0 comment Saturday, October 18, 2014 | admin
i have been eyeing my back garden of late, less with a feeling of vain hope and more with a sense of actual possibility. It just seems such a daunting bit of work, so overwhelming that I wasn't sure I could possibly get anything done with it this year, but things begin to fall into place. At the same time, I get some idea of what I'd like to do, and how to do it.
The garden is east-facing, with significant shade on the right hand side from a rather out-of-control snowberry hedge, brambles and a massive apple tree next door. I wouldn't mind the bramble so much if it wasn't so invasive (I certainly enjoy the blackberry addition to the windfall apples and have made many a crumble this autumn). I will more than likely need to rip the stuff out regardless and gather our berries nearby instead, which is no horrible thing. However this means I have a very large bit of very uneven ground which I have debated returfing, or doing something with it - the same with out in the front which is mostly in shade and seems only to grow moss but for the extreme right.
Indeed, I considered returfing the whole garden due to its uneven nature which is rather dangerous to walk on - this of course is exceedingly expensive. Now...hm. Now I'm not so sure. There has to be some kind of plant I could put in full shade, in the lower part of the garden which will get a bit damp and wouldn't get too damaged by apples falling down a fair bit. Ferns would be the obvious choice, but I'm trying to figure out what might work other than that - not be poisonous to my son, and also allow for a bit of ground cover as it would be one of those areas that I probably couldn't tend overmuch - or maybe I could if I raised it a bit off the ground.
Hm...I'm going to have a think on't. I was going to cram the whole left hand side which actually receives a fair bit of sun with just about whatever I could manage to get in; raised beds with fruit and veg, cut flowers, plants which basically earn their keep and either feed us or delight the senses. This however meant the right hand side would have been rather boring and neglected. Instead of the sunken depression (the garden, not me, entirely), I'm beginning to see ideas for a bed with a bit more interest. Hostas, ferns, periwinkle and may even the british speciality, bluebells.
Plans for sprog to have a wee house of his own are coming into shape, as well as various flower beds which each have their own bit of interest; for eating, for cutting, for smell, for colour. On top of this, it all has to be somewhat easy to maintain. I love dahlias, begonias and freesias, but if I have to lift the corms and tubers every year to protect them from frost then at the very least I'd like to put them all in one place, and waist height, for my own economy of movement. The strawberries need moving as the bed they're in just isn't working for them, but space is an issue, so some investment in strawberry "towers" will be occuring in the new year.
Plots and plans for better stairs for my somewhat iffy balance, paving, and substrate for the side area where I barbecue and hope to have a tiny lean-to greenhouse is in the works.
Is it "horticulturally approved"; are plants in the right grouping aesthetically? Will everything match? Will the soil be exactly right? Will the lawn be straight and luxurious? To be honest I have no clue. All I really care about is that my son loves going out there and he enjoys it. The rest is a bonus.
The garden is east-facing, with significant shade on the right hand side from a rather out-of-control snowberry hedge, brambles and a massive apple tree next door. I wouldn't mind the bramble so much if it wasn't so invasive (I certainly enjoy the blackberry addition to the windfall apples and have made many a crumble this autumn). I will more than likely need to rip the stuff out regardless and gather our berries nearby instead, which is no horrible thing. However this means I have a very large bit of very uneven ground which I have debated returfing, or doing something with it - the same with out in the front which is mostly in shade and seems only to grow moss but for the extreme right.
Indeed, I considered returfing the whole garden due to its uneven nature which is rather dangerous to walk on - this of course is exceedingly expensive. Now...hm. Now I'm not so sure. There has to be some kind of plant I could put in full shade, in the lower part of the garden which will get a bit damp and wouldn't get too damaged by apples falling down a fair bit. Ferns would be the obvious choice, but I'm trying to figure out what might work other than that - not be poisonous to my son, and also allow for a bit of ground cover as it would be one of those areas that I probably couldn't tend overmuch - or maybe I could if I raised it a bit off the ground.
Hm...I'm going to have a think on't. I was going to cram the whole left hand side which actually receives a fair bit of sun with just about whatever I could manage to get in; raised beds with fruit and veg, cut flowers, plants which basically earn their keep and either feed us or delight the senses. This however meant the right hand side would have been rather boring and neglected. Instead of the sunken depression (the garden, not me, entirely), I'm beginning to see ideas for a bed with a bit more interest. Hostas, ferns, periwinkle and may even the british speciality, bluebells.
Plans for sprog to have a wee house of his own are coming into shape, as well as various flower beds which each have their own bit of interest; for eating, for cutting, for smell, for colour. On top of this, it all has to be somewhat easy to maintain. I love dahlias, begonias and freesias, but if I have to lift the corms and tubers every year to protect them from frost then at the very least I'd like to put them all in one place, and waist height, for my own economy of movement. The strawberries need moving as the bed they're in just isn't working for them, but space is an issue, so some investment in strawberry "towers" will be occuring in the new year.
Plots and plans for better stairs for my somewhat iffy balance, paving, and substrate for the side area where I barbecue and hope to have a tiny lean-to greenhouse is in the works.
Is it "horticulturally approved"; are plants in the right grouping aesthetically? Will everything match? Will the soil be exactly right? Will the lawn be straight and luxurious? To be honest I have no clue. All I really care about is that my son loves going out there and he enjoys it. The rest is a bonus.
Labels: Garden