Perennials with the WoW factor – on a budget

blossomhill_2

The point of this post is to encourage those who have planted roses and are a bit disappointed in the first year – just wait, in a year or two they will pay off

And to encourage the planting of moneysaving drought-resist perennials over quick-win thirsty garden centreannuals

Yesterday in our garden we really saw the benefits of having planted perennials and roses over the last few years –every way I turned, something else had popped out in bloom;

we have

·cabbage and climber roses (all from postage-only offers inc D Austin’s James Galway )

·iris Siberica (80p form boot sale)

·a peony (rescued from a building site)

·bearded irises (50p each from bootsale)

·hardy geranium Patricia (paid full price!)

·hardy geranium Johnson’s Blue (swapfrom a friend)

·a massive bluey mauve clematis (magazine postage-only offer)

·Californian poppies (grow each year after planting seed about 5years ago)

·and an amazing Albertine rose (bought 3 for £10at local rose nursery)

all bursting out – everywhere I looked something was providing colour where it hadn’t been before. There are still spring flowers like wallflowers and cornflowers in bloom
We have concentrated on going upwards over the last two years, as the beds were fullish, so have put ion arches and climbing roses and it has really paid off

So this year we don’t need to plant anything or spend time at the garden centre, we can sit back and enjoy (PS we don’t water any of it!)
And I am visiting a friend so amtaking a bunch of beautiful fragrant home grown pink roses instead of shop bought

grannybroon

Sounds lovely. It's great to see such positive results.

EpsomOldie

Oooh, that sounds lovely! I'd never grown roses before but I put some bare-rooted climbers in last November - planning to train them along the fence - so it's reassuring that their rather modest appearance so far will get better and better in future years. I agree that perennials and self-seeding plants like verbena bonariensis are the way to go. Not only are they free, but they seem far healthier and more able to cope with pests and droughts.

From a few tubers put in 4 years ago, I've now got loads of lovely scented peonies - pale pink, also white ones - that look after themselves and get bigger and better every year. They like some horse muck which also acts as a mulch.

I planted a sisyrinchium striatum nearby and the iris-like foliage and spikes of creamy lemon flowers make a nice contrast with the peonies. I'm told it self seeds happily so hopefully I'll have a lot more soon. Alchemilla mollis is pretty and a good filler.

You've reminded me that I need to take some cuttings of a nice purple salvia (Carradonna?) and some pink lavender that's getting a bit woody. Oh, I love this time of year, and there's nothing like getting plants for free.

PS The only flowers from seeds that I don't think you can beat for easiness, scent and height are sweetpeas - lovely.

EO

blossomhill_2

I didn't know verbena bonariensis would self seed - I have a freebie packet and can't get round to sowing them, I will now!

I know peonies must be tough as my childhood garden had two things - rugged lawn and a peony - nothing else! The peony stand at Chelsea was my favourite this year and I think I will be trying your combi of sysirinchium with mine - they have a tall white iris is behind them and it is too tall, some sys in between would be perfect! Thank you

The sys does self seed but the seedlings look very like grass so weed with care! Maybe a few pots of gritty soil underneath would be a good move, so you get some potted up ones too

I think you live quite near me so watch out for self seeded verbena on freecycle next year!

EpsomOldie

Thanks for the tip re the sisyrinchium seedlings - I'll look out for them (as well as your verbena bonariensis on Freecycle!). I've found the self-seeding of verbena a bit hit and miss to be honest. The best results were on a gravel path - even though the plants were on soil some distance away. They're dead easy to take cuttings from though.

I like irises, but my back garden doesn't get enough sun for long enough to really bake the rhizomes. I'm working on 'doing up' my front garden this year though and it faces south west so I'll try them there.

blossomhill_2

EpsomOldie wrote: »

I like irises, but my back garden doesn't get enough sun for long enough to really bake the rhizomes

I wouldn't read too much into that - siberica grow in shade, mine are in a totally shaded NE corner, and many of my others have low level plants like hardy geraniums and paeonies shading their rhizomes and do fine. I think the gravel underneath them to ensure good drainage is the key

EpsomOldie

Thanks for that info Blossomhill - I'll look into the different types of iris as I didn't know that some didn't need to be baked.

Hope you enjoy your garden this Bank Holiday weekend.

nlj1520

I'm trying to plant up my garden on a budget and have been getting stuff from boot sales and Thompson & Morgan special offers (when there's enough things I want to make the postage worthwhile). I also buy from 'orphan's corner' in garden centres. Have a beautiful white rose, that just needed a bit of nursing and a nandinia (I think that's right) that just took off as soon as I rescued it from its pot.
I've had plants as birthday presents too and by next year my garden is going to be so lovely. Aquilegia has been self-seeing all over the place, poppies too and I've had some tulips this year that I have no idea how they got here.
When all else is going tits up I find a wander around the garden really soothes me.

EpsomOldie

Hello nlj1520.

I love poppies, but always forget to scatter around some seed, so thanks for the reminder. Which ones do you grow?

I find that everything does better in the ground rather than in pots provided the soil isn't too awful. For instance, an exception in my garden is under next door's HUGE ash tree and HUGE conifer which are on the very edge of the boundary and whose roots therefore suck out every morsel of moisture and nutrient. I've lost count of the time and money I've spent trying to improve the soil and planting shade / drought-resistant plants, only to lose them.

I've decided to give it up as a bad job and have put down weed suppressing membrane with pebbles on top on that side. I'll then stand some big pots with acers and maybe some potted annuals on the pebbles.

I rescued the few plants from the dry side that had survived but were very, very poorly:

• some puny lily of the valley
• desiccated pulmonaria
• anorexic aquilegia 'Dove'
• honeysuckle 'Graham Thomas' which despite being in the ground for four seasons, only had a root-ball the size of my fist.

I planted them on the other side of the garden where the soil is better and there is more moisture and light. They've all taken off like rockets in just a few months and look so healthy and big! I'm delighted but also a bit dismayed that I'd kept them in such cruel conditions.

SailorSam

I know after watching Chelsea, some of the gardens and plants are breathtaking but the cost !!! And it doesn't have to be like that, i only started serious gardening a few years ago, i don't know all the names and most have been bought in Wilkies or Morrisons while on offer or many have come from the £shop, and things are already well established and i can see the fruit and berries starting to pop-up. One corner of the garden i've kept for wildflowers and even the nettles look good. It's so peaceful sitting (weather permitting) surrounded in greenery and all for just a few pounds.

blossomhill_2

EpsomOldie wrote: »

I'm delighted but also a bit dismayed that I'd kept them in such cruel conditions.

Today I planted a rose that had been in a bucket of water behind the composter for about 4 years , I forgot it was there til i saw it flowering so have planted it and aplogised and given it some nice rose food ~ I hope it repays me the ways your plants have, despite being frozen in winter!:rotfl: