:11 PM: Message edited by: Skelf ]

 

I noticed that you are in rented accommodation. I hope you have asked your landlord's permission before carrying out these improvements. If not it would be wise to do this before we suggest anything else.

GA

 

Ah, should have said - the house is owned by my boss who is delighted that he has someone to cut the grass! Yep, anything major (eg cutting down aforementioned 'day of the triffids' conifers) would be run past him first, but he's fine with whatever I want to do. It was a wilderness when I moved in, so he's quite chuffed to get updates about his hedging and things!

 

Hi Skelf

You dont say exactly where you are in the country but you should have a pretty good choice of plants to choose from wherever you are. The best way to see what is likely to survive is to look in neighbours gardens and ask for advice locally as much as you can. Pots are good for adding interest quickly but plants in pots can be more susceptible to damage from frost so give them a bit of protection in the worst weather.

The bad news is that i dont know any really labour free way of getting good results. If you want to plant into the soil you are going to have to do a bit of digging. If you take time to prepare an area before planting the results will be so much better and when you are sitting admiring your beautiful garden this time next year you wont even remember the hard bit.

I went to the Scottish Garden Show in May this year for the first time and it was fab. I would really reccomend it for next year if you can make it.

Happy gardening.

Cloudy

 

Thanks Cloudy!

I'm in Morayshire, so not far from you! I'm happy to do limited digging (me, lazy?) - I think maybe I ought to plant out my lovely heathers once it's got a bit more settled then. They came in tiny pots, so I have planted three to a tub, where they have flourished remarkably quickly. Am I right in thinking that some ericaceous compost dug through the topsoil will be enough to help them start?

 

hiya, I am in Morayshire too Do a soil check before planting your heathers, it is usually acidic to neutral here and very suitable to heathers without any need for special composts