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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.)
Greenfingers or what,!!!! you have turned that plot into a sight to behold MC, you have been ingenious with the way you have used the space, runner beans and plums, I'm not jealous.....well maybe just a tad!!
Lot to learn
Thanks Wendy and Gaynor. I hope to have a bumper crop of fruit and veggies this Summer/Autumn.
Lovely Paul, goes to show what can be done in a year, with some hard work and effort. You better get that jam pan out for all that fruit and the chutney to be made with all that veggies!!!! Well done
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
It's all looking fantastic, MC. You have done wonders with your fruit and veg, you'll just have to watch out your feathery friends don't get in there first!!
Kind regards
Jenny
They can't get to the blossom on the runner beans and they won't go for the plums. So far, they have left everything alone. That might be down to the amount of seed, fatballs, sunflower hearts and live mealies that they have. No room for homegrown treats. I just have to make sure they don't leave little messages for me!
One month on and the rainfall has had quite an effect. I spent several hours trimming some of the grass, which was well over a foot high and also trimmed a few plants here and there.
The runner beans are going nicely. The Kestrel potatoes just in front of them are ready and I have already had quite a few, Late cropping raspberries to the right of the runners
Rhubarb has thrived after all the rain and I even got two Loganberries although I only planted it a short while ago
I have yet to cut the grass (or even tidy up) this corner, but the insects seem to like it and so do the Spadgers
The climbers have not only reached the trellis, they are spreading across it in all directions
I'm assuming this is a Sunflower of some sort? Since it is in the new part of the garden, it can only have grown from a dropped seed, courtesy of the Spadgers or Ferals
Here's the Rhubarb
Not forgetting the Beetroot
Tomato anyone?
Another dropped seed. Any ideas?
Here's how it looks from above
The pansies just keep blooming and blooming
Victoria Plums
Marjories Seedling Plums
More Victoria Plums. You'd think they were grapes! Ashridge Nurseries, who supplied the trees in 2013, have recommended that I should remove some of the plums should they crop in such numbers next year. Otherwise they will only crop every two years because it takes so much out of the tree to produce so much fruit.
Wow that's an amazing garden you've created MC. I bet you feel really proud of yourself, all that hard work has paid off. Fruit, veg, flowers, bugs & birds, what more could you want?
Your plant in the pot could be another sunflower. It may pay to remove some of the fruit because if it plumps up any more the weight may be too much & cause the branches to break under the strain. Plum trees branches are quite fragile, although they look well supported in the photos.
Best wishes
Hazel in Southwest France
Thanks Hazel. Just picked the first ripe Victoria Plum and had an unwanted free gift inside. A small pink coloured worm with a black head. Yuk! Hope that some of the crop are ok.
Your garden is looking amazing MC, you should be giving yourself a big pat on the back for all your hard work, there's nothing like picking your own fruit and veg, you no doubt feel pretty good.
Unknown said: Thanks Hazel. Just picked the first ripe Victoria Plum and had an unwanted free gift inside. A small pink coloured worm with a black head. Yuk! Hope that some of the crop are ok.