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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.)
Coming along nicely now MC, as Hazy says, a lovely array of colour will be seen. That is what is exciting when you add new material or change things around, wondering what will it look like. I am not sure but could it be snowdrops that are going to flower in the big planter?
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Hi Catlady. You might be right about the Snowdrops. I had some last year in an old container and I might have relocated them somewhere more appropriate. We'll just have to wait and see...
For a winter garden yours is looking mighty respectable MC & so it should given all the back-breaking hours you put into it in quite inclement weather! Winter gardens are, in the main, quite depressing places especially if one leaves lots of dead looking material in situ to help all kinds of wildlife ... but come the spring, when the transformation begins in earnest & the weather may be kinder for a mass tidy up & shift around & new planting, it will be wonderful to behold the different picture!
I am with you regarding instant gardens, often a bit of a disaster when you find plants growing in unsuitable places & have to dig them up to move elsewhere! There is something quite magical waiting to see what appears naturally & reappears from previous years ... my special thing is watching the dead twigs transform!!
2013 photos & vids here
eff37 on Flickr
My last photo update was during the first week of February, so here's an indication of what's been growing in the garden over the past five weeks.
The raspberries have plenty of small buds
This is the mystery pot from the last thread.
Putting the plastic tags in the pots should mean that I keep a record of what grows where!
Chalet Area/Sprawk Zone
First signs of grass shoots peeping through the soil in the covered walkway
The main 'Lower Garden'. I guess I'll have to trim the grass eventually! I'll have to work around all the daffodils that I planted several months ago.
Evergreen Honeysuckle making slow progress
New buds on the Pyracantha
New shoots on the rose that was cut back to a one foot stump in the Autumn
Flowering Currant. I cut it back quite ruthlessly while the work was underway last year. It will be interesting to see how it grows now that it will have direct sunlight rather than being covered by the garage.
Progress from the ivy
I really have no idea what this will turn out to be...
It's great to see the bulbs poking through and the early shrubs /leaves springing to life. Your garden is like a work of art beginning to take shape and fill the canvas :) a masterpiece lol
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Regards, Hazel
Lovely MC, what a difference several weeks makes. My guess for the mystery pot was correct, as I thought it could be snowdrops. Going to guess that the single one in the last photo could be a tulip!
Yes, you did say Snowdrops! Not sure if that's a Daffodil or Narcissus in the middle, but it looks 'size appropriate'. Not sure if the one in the boot is a tulip. There's very little soil in there so the bulb would need to be quite tiny. However, you could be right. We'll find out soon enough1
Ok, here's how the garden looks now, seven months later. The bench will be relocated once the latest grass seeds have started to grow.
The patio is looking rather cluttered at the moment, but it's still a work in progress and there's a lot growing there too
Some of the patio plants
The Raspberries are coming along nicely...
...as is the Box Hedging and the Lavender
The Primula plants in the Chalet area have all established themselves nicely too
That lone shoot in the ceramic boots turned out to be a Snowdrop
The covered walkway from the old garden to the new one. The grass and the stepping stones look just the way I had imagined they would
Maybe I overdid things with the Daffodils. I'll have to relocate some of them eventually. the bare patch on the right has been sown with grass seed. The wooden bench will eventually be placed there (once the Daffs hae been shifted)
The original stepping stones had to be replaced and the new ones are gradually settling in
I've been turning over the soil on the left. It will eventually be the spot for the Runner Beans and some potatoes
The view back across to the covered walkway
Mealworms' eye view!
Front on view of the Chalet area
Other than trimming the grass and removing dead heads, there's not too much to do until I start the Runner Beans and Seed Potatoes (Kestrel variety of course!). That should give me time to clear the patio area.
So pleased you created such a wonderful view for your mealies to savour before they meet their maker!! Lol
It's all growing so well, a testament to your long arduous hours in less than clement weather & IMO you can never have too many daffs, so bright & cheery they are!
Have Robins given seal of approval yet? 'Cos if they don't like it you'll have to make amendments!!!
Wow, what an amazing transformation Paul, everything seems to be growing well and wish our grass was as good lol Love the new bench :) the primulas by the chalet area look beautiful, such lovely colour.