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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.)
A note of interest ... just sitting at PC & seeing out of window a number of large Dragonflies flitting around like mini helicopters, wonderful sight!
2013 photos & vids here
eff37 on Flickr
What a great place to put an oak tree, MC! I like the roses and Wendy has some great suggestions. I underplanted my forsythia hedge with some patches of cyclamen which are shining out in the denser shade of the pieris right now.
They sometimes flower again in the spring, depending on the weather. They're good for the insects and the ants spread them to other places. Cyclamen will grow in dry shade. The only tip is not to mix them. Cyclamen hederifolium is autumn flowering and cyclamen coum is winter. I had a small patch of c. coup under a tree but it was disturbed during landscaping and only appears some winters.
Some useful ideas there. I will add them to the list of possibilities.
This morning, once the Robin excitement was over, I finished the main Chalet area trellis and planted the third and final rose. The passageway to the right will be finished once I decide on the layout of the 'Lower Garden' as I have now named it.
The final recessed area took a bit of work, but the point of the exercise was to create a safe area for the Spadgers and which ever Robin ends up using the Chalet. Once the three roses begin to spread over the trellis, the effect will be complete.
Here's the third and final rose in the Chalet area. This one is called 'Penny Lane'.
Dorothy Perkins
It's going to look superb next Springtime MC, can't wait to see finished lower garden!! Isn't it great to have a project on the go, so absorbing!
I now have just under three weeks before the rubble goes and the soil is delivered. Between now and then I will have plenty of planning to do.
Exciting ... am quite envious! Am getting on with tidying here though, essential pea shingle path from back stairs to get past parked bike & broken step mended (no longer a 'trip' hazard) & huge Photinia dug up as was overhanging roadway & no amount of pruning could contain it! So now have a largish plot of garden to plant up with all manner of pollinator friendly plants & have decided to put Robin box on trellis nearer to shed end of back garden, am going to use bird cam box with the front modified for Robin use ... It will be at back of half-moon bed which I am going to convert to another SBS using the green plastic net so any nesting Robins & the other garden birds will have safety! I will site the box nestled under the arch which is covered with Clematis Montana & also am training a Cotoneaster Cornuba tree to travel sideways, left & right along this arch!
Here's how it looked on Sunday evening. Nearly there. The skip and the topsoil have been ordered. I just hope that nobody is parked in the wrong place come Monday morning, otherwise I have to pay for a delivery that cannot be made. Fingers crossed!
Today saw the serious part of the garden work get underway. I coned off the side street to allow access for the skip lorry (which didn't arrive until 1pm). If I can keep it clear for tomorrow, the skip will be collected ok and one more day after that will allow the lorry with the 4 tons of topsoil to either get to the rear of the house, or at least get to the end of the private road. That will save me hours of work. Fingers crossed that the local car drivers don't move the cones and tape for another two days...
Here we go...
Part way through the loading
Without this coned off side of the street, I doubt the skip lorry would have made it. All I need to do is keep it car free for another two days!
Ready for the delivery of 4 tons of topsoil, due Wednesday...
This all took about three hours and I was assisted by my elderly neighbour, who is in his late 80's!
Was thinking about you today MC & keeping fingers crossed that you managed to get it sorted ... Can see true size now!
Your neighbour, bless him, must be quite sprightly for his age! Can't wait for next update! Take care!