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Gardens and gardening

TheCatWoman

Does anyone else love their garden? I love mine although it's a bit of a mess, I've not been able to do as much as normal due to a bad shoulder. Earlier in the year, knowing I wouldn't be able to do so much, when I did a big spring clearing and weeding session I scattered loads of flower seeds, just to fill in any gaps, so now I have a slightly wild bed of established perenials and annuals that I hope will self seed, such as echiums, marigolds, love in a mist and verbena. I cleared out more weeds and stuff and am now waiting to plant some crocosmia's and a massive sedum I was given. Hopefully in the next couple of years I will have the bed as I want, with all year interest and plenty of forrage for polinators.

I want to re-invigorate by shrubs too, with more or new roses, lavender's, and ferns, I have geums floating through all of this as well as chives as they such a brilliant companion for roses, helping to keep black fly and aphids off them.

Come winter I will replant the old veg patch with more fruit, hopefully a couple of small fruit tree's and some raspberries and currants and maybe a raised bed for blueberries.

Parents

  • Yes. When I started here I had all sorts of ideas with beds thick with flowers. Some worked, some spread further than I wanted and some came to nothing.

    I have one or two perennials I started from seed during lockdown and I love the idea that I grew them. I also have one or two plants that have appeared that I didn't plant, so seeds must have blown in or been carried by birds. I have grown to like that idea.

    l also have an area with a tree that I have wild flowers growing and the grass stays long. I have given up longing for a neat and impressive garden and enjoy what comes. I find being in the garden brings relaxation and it is lovely when a robin or other bird pops in. I remember when we first moved here and I was sweeping the pile of leaves that the robin was the first visitor.

    Lavender is a good choice as the perfume is lovely when the wind blows and then gets covered with bees. I love perfumed roses too. 

    Some of my more traditional plants were from friends which brings happy memories.

  • in reply to Homebird

    So many plants won't grow here because of strong salty winds, they just shrivel up, but roses, hebe's and lavenders do well here. I can't grow tall plants very well because of the wind, even when staked they blow over, things like hollyhocks and delphiniums, but foxgloves do really well, strange! 

    I love the smell of roses, I want more, but they tend to be quite expensive, but then I do tend to buy them from David Austen as they have such a good range and the plants are so healthy.

    I've planted for polinators, I have several hover flies patrolling various bushes, I like it when they come and eyeball me, trying to work out who and what I am. We get several types of bee's and wasps, loads of moths and a hedgehog, the wildlife is really responding well to my efforts.

    I made a dead hedge too, although it's covered in bind weed at the moment, but I pile all of my woody cuttings, from things like budliea and some hazel branches, along a wall behind a tree, all sorts of things have started living there and more importantly overwintering there.

  • in reply to TheCatWoman

    My roses were all from David Austen too and I am pleased that they are as hardy as claimed, as my garden growing conditions aren’t great. I like the way the website makes it easy to find the right rose for your garden conditions. 

Reply Children
  • in reply to TheCatWoman

    I have the ‘Sceptered Isle’ rose and would wholeheartedly recommend. It has given me so much joy to watch and tend to. I bought it for my little doggy who is no longer here so I can always think of her when I see it. A beautiful rose. Another one I would recommend is Jane Austen - the blooms look so flat & geometric. Stunning. 

  • in reply to ArchaeC

    Thats one of the things I like about the site too, I wish more websites were designed like that, I get so fed up of FAQ's they never answer my questions.

    I'm thinking of getting 'This Sceptered Isle' or 'The geberous Gardener', the colours are always acurate too, I've had roses from other places that don't flower the same colour as the pictures, or are a completely different colour.

    I'm trying to edit my plants a bit, as I have a tendency to buy more than I need, our garden centre also does a "rescue" section of plants that are either past their flowering period, leggy, or just a bit knackered, I love bringing them back to life. I actively look for end of season perenial plants as they're so much cheaper.