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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.)
Last year I grew my strawberries in a very large pot which was placed on top of an even larger pot of soil ... two reasons, firstly up high enough to keep slugs away, secondly to catch the runners & peg them down! Was quite successful
2013 photos & vids here
eff37 on Flickr
A couple of weeks on and the growth is amazing. The runner beans being the most successful.
This is the smaller of the sunflowers
It now has its own pot
I didn't realise these would bloom twice within a few months, but there they are
Beans, beans and more beans
Late fruiting raspberries on the way
I bought these from Homebase. They were foot high stumps when I purchased them and I didn't expect any fruit this year
Now the loganberries have more blossom
The loganberries have grown at such an amazing rate. I've constructed an extension to the trellis with a return section at the top. I've trained the plants up the trellis and towards the return so that they will eventually hang from the front. This should allow me to get to the fruit when the time comes.
Even more progress in 'Climber Corner'. I've done some weeding in the area, but not too much.
Pyracantha berries should be a hit with the birds!
I picked half a dozen ripe tomatoes this morning (before I took this photo). I have to keep moving the bamboo and twine because the weight of the fruit keeps making the plants lean over.
The rose arch is blooming (again)
Ferals eye view of the new-ish garden
A better perspective of the loganberry frame.
I appear to have a resident Robin at long last. Hopefully there is sufficient cover for it.
Well done Mr Bloom, a garden to be very proud of & I'm sure your new Robin will make himself very comfy in it!!
I hope so. The juvenile is still around and there's also an adult that feeds on sunflower hearts and resides in the laurel. Junior spends most of its time in the holly tree and feeds on mealies.
Your garden is looking wonderful, MC. It's amazing how much you've managed to produce in such a short time and it's still so bird friendly.
All you need now are a couple of chucks for nice fresh eggs and to eat the slugs!!
Kind regards
Jenny
It must be such a good feeling to walk into your garden and think what can I pick today. Well done MC it all looks just great. I'm sure the robin(s) will find plenty of cover with all the vines and climbers you have let alone the covered passageway you have created. Look forward to more pics of it all as summer progresses.
Lot to learn
What a great success you certainly have had for the first year of growing your own! As you will have found out now, a garden is a hands on job all the time, now even more so when you have all that extra to look after! Hope your new Robin settles in and finds his new home.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
It is now one year (and three days) since I had the four tons of topsoil delivered and I was able to start creating my new garden where the garage had previously stood. I have been allowing the garden to grow wild for the last six weeks or so and as a result the grass did get slightly out of control. I had to purchase a new strimmer to deal with the resulting jungle conditions. I have trimmed the grass back along the pathway, but the edging has yet to take place. I have plans to create a larger vegatable patch for next year and I really need to locate those daffodil bulbs so they don't come up in the middle of the spuds and carrots! Quite a few photos here, but I didn't add any updates throughout September, so this is two months worth!
The view from the kitchen
I cut back one of the roses earlier in the year and the new growth has climbed fully seven feet upwards and I have also managed to train it along the outer edge of the SBS. It also goes around to the left.
My neighbour rather kindly let me tie his cherry laurel to the frame of the SBS. He had considered removing it, but after some effort we managed to untangle it from around the apple tree. It will hopefully cover one side and eventually the top. This should help to offer the Spadgers some shelter now that the Ceanothus has died.
The climbing rose over the arch continues to bloom and make its way towards the wall on the far side of the path. Hopefully it will have made it by this time next year.
I climbed the ladder to get this photo of the various climbers that have reached the top of the old garage wall. It's about 7' high, so they have grwon well during the past twelve months.
While I was taking photos, there was a rustling from next door. Cyrilla had arrived!
There's no food up there Cyrilla!
View of the garden from what was previously the garage doorway. Part of the old frame is still visible on the left of the photo.
For comparison, here's the same view on October 8th 2014. There's a bit of that door frame visible here too.
The Chalet area, complete with new purpose built perch for HTR, assuming he takes residence at some stage!
I didn't expect to see this...
The covered walkway viewed from the patio...
...and from the other end. I had just planted a new rambling rose ('Wedding Day'). Hopefully this will grow as rapidly as the 'Albertine' rose in the far corner.
The Pyracantha is still small but has produced a good crop of berries. The Wood Pigeons have yet to discover them!
The new garden from the end of the covered walkway. The trellis in the centre has two types of gooseberry bush on the near side and two loganberry plants on the far side. I have trained two of them across a home made frame. The three paving stones at the near end will be removed and I intend to convert that area into a vegatable patch.
The rockery has certainly done well. I just need to remove the weeds and cut back the grass. The bird proofing spikes that you can see are not used in the traditional way. I fix them horizontally, halfway up the fence to act as cat deterrents. My Frisky Ferals can come and go as they please!
Guess what I will be having with my Weetabix in the morning? Other breakfast cereals are available...
The large climbing plant in the centre that resembles a man waving his arms is the Albertine Rambling Rose. It was about about two feet high when I purchased it and now it has climbed to a height of about seven feet and a couple more along the top of the wall. Not bad for one year of growth. If the new 'Wedding Day' rose is half as good I'll be happy.
The Strawberry patch. The Alpine Strawberries have started to spread across the front.
Two more plants that have been growing like crazy are the Loganberries. I even managed to get some fruit from them this year, although I only planted them back in June (I think).
Same plants on June 13th
This is the home made frame for the Loganberries. I'm not entirely happy with it, but it does the job for now. I just wish they would stop growing!
No complaints with the Honeysuckle. This one has reached a height of 8' and is now spreading across the trellis.
The Raspberries, Plum Trees and assorted shrubs near the kitchen door. Not really part of the new garden, but they still deserve a photo!
That's one year on. Hopefully there will be a similar amount of progress over the next twelve months.
great update and photos Paul, what an amazing variety you have there and I think breakfast will taste very nice in the morning :) your hard work around the garden is really paying off with all those lovely fruits, flowers and veggies.
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Regards, Hazel
Wonderful update MC it must be making you feel a proper gardener now with all that fabulous produce and plants, I had to laugh when you said you hoped the loganberries would stop growing!! I wonder will you be able to pass a garden centre without looking for new plants now? Well done with it all and I'm sure the birds are really enjoying the cover and the seeds and fruit, if they can get to them.