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I recently demolished my garage in order to extend the garden and within the last few days I have broken out the garage floor slab. The idea is to create flowerbeds around the perimeter and to lay turf adjacent to that. The broken out flooring was only a couple of inches thick and once I have broken it down even more I was intending to put a topsoil/compost mix on top to create the flowerbeds. I am assuming that the broken up flooring will assist with drainage and stop the soil from simply washing away when it rains? I have several bags of Homebase topsoil and was intending to mix them in with compost of some sort. Can anyone offer advice and tell me if this is a good idea? I intend to plant climbing roses and honeysuckle at the far end of the garden because I have installed trellis at high level. Going forward I will be planting runner beans and tomatoes on the more exposed wall and pyracantha and other Sparrow friendly plants elsewhere. I will post some photos when I get home, in order to give a better idea of the layout. Hope someone can offer some advice. Thanks.
Unicum arbustum haud alit duos erithacos
(One bush does not shelter two Robins)
Zenodotus (3rd Century B.C.)
Garden and flowers look wonderful Paul, great to see the plants/bulbs all taking off. The sunshine of late has been fantastic to help things along. Don't forget to deadhead the primulas as it helps them continue flowering ! I usually nip off some of the broader outer leaves if there a lot of them. The last two photos are Muscari (grape hyacinth)
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Regards, Hazel
How lovely your garden looks, MC! I think the last two photos are Muscari. They can really spread. I'm going to enjoy seeing it develop over the rest of the year and the change it makes to all the wildlife.
Thanks for the ID ladies. The Muscari does seem to be appearing all over the place. I did buy both of the ones in the photos, but have found more growing on the front path and in the small gap between the house and the patio. I'll relocate them to a more appropriate place later in the year. They do look rather fetching don't they?
They can spread easily Paul, easy to grow but can be put into pots to contain the spread, they are pretty flowers and we have them under the Oak trees and around the rockery and borders as they thrive in all conditions !
I'll follow that suggestion and transfer some to the rockery.
Look at all those colours, your good work is really blooming now MC. My flowering currant is also in flower but my tulips are nowhere near flowering yet, must be so much warmer where you are.
Lot to learn
Thanks Gaynor. We have had temperatures in the high teens and low twenties this week. I've been watering the garden each day and that helps.
Lots of changes since the last update at the start of April. The Tulips and Daffs have mainly come and gone. Some of the Hyacinths are still in bloom and the Primula plants continue to offer some colour around the water feature. The fruit and veg are starting to show and the areas of grass that I established are all doing well. There are now sheltered alcoves and overgrown areas which should appeal to Dunnocks. They have been absent from the garden since I started the project, but hopefully they will take a liking to certain parts and will make themselves at home. The Spadgers have yet to bring any fledglings with them, but it's only a matter of time. The Blackbirds and Robins are taking mealies on a regular basis, so I'm hoping that they too will have youngsters fairly soon.
The small area of grass that I created for the bench has now grown beautifully. I trimmed it earlier today and put the bench in place. It wasn't long before the Spadgers found the mealie dish!
I have two different types of Strawberry in the garden. It will be interesting to see how they compare.
The Alpine plants on the rockery seem to have taken and are gradually spreading
The various climbers are also doing well
The Raspberries in leaf are those that I transferred from my Mother's garden some months ago. They have all started to grow new leaves. Of the new plants, only the one front and centre has started to sprout leaves
The first of the Kestrel potatoes have started to show
There are three colours of Asiatic Lily about to come through. They will add some colour to the area adjacent to the vegetable patch
The Spadgers future play area aka the Pyracantha, is coming along nicely
This is the Oak sapling, which has only come into leaf over the past couple of days
The Runner Beans should be ready for planting by next weekend
Blossom about to come through on the Raspberries
Victoria Plum
Marjories Seedling Plum
The Lavender has been a success and hopefully the bees will be attracted to it over the coming weeks
Some of the Primula are still in bloom
Any weeds and oddities have their own area at the end of the garden. The bees seem to like this area
Back in 2012 I installed the gate and at the same time I created a small nesting box alongside it. The Honeysuckle has now started to cover the entrance. I am hoping that the Robins might find it next year, when the Honeysuckle has spread even more.
The covered walkway with newly trimmed grass
The 'new' garden
Looking back towards the house
Finally, the most important part of the garden, GR shows his approval by singing me an early evening song
Great update and photos Paul and good to see all the plants, flowers,shrubs are growing really well, you've worked really hard creating such a lovely garden for not only your own pleasure but for the birds and insects, well done and enjoy the fruits an veg when they are ready to pick later in the year :)
Thanks Hazy. Even Cyrilla is behaving herself and hasn't dug too many holes (so far!). The Spadgers, GT's and BT's are spending quite a bit of time in the roses and box hedge plants looking for insects. Today I saw two butterflies in the garden.