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gardens and yards
charleybabes
Posts: 277 Forumite
in Gardening
afternoon everyone
as the spring is nearly upon us im going to try and attempt a bit of gardening . .and make my back yard somewere pleasant to sit out and relax when hopefully we get some warm days!
its not a big yard only a long passage bit and then a bit around the back of my kitchen so its more of an L shaped yard
at the minute it doesnt look very pretty .. pretty depressing actually..
and im no percy thrower either.. so just wondering if anyone had any tips for me, and perhaps a few piccies of their yards to inspire me
as the spring is nearly upon us im going to try and attempt a bit of gardening . .and make my back yard somewere pleasant to sit out and relax when hopefully we get some warm days!
its not a big yard only a long passage bit and then a bit around the back of my kitchen so its more of an L shaped yard
at the minute it doesnt look very pretty .. pretty depressing actually..
and im no percy thrower either.. so just wondering if anyone had any tips for me, and perhaps a few piccies of their yards to inspire me
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Comments
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Hi Charley
It sounds like a good idea, specially for warm days, here's hoping!
Which direction does it face?That might affect what you do with it.
If it was my garden, I would plant some pots with herbs. I love having herbs to use in cooking and they are expensive to buy. You might find that you can request some pots (or use old paint pots or whatever you can find) on freecycle.[SIZE=-1]"Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad"[/SIZE]
Trying not to waste food!:j
ETA Philosophy is wondering whether a Bloody Mary counts as a Smoothie0 -
Is your yard fenced or walled? Maybe consider painting them a nice light colour to help brighten the yard and make it feel bigger.
Do you get much sun? Is complete yard or do you have "ground"? - Herbs as PI said are a good idea - they smell lovely as well as being useful, you can grow an awful lot in pots - veggies/fruit/flowers - just depends on the amount of light you get as to what.
Maybe invest a in nice table and chair set? Some sort of lantern for those summer evenings...
will be bliss!
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Hi charleybabes,
You should get more help with this on the Greenfingered board so I'll move your thread across for you.
Pink0 -
hi all
its a proper yard with hard floor..no grass..
it doesnt tend to get a lot of light apart from around the little back bit but that tends to be around the 4pm mark so the long side bit tends to be in shade for most of the day
im jsut wondering what type of flowers and shrubs can cope with just shade??
we have got lots of packets of seeds for herbs etc that we are going to start planting over the next few weeks.. ive got a pot of lavender off my mum already and i think that i would like a few more pots of that as its so pretty !!
i just dont know were to start.. and because its a yard there isnt really that much inspiration on the old net as most pictures are of massive gardens !!!0 -
Alan titchmarsh is a wealth of advice - how about going to the library and getting a couple of his books - a leathy tome is how to be a complete gardener - easy to read and a very good section on patios and container plants. I recommend it (and its where I get my advice for this forum from).'Proud To Be Dealing With My Debts' : Member number 632
Nerds rule! :cool:0 -
Impatiens & fuchsias will not mind the shade in your yard, nor will many evergreen shrubs to grow in pots, which will keep it looking less empty in winter. Ferns in containers will cope well too - some are evergreen, others not.
Lavender & Mediterranean herbs don't really do well in shade, but only things like basil are really fussy - you will get away with parsley, chives and others. Just experiment with a bit of what you fancy!0 -
thank you all for your suggestions..
im going to start properly this week.. im going to get some paint and paint the walls and gate if it stays dry... and my mum says wilkos have some herbs on offer .. so will take a look at them aswell0 -
Hostas are great in shade. And they flower. Mine do realy well in pots and it is easier to control slugs/snails. Some clematis do well in shade/pots. I have a massive montana clematis covering a wall in shade.0
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Euphorbia species does well in shade - I have some in pots too. They're not particularly 'pretty' plants but they do have very strong, unusual shapes that would look striking against a light-painted wall. Shrubs that do well in shade include euonymus, fatsia japonica (gorgeous big glossy green leaves), hypericum, skimmia, vinc and viburnum.
Bex0 -
For info I would recommend any Book by Beth Chatto, She was one of the first plantswomen to group plants in the conditions they like. E.g You have a damp shady spot, look up in her book, and you will find a long list of plants that will thrive in those conditions.0
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