Garden Matters...
I made another attempt to buy tomatoes again. The discount supermarket was still without them(suspect they've lost a fair amount of business on that lost item)Tesco's did not let me down and price wise were close to the price I would've paid had they had them in stock.
Handy that the stores are close to each other.
However, I have six evergreen shrubs. Some the leaves will be green or change colour throughout the year and others will flower for a few months.
Coming home I am thinking three of the shrubs will go against the wall my neighbours put in the front garden when they moved in. In front/between the shrubs I am thinking clumps of bulbs...Daffodils, Tulips, Snowdrops and Crocuses. When the bulbs die down, I will try and plant Summer bedding plants next year.
I will look at the bulbs already in the garden as they flower and decide which have come to the end of their lives and perhaps divide the rest and replant them once more.
Between now and Thursday I plan to cut the front lawn and hedge too. Then look at the flower containers. I'm thinking Pansies, Chrysanthemums, Cyclamens, Dianthus and a variety of bulbs that I hope will come up after I move those plants from the tubs or I'll move them as the bulbs break through.
I could therefore need more bulbs and shrubs for the back garden if I am using them in the front garden and in containers.
I think pulling the front garden into shape is my priority as that's what people see, its smaller and easier to sort out.
Shrubs are going to be planted around the back garden against the fences(after I paint/replace broken panels)they will give protection for birds and the fencing and being evergreens I will have some colour across the year. I can accept the loss of my aged trees then. I think I shall follow the same plan for the rockery and border(I'll create it again)with bulbs etc...and at the very back a bit of a Cottage Garden that will be a bit wilder for the insects(bees/butterflies)
Handy that the stores are close to each other.
However, I have six evergreen shrubs. Some the leaves will be green or change colour throughout the year and others will flower for a few months.
Coming home I am thinking three of the shrubs will go against the wall my neighbours put in the front garden when they moved in. In front/between the shrubs I am thinking clumps of bulbs...Daffodils, Tulips, Snowdrops and Crocuses. When the bulbs die down, I will try and plant Summer bedding plants next year.
I will look at the bulbs already in the garden as they flower and decide which have come to the end of their lives and perhaps divide the rest and replant them once more.
Between now and Thursday I plan to cut the front lawn and hedge too. Then look at the flower containers. I'm thinking Pansies, Chrysanthemums, Cyclamens, Dianthus and a variety of bulbs that I hope will come up after I move those plants from the tubs or I'll move them as the bulbs break through.
I could therefore need more bulbs and shrubs for the back garden if I am using them in the front garden and in containers.
I think pulling the front garden into shape is my priority as that's what people see, its smaller and easier to sort out.
Shrubs are going to be planted around the back garden against the fences(after I paint/replace broken panels)they will give protection for birds and the fencing and being evergreens I will have some colour across the year. I can accept the loss of my aged trees then. I think I shall follow the same plan for the rockery and border(I'll create it again)with bulbs etc...and at the very back a bit of a Cottage Garden that will be a bit wilder for the insects(bees/butterflies)
posted by The Great Gildersleeve | 6:41 pm
9 Comments:
When I moved into my bungalow seven years ago, I put up a panel fence in the back garden as there was none, and planted laurel bushes in front of the fence. It's taken a while but now I have a nice evergreen screen that's the height of the fence and that looks so good during dull winter days when so much is bare. :)
A-L
I'm wide awake now(had a snooze)I realise that another shrub I thought I had(I did not buy)so back tomorrow to see if one is still there. Made some ham and salad baps but can only manage one. I'll box the rest away to have later. I have had coffee. :-)
The Latin names mean little to me(perhaps you)but those I have are Camellia(White Flowers)Pierus(Forrest Flame)Azalia(Pink Flowers)Photinia(Red Robin)Escallonia(Red Eve)Euboymus(Emerald and Gold)
See if you can find a Pyrocanthus shrub - they have gorgeous red berries throughout the winter, and those are a good food source for the wild birds. Plant South-facing against a fence or wall, and you'll have a blaze of red berries as it matures. :)
Also try and find a Skymmia - keep that in a container, they have berries right through till spring and then flowers, and are very hardy. Will last for years. :)
A-L
I may have to spend more and take a look in a garden centre to see if I can find the shrubs you mention. Having said that I think the local Tesco's happens to have a Skymmia and/or a Pyrocanthus. But though you sometimes have to pay a decent price for quality, I think these cost around £8. I've been paying £1.89.
Yes, our Tesco have those £8 Pyrocanthus - if I was you, I'd invest in one. They are very nice, and have been pruned and trained against a wooden framework, all ready for you to plant against a wall or fence. :) You will have then year-round greenery, nice blossoms in the spring and lovely red or yellow berries in the winter, and they do grow larger - well worth £8. Better than buying a load of winter bedding plants for the same price, and them dying after one season. :)
A-L
I have a Skimmia :-) Cost me £3 A Pyracantha(orange berries)A Lavatera(Pinky/purple flowers)Pieras(Mountain Fire)Aucuba(Variegated)All £1.89 and an Osmanthus for £4.
I actually thought that I'd purchased a Pyrocanthus as you mentioned earlier(but I haven't)There is one in Tesco's and it is quite expensive but so be it I'll get it.
Then I only have the wall flowers and pansies to buy.
I'll tootle off first thing in the morning for that shrub. I think it will still be there(not likely they'll disappear overnight)
Shrubs with leaves that change colour/stay green I will use in the small(and it is small front garden)against the neighbours wall.
The mainly flower and berry/fruit types will go in the back garden.
Tubs/hanging baskets/borders with bedding plants/bulbs at the front for colour and its what is seen most by neighbours. Easiest to keep on top of.
17 shrubs in total. That's 14 in the back garden and 3 in the front. The back garden can take them. Its big enough. And if I can prune them correctly it will be easier now that I have the proper cutters.
Pyrocanthus love south-facing fences/walls best. :)
I'm getting one of those £8 ones too, as I have a gap against a fence to fill. :)
Do get these shrubs in the ground asap, before frost strikes, as you will want them to be established.
A-L
Even if the grass needs cutting. Fences painting. Weeds killing. Bulbs planting. I will concentrate on the shrubs. Being so young and low down initially I will still be able to do all these tasks.
I purchased another couple of shrubs today(trying to save one that's in a sorry state)but the shop has marked my receipt saying that its looking sorry and if it dies)I get my money back. They are Cistus(Alan Fradd)and Camellia(red)
The neighbours wall at the front and the fence they put up at the back don't need any work doing to them. So perhaps this weekend I'll start putting them in place.
Most of the year the sun is high in the Sky and it reaches most of the garden either side of the house.
We get the sun for most of the morning until Noon in the back garden and then it is at the front of the house from 1pm until sunset.
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