Blank Canvass Garden - Design Inspiration Needed

Humboldt

Hi @Working_Mum, I have just found and read your entire thread whilst enjoying my morning cuppa, and what a joy it is.  Having only recently retired, I now have time to refresh our house and garden.  Your thread is such an inspiration.  I have taken lots of notes for consideration when I begin work on redesigning the borders in our back garden (redecorating the downstairs rooms in the house has taken priority at the mo). I love your sustainable approach and the overall look of your fabulous garden.  Thanks also to all those who have contributed to your thread, and provided me with so many ideas. 

My borders currently look at their best in Spring/Summer, and it is my hope to add more all year round interest.  I tend to use perennials and grasses that cost little (generally gifted from friends gardens, and/or bought at car boot sales), and require minimal maintenance.  I would like to add more cover for the birds i.e. shrubs, and some summer/autumn bulbs.  I can then add a few annuals in pots for the odd pop of seasonal colour and interest.  

On a personal note, thanks for supporting my own thread.  Much appreciated. 

Working_Mum

Thank you for your comments everyone, definitely food for thought. This is such a kind area of the Forum; I love it

I adore ferns DFW321 - I seem to recall the best quality I have bought in recent years have been from M0rries SM - but basically I buy them small whenever I can and dig them in!

The Astibles look interesting Pastpur and I wouldn't have thought they'd do well in the shade! They're on the list for a closer investigation when I hit the GC with my birthday gift-card of £50 from my son!

Friends bought me purple/ pinky coloured primulas for my birthday Slinky - they're still in their pots and going great guns. I plan to dig them into the garden when they die back (along with some daffs, cyclamen and hyacinths I was gifted). I also bought a tray of 8 burned orange colour primroses at the end of last year and never got them dug into my garden they're thriving so they'll be in the ground before too long. Not this weekend though as I am away celebrating a friend's 40th!

Welcome Humboldt! I follow your thread with interest - you seem to pack so much in to your newly retired life - sounds great in so many ways. My plans to retire and travel have been put on the back burner as my Mum has dementia and whilst she is still coping ok at home my sister and I need to keep an eye on her. I'm lucky to be self employed so can work from anywhere. Good luck with your garden rejuvenation. 

The RHS website is such a good shout -taff - I'd forgotten about them to be honest. I have so many tabs open which are my initial searches about plants etc. I need to transcribe notes for my folder but feel like maybe I have too many open I like heucheras and planted some up last year - they seems to have returned but not as full on as last year. Will watch and see.....

I definitely intend to sit and enjoy my garden 2P! Over the weekend I sat on the patio and enjoyed sitting in the sunshine and listened to the birds tweeting - it was lovely. It seemed so much louder than last year for some reason. At this time of year it is too easy to be focussed on the works which needs doing rather than actually enjoying it isn't it.

My little wander down there this morning, to refill the bird feeders, showed me that the alliums seems to have popped up since the weekend - no big bursts of colour yet but they're definitely getting ready! I adore alliums so can't wait! My poor wisteria on the other hand is definitely not happy so think I may have to bite the bullet and dig him out and try him in a pot - he's hardly grown in the almost 5 years he's been in Gutting as my neighbour has one on the same orientation and it grows like topsy!

Thanks for popping by everyone, wishing you all a fab weekend,

((WM))

Farway

Working_Mum said:

 My poor wisteria on the other hand is definitely not happy so think I may have to bite the bullet and dig him out and try him in a pot - he's hardly grown in the almost 5 years he's nee in Gutting as my neighbour has one on the same orientation and it grows like topsy!

It may be your wisteria itself & not the location of it

Do you know it's history / background?

Some are grown, and sold, from seeds, or cuttings, others are named & grafted

Seed sown ones are nearly always unpredictable, and cuttings can take years to flower. Which is why the advice is to buy a named, grafted, one from a known good source.

Maybe when hitting GC you can spot one? Should be in flower around now, so you will get a good indication.

Slinky

Heucheras can be a bit particular as to the light levels they receive, as I've discovered. I had a lovely light green one (Lime Marmalade) which did really well in the wet weather we had last year, until we finally got some sunshine, there was too much light and it died.  Its neighbour, Soda Cherry Cola (just had to buy it for the name), which is a dark pinky orange, is thriving about a foot away.  I've bought a replacement light green one, unnamed from B&M for a fiver, and put it in a less bright position in the back garden. Fingers crossed I have better luck with this one. It seems OK at the moment, but it could get a bit too much sun as the days lengthen and there is less shade from the fence.

I've just put an order in for bare root perenials from Farmer Gracy. They took a while to get going last year, but having seen how much the equivalent in pots cost in the garden centre across the road, I've decided to try again this year. Most of what I bought last year survives, and is looking a lot better this year. Patience can save a fair amount of money.

Humboldt

Thanks @Working_Mum. Sorry to read about your mum, sadly we had a similar situation with my FIL.  A difficult situation for all concerned.  Gardening is the perfect way to gain some calm within the storm.

Working_Mum

Good morning everyone,
I've had a little wander down my garden this morning, after I'd walked my dog, and it was buzzing with life!

This is a picture of my cut flower bed - I was so pleased to see so many friends I had dug in or planted last year returning. My cut flower bed has stocks and foxgloves peeping their heads out, the alliums are starting to flower and my roses are going great guns with lots of buds ready to flower; I loved being down there and felt sad to be having to start work!



