horticulture , Propagation
Using the powers granted to me ( by virtue of being the only one in the home that really cares ) , I have commandeered more of the front lawn . I ’ve widened the borderline to about 6 foot inscrutable so there is now plentifulness of scope for fresh planting . I ’ve designate these Borders 8 & 9 , Border 7 was finished the other week , and border 1 to 6 are in the back garden .
I first had to wrestle with the thicket that sits on the boundary with next door . It involves a monster forsythia , an disobedient Arthur Stanley Jefferson Laurel , and what I think is a big laburnum tree . For good mensuration , this mess also had a in effect deal of creeping ivy and worst of all , bindweed . I coif to with my young pruning sawing machine , which made curt work of the branches , but allow me with a large pile to elucidate away .
Once crystalise and hollow over a minuscule , I mulch the ground , using whatever I had left , a sundry accumulation include spend mushroom compost , manure compost , manure , enriched surface soil and more manure . The front garden is certainlysmellingmore , well , prolific than it was before . Not sure if that ’s quite the welcome to the house my married woman had in mind , but it ’s a irregular olfactory effect . The land was pretty poor before , very teetotal and arenaceous with no real structure , not contributing to just growth or salubrious plants . The thick mulch should improve matters over the next few months and I ’ll append some compost from the heap later on in the year , for good measure .
As with the other border planting I ’ve been able to do this class , the Brobdingnagian majority of the plant were grown from seed , cutting off or by divisions . There is a smattering of corrupt plant life , usually from the headway shelves of my local garden pith , but these are very much in the minority .
As with Border 7 , I have not drawn up a planting program . I project that the baseline appearance of the front garden was so poor , almost anything will be a slap-up improvement . That said , I did put a bit of intellection into what should go where , laying out all the pots in their mean stead prior to planting out .
Let there be light!
On a whim , I also buy a few packet of germ , so I needed to recollect to leave enough room in the planting for them . I have examine to sow in Jekyll - style , longish raking runs , rather than in maculation which will look plain for a while . It ’s a bit previous to be sowing now , but we ’ll see . I ’ve engender some hollyhocks , lupins and cosmos . I ’m not too apprehensive about the first two , they are perennials so even if I do n’t get any heyday this yr they should establish enough to make it through the winter for next yr . The cosmos though are a bit of a punt . I ’ve had very little luck with cosmos this year , but they were all sow in in tray or modules , so I ’m keen to see if sowing unmediated fares any advantageously .
Anyhow , here is how the planting finished up . I ’ll work my way around from the right side of Border 8 which is directly in front of the hedge ( a grand term for it ) between our attribute and next door . In each group I ’ll set out from the back and process forwards .
First up is a heavy group of helenium autumnale . Some of these are fromdivisionsI took earlier in the year , some rise from seed taken from last years prime . The divisions were a surprise , I thought slugs had basically destroyed them , eating all the leaf from the stems . A while back , I sheer off the affected top half or so of the stem , and since then those flora have all branched off and now have two , sometimes three stems , each of which should produce plenty of flowers . I think I ’ll apply that general principle to next year ’s maturation . Anyhow , in front of the helenium are some oriental poppies and an osteospermum I rescued from B&Q , then some berkheya to go along the rivulet round the corner from Border 7 , and ultimately some more dianthus ‘ brilliancy ’ , of which I seem to have a more - or - less inexhaustible supply .
Fragrant, and ready to receive tenants.
Moving further along , at the back are my last three honesty plants . They ’re yearbook , I remember , so I ’ll supervene upon with something else next year . In front of those are all my remaining penstemon ‘ husker red ’ , grown from semen . In between the helenium and the penstemon is where I ’ve sown the cosmos seeds . Next is a minuscule group of lychnis coronaria , grown from source take from the white mannequin last yr . They will in all probability come up white , but I may be lucky and get the motley pinkish / white descriptor . In front of those , but not very seeable , are two clumps of poppies I rescue from our local garden center . They are past it for this yr , so I ’ve cut them back to the ground . They are semi - evergreen , so they should put up some more leafage this year , and I go for , a good video display next natural spring .
Next to the satin flower is a lilac ‘ palibin ’ , a deliverance Book of Job , which just needed a tidy up and a calorie-free prune . It looks OK now , and should grow to about 5 feet . Next to that are my last three geum ‘ mrs j bradshaw ’ . In front of those are a chemical group of dahlias . All are grown from cuttings carry this year from tubers as they were coming into development . They are mostly ‘ bishops children ’ , with a ‘ disgraceful jack ’ and a ‘ caribbean phantasy ’ thrown in for good standard . At the front is a very ropy looking group of veronica , which I ’m afraid I have for the most part ignored since pot them on a month or two . They are a bit leggy , floppy and dry . I ’m hoping they ’ll perk up up now they ’ve got a piece of elbow room and a steady watering . They may not do much this class , but should be OK next class .
make a motion across again , the far back corner is where I ’ve sown the althaea . In front of those are 3 red phormiums ( or are they cordylines ? ) that I separate earlier in the twelvemonth . Next to the hollyhocks , along the wall , are another radical of Helenium , all from germ this time . move along the rampart again , next is a small bush , rescued from the local garden centre . It ’s an exochorda macrantha ‘ the Saint Bride ’ , the pearl bush . I failed to get one of these going from a hardwood cutting , so I was proud of to be capable to bribe one very chintzily . It will call for a bit of support and form next outpouring , but should be fine I think . Between the helenium and this shrub is where I ’ve sown the lupins , so finger’s breadth cut through it ’s not too tardy for them .
Anyone for footie?
The flushed flowers are on some lychnis arkwrightii , which have not impressed so far as plants , grown from seed this yr . I am only half promising that they ’ll fill out and do something worthwhile this year , maybe they ’ll be okay next twelvemonth but if not they ’ll come out . Further along the rampart is a weeny cornus sanguinea ‘ midwinter fire ’ . This was a sucker given to me by a neighbour . It ’s still small but should grow on quite happily . In front of that are some alchemilla mollis , divisions from the back garden . In front of those are some ivy - leaved pelargoniums , grease one’s palms for pennies in B&Q , and I cerebrate some more lychnis coronaria at the front .
Next to those is a little weigela ‘ Claude Monet ’ shrub which was look a bit poorly . I ’ve establish it a trim and pruned some damaged fore and it looks OK now . It does not produce very large , 60x60 cm , so should be fine at the front . The final stretch , in front of the yellow flowering Astilbe japonica bush , are all either aquilegia ‘ greenapples ’ or digitalis parviflora , plus one small division of pheasants tail grass .
Over 100 plants went in to these two borders , plus whatever I get from the semen . tally in Border 7 , well over 200 plant have proceed into the front garden . This would obviously be very expensive if I just bought them all for £ 5 plus a industrial plant , but in fact I have done this pretty tattily , with the main investment being my time over the last few calendar month , which I begrudge not one fleck .
Got ’em just where I want ’em.
It all looks a footling nude and low right now , but it will all fill up out over the summer , and will look dandy next year I hope . Whatever happens , it will be a vast improvement anyway on what was there before , mainly weeds . I just ask to sort out what remains of the lawn which is very dry and weedy .
I ’ll be back in a few weeks with an update on development in the front garden ..
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