Our Garden 2 Years Work

Butterfliesarepretty

I put a post on here about a free greenhouse we got and now its finished.
Lived here 2 years. The front garden we overhauled the lawn, dug it over and now growing lavender, giant thistle, poppies, roses, clematis, daisies, hollyhock, and others.

The back we have dug in a trattoria with cobbles, yet to be finished just below the greenhouse for the vine. Got artichokes, borlotti bean plants, strawberries, dug a pond. All the stone we uncovered we have used or given away. The soil was very clay filled, but some plants have took to it. Lot of polystyrene was removed too.
So this is the back as of today.

Im waiting for the giant thistle to flower in the front garden, its humongous, around 5ft high and the leaves are very wide!

The artichokes we dont eat, we let them flower completely then I dry them out for dried flowers in the house.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/organize/?start_tab=new_set

The trattoria base will be levelled and inbetween the cobbles will be peashingle and the tree lengths will be treated to stop rot. Just need to finish off the supporting branches.

The people who lived here previous have moved to the south of france. The garden had so much hidden stone that has built the walls and the paths and cobbled areas.

The gravelled area will be recovered with fresh flint coloured stone, beiges and yellows. The pond we have had a newt or two, water snails, lots of creatures but no frogs or toads as yet. We have drilled a hole through the fences large enough for them to crawl through.

Hope you like the photos. I have also dug out a larger bed to put more roses in (late flowering ones).

Davesnave

Flickr are no longer allowing people to see photos without signing-up.
Plenty of alternatives though, like https://imgbb.com/

Farway

Envious of the giant thistle, always fancied growing one but space is the problem.

Echo Dave's comment about Flickr, I'm unable to see the images because i do not want to sign up to Yahoo

Davesnave

Farway wrote: »

Envious of the giant thistle, always fancied growing one but space is the problem.

Echo Dave's comment about Flickr, I'm unable to see the images because i do not want to sign up to Yahoo

....And I have a Yahoo account, but when I sign in, all I get is me! Like Photobucket, they've become next to useless, it seems.


Watch out for the giant thistle. We had one in a rental in 1981 and they were still getting seedlings in the 90s!

malebolge

Farway wrote: »

Envious of the giant thistle, always fancied growing one but space is the problem.

Echo Dave's comment about Flickr, I'm unable to see the images because i do not want to sign up to Yahoo

Snap with Flickr, so not exactly sure what the giant thistle looks like, but if you like ornamental thistles, how about Eryngium planum Blue Hobbit. When she was a teen, my daughter used to laugh at me and her dad, both keen gardeners, and say when she had a house she would flag everywhere and plant a thistle in the middle. Times change, and she now has a house (on her own) and has taken up gardening with passion, if not too much skill as yet. Her dad died the year before she decided to 'have a proper garden' so as a little memory of her dad and how we used to laugh at her. I bought her some of these plants. They're a striking shade of blue, have proved hardy (this is a girl who can kill mint) and are compact. They're her favourite flowers. https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/248909/Eryngium-planum-Blue-Hobbit/Details

Davesnave

Pictures of Onopordum acanthioum, which is what I presume it is, are usually without much sense of scale. Ours was about 7'-8' tall.


We used to sell them, so I expect there are a few people who would curse us if they knew the origin of those seedlings they have popping-up!


Another thistle-like plant we sold was Morina longifolia. Beautiful when in flower, but hard to keep, and much like any thistle most of the time.


http://www.bethchatto.co.uk/i-n/morina/morina-longifolia.htm

Farway

malebolge wrote: »

Snap with Flickr, so not exactly sure what the giant thistle looks like, but if you like ornamental thistles, how about Eryngium planum Blue Hobbit. .... I bought her some of these plants. They're a striking shade of blue, have proved hardy (this is a girl who can kill mint) and are compact. They're her favourite flowers. https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/248909/Eryngium-planum-Blue-Hobbit/Details

Ok, now I know you're taking the mickey, I've tried growing "sea holy" for decades, buy it, dies, try again, ditto, repeat forever

I've liked them from when I first came across them in the mid 1960s. I've come to the conclusion that they are not for me, hence my giant thistle fetish. I tried to mimic using gllobe artickes, and failed that as well

Now I just walk quickly by whenever I go to RHS Wisley and see them all thriving, then I console myself by looking at the holes in their cabbage & hosta leaves:)

IAAM

Butterfliesarepretty - Some things in life are just serendipitous!

I was just about to start a new post when I saw yours :-). I've just bought a brand new house with turf everywhere, but no flowers - and your garden sounds beautiful!! (Shame I can't see the photos)

I'm a complete newbie when it comes to gardening but your description of your garden is exactly what I was hoping for in mine! :-)

I planted lavender some weeks ago and it's taken really well (and the bees seem to love it). With that little success under my belt, I then planted a climbing rose which is also doing well.

With the other plants you've mention (poppies, daisies, hollyhock, clematis, thistle etc), can I ask how you worked out where to plant them?

I knew instinctively where to plant my lavender and rose but am now at a standstill as I don't know what to plant where.

Are there any tips you're happy to give me? :-)