I spent the birthday gift voucher my son had bought me at the weekend - I bought 3 smallish ferns, two bleeding hearts, a variegated bush I can't remember the name of and two packets of Nerine's. I also bought 3 x tumbling tomatoes as I had a spare hanging basket, some carrots and beetroot seedlings - all now planted up and in my growing area. I also bought some pansies and the like for a pot and a hanging basket. My friend also gifted me two Camellia's (she loves flowers and thinks these aren't showy enough!) at the weekend and two euphorbia's last night. I planted one of the Camellias and the variegated bush by my compost heap - it's dappled and shady there so I'm hoping they'll be ok.



This is the view down my shady border - I have to plant small pots in this area as the cherry tree from next door has roots all over this area and close to the surface. My daughter brought home two bags of compost she'd picked up on Fr33cycle in Liverpool on a recent visit - it was home-made and rich and quite lovely so I scattered it in the bed and the plants seems to love it! I sent back the bags with a thank you gift of a bag of Nerine bulbs.



Last year I'd planted a few dark leaved shrubs in my forest-y area at the bottom of the garden, as I thought they'd add a bit of interest - I think this is some kind of Wagelia? I planted a couple of the lighter green variegated ones too and they are also flowering at the moment.





This weekend I have got a second Camellia to find a space for along with the two Euphorbias my friend gave me - does anyone know how to keep them at a sensible level and not take over a space? I need to investigate!

There are also a couple of big unidentified plants I need to g00glelense and see if they're weed or if they are worth keeping - looks like I have a big blue raspberry growing by my compost bin but not sure if it's worth keeping! I also need to split a few plants - day lillies, Goldenrod and a purply coloured daisy type I don't know the name of yet!

I hope everyone is well and enjoying their gardens.

((WM))

Humboldt

Really enjoyed your garden update @Working_Mum.  Returning the empty compost bags with the bulbs was such a kind thought.  

-taff

Also loving the updates. Also because it's giving me ideas. I like seeing no earth, which is not to say I've managed it in mine [front garden, back garden is bombsite] and I like seeing how you've done it. Love the odd stepping stone bits in yours. Is there a way you can raise the earth where the cherry tree roots are? Or just in the odd area..

What is that behind your elderberry on the leftish? Is that a mix of jack in the hedge and borage under your weigela? I like how you've left stuff spill too...

And I completely understand why you don't want to go to work!

Slinky

-taff said:

 Is that a mix of jack in the hedge and borage under your weigela? I like how you've left stuff spill too...

To me looks like Garlic Mustard (jack in the hedge) on the right (smelly weed that I pull out as it gets everywhere), and the other is either Comfrey, Alkanet or Foxglove. We have all 3 and to me they look very similar when young. I'm having to chop the alkanet back as although the bees love it, it's getting a bit out of hand in our garden and I certainly don't want it self seeding again as I'm pulling up loads of seedlings which will completely take over if given half a chance.

Working_Mum

-taff said:

Also loving the updates. Also because it's giving me ideas. I like seeing no earth, which is not to say I've managed it in mine [front garden, back garden is bombsite] and I like seeing how you've done it. Love the odd stepping stone bits in yours. Is there a way you can raise the earth where the cherry tree roots are? Or just in the odd area..

What is that behind your elderberry on the leftish? Is that a mix of jack in the hedge and borage under your weigela? I like how you've left stuff spill too...

And I completely understand why you don't want to go to work!

Thanks -taff I realise that I don't really like to see the soil so stuff my borders full as some kind of weed suppression strategy! I have lots of a tall weed which self seeds like mad - it is tall with thinnish leaves and get the most gorgeous purple flowers on it and the bees go mad for it - so I let that self seed everywhere and then pull it out when it gets too big.

I thought I had foxgloves growing in the forest-y area of my garden - but they could be borage! I know they're not teasels as I can identify those now! I didn't know about Jack in the hedge, but do now , and I DEFINITELY have that in various areas of my garden. I hoik out any non-flowering weeds on the whole - I should take some pics of ones I need to ID and google-lense them. The pollinators tend to go for any flowers regardless of whether we think they're a weed or not so I leave them in!

I have a bit of a problem here and there with couch grass so do spend time trying to get that under control / eradicated! It's so blooming strong isn't it.

I think I am raising the level of the borders unconsciously -taff!! I added bags and bags of YBE's wall footing soil from last year in the forest-y bit of my garden as I lost about a foot of height by the time I'd removed the gravel and broken tiles form that area. I mulched all the leaves into the shady border and cut flower bed and covered with rotten horse manure too - I think I need to keep doing it for a few years yet!

I was meeting myself coming back at the weekend in non related gardening activities! Sea swim on Saturday after which I fell asleep in my garden listening to the birds and a beach sauna on Sunday before taking Mum to a VE Day event in her village. So sadly I didn't get any real gardening done. My ruthless plant culling friend has dropped off a Magnolia Stellata to me which has prompted me to seriously think about digging a new bed into the lawn to accommodate it. I think it's a bushier one and quite delicate so may make a nice centre piece with other stuff around.

Wishing everyone a lovely day, thank you for joining me on this little journey - I love that I am now learning names of everything in my garden!

((WM))