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The gardening thread

ringo

ringo

Macaroni cheese controller
We don't seem to have a thread for general gardening, the kitchen garden and questions threads are bit specific.

What are you doing in your garden at the mo? Flooded and hoping for the best or planning the year ahead?

If I have time I'll get some chillis on the go soon.

I'm continuing with my Japanese and Chinese themed back garden and have got a couple of new big plants to put in which I'll put smaller stuff in front of once they're in and growing. I'm putting in a bamboo hedge of different species along the back wall, and a massive one blocking the sight line from the back of my house to the opposite neighbours curtainless dining room window. Most will continue to be small plants which I'll grow big myself, hopefully.

A courier just called me to tell me that he's dropped off the Japanese Phyllostachys nigra Henonis, which should reach a wopping 6m:
phyllostachys%20nigra%20henonis%202.jpg


The monster along my side wall to hide the neighbours should come next week, a massive yellow bamboo which could go 8 metres -
Phyllostachys Vivax Aureocaulis
Phyllostachys%20vivax%20aureo.JPG
 
going fenland here. Just waiting for anopheles to show up and lay waste to my ward.

My silver birch sapling is struggling on manfully. Or treefully. However you'd say that.
 
Plans are

  1. Get rid of a whole bunch of junk left by previous owners. Will need a skip for that.
  2. Rotivate the lawn and level it, then plant a mixed grass/clover covering.
  3. Clear some beds for wildflowers and perennials. Basically we want a nice garden that takes the minimum amount of time to maintain.
 
The little prunus mume beni-chidori I planted last year has gone into flower, looking beautiful already :cool:
y6e3aqes.jpg
 
TruXta said:
Clear some beds for wildflowers and perennials. Basically we want a nice garden that takes the minimum amount of time to maintain.
Click to expand...

I had a similar idea for my front garden, but went for tropical plants. Did most of it last spring so its looking alright, but need to find a couple more plants to fill the gaps and could do with another couple of sacks of bark to keep the weeds at bay. I'm too lazy to weed very often.
 
ringo said:
I had a similar idea for my front garden, but went for tropical plants. Did most of it last spring so its looking alright, but need to find a couple more plants to fill the gaps and could do with another couple of sacks of bark to keep the weeds at bay. I'm too lazy to weed very often.
Click to expand...
Can't you put down some of those mats that cover the soil where you don't want anything growing? I can't remember the term for them - my parent's got them in their garden, they've got bark over them. Easy and looks decent.
 
e7umetav.jpg

First layer of plants in the pots next to the front step have come out :)

They are wired as they are all cracked- I found them buried under some junk in the back garden, wired them together and planted them. I layered the planting so something should be up and in flower all year round once they are established. Cyclamen and hellebore are flowering now, and the spring bulbs are starting to come through.

E2a DotCommunist we put membrane under the gravel, but we don't plan to replace it as it'll last long enough to supress a couple of weed life cycles so most will die out. We'll just hand pick the strays after that
 
Last edited:
ringo said:
The black bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra) I bought in the Autumn is still looking a bit sorry for itself, I guess it won't start growing for another month or two, but it should look like this eventually:
black_bamboo.jpg
Click to expand...
That's gorgeous. I'm avoiding bamboo as it's so prolific, and our garden isn't big enough, but I love it
 
Manter said:
That's gorgeous. I'm avoiding bamboo as it's so prolific, and our garden isn't big enough, but I love it
Click to expand...

Bamboo does well in pots :)

We're just playing the waiting game atm, seeing what will come up again this year.
This summer's major project will be laying a new patio outside the back door, and perhaps thinking about some decking further down the garden where we can enjoy the evening sun.
 
TruXta said:
Can't you put down some of those mats that cover the soil where you don't want anything growing? I can't remember the term for them - my parent's got them in their garden, they've got bark over them. Easy and looks decent.
Click to expand...

I don't fancy them, they look a bit plastic and sterile. Bark seems a bit more natural and rots down to feed the plants, so kills two dogs with one bone as I'm also too lazy to feed plants.
 
Manter said:
That's gorgeous. I'm avoiding bamboo as it's so prolific, and our garden isn't big enough, but I love it
Click to expand...

So far I've only gone for clumping varieties for that reason. I might consider a running type to help with the bamboo hedge but I'd put one of those rhizome barriers down to control the direction it spreads.
 
This thread needs more pics

garden 1.jpg

This is the new bed we put in a year or so ago. I'm trying to stick to plants with white flowers for this bit, hoping it's going to really take shape this year.
The wall to the left is the garage and behind it is where I'd like to put some kind of seating area (decking?) this year.
 
I dont really know what to do with my garden, too busy trying to sort stuff in the house. I do like gardening though and would like it to be a better space than it is currently. There is a metric tonne of junk at the bottom of the garden though that needs taking to the dump and the apple tree needs lopping but Im to scared to try it myself and cant really afford to get someone in to do it at the moment. Think its also the wrong time of year for fruit tree pruning?
 
Got all excited about plants and bored of work so have just ordered:

9cm Musa basjoo for £5. I killed my last banana plant through neglect so must do better with this one. Going to start it off indoors but its relatively hardy so it might make it out the front eventually:

musa_basjoo.jpg


Tiny Acer Palmatum Atropurpureum (Purple Japanese Maple) on Ebay for £8:

WSY0039102_5536.jpg


Equisetum japonicum (Japanese horsetail) on Ebay for £7:

equisetum%20004_L.jpg
 
I just remembered that I'd promised myself we'd get a palm tree. We had a massive one in Brixton, was easily 15 ft tall and easily survived prolonged periods of frost and drought. Any ideas for which species is a good bet for a London garden?
 
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