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oldjerry wrote:anyhow organization smacks of control.

Fantastic! The motto I have been looking for all my life

oldjerry wrote:anyhow organization smacks of control.

Ah, there'll be no controlling here, this is a bottom-up grass-roots garden ;-). I like the sound of a potager. I had to google it, but it does look a good idea.

I've organised someone to come and do my fencing. ££££££££££££££! ££££££££££!!!! £££££££££!!! Good God! (I did get multiple quotes). I think I'm stuck with fencing in the bit that's being fenced but we're replacing some of it with a hedge, so next week I shall be stuck in digging. I've got some holly bushes where the hedge will go, so, what I'm thinking (look, don't read this, I'm even boring myself), is, I will plant hedging plants inbetween and trim the holly down to a hedge-size. That way I will have a thrilling hedge made of blended plants and also, I won't get holly stabbing me in the backside every time I get out of the car. This is a win-win situation .

Susie wrote:(look, don't read this, I'm even boring myself)

Oh OK then.

I've just been looking at the front garden with my other half. I was telling him that when the man had been this weekend to dig out and remove the damaged hedge I was going to plant a new one.

OH (in horror): Why? Why would you do that yourself?
Me (confused): Because it's cheaper than paying someone to do it and it won't take long.
OH (patiently): You won't be able to put a hedge in. Hedges are great big things! Look! (Points at damaged hedge).
Thoughtful pause.
Me: But, when I buy the new hedge, it will be small.
OH (thoughtfully, as if it was a new realisation): I suppose hedges grow.
Me: Yes, yes they do.

You see what I'm dealing with?

lol

you could consider planting some bay in that hedge.. then with the holly it will be evergreen, and you can use the bay in cooking and thingymas decs etc

i think the thing with gardening is you should concentrate on the things that work for you. and what makes it work is a combination of what you are like and what your garden conditions are like.

i think the thing is to try a variety of things, then the next year, do more of the things that worked, and just experiment with the things that dont.

i also think its a lot easier if you can start things off indoors. say courgettes - technically you can plant them directly into the soil.. but really theres no point, the slugs will be along and demolish them before you have even noticed it. if you grow them in a pot on the windowsill they can get to a decent size with nice spikey anti slug leaves, then you put it out and and love it up a bit

Susie wrote:


You see what I'm dealing with?

Do you suppose he's realtedto my OH?

Well, I am planning on being a crap gardener today, got a pile of horse pooh in the truck, ready to mulch!

Oh thats so exciting, I love a bit of muck in my day, quite envious (mind I did spot the farmer loading up a trailer of much earlier, was going to stalk him...)

When I was little my parents used to follow horses round in the car with a shovel so we could get free manure. That was a day out for us. And they wonder why I turned out peculiar. . (Not very eco though because of the car).

Bumping this thread because I'm at the ordering plants stage and then after I get my fencing done next week I can dig over my borders and start planting! OMG!!! And I just had a quick question:

In the front I have two big holly bushes which I'm cutting right down to make a hedge and planting other hedging plants in between them to make the hedge hedge-shaped (I know we all probably want to move on emotionally from my hedge , pls bear with me a bit longer!). The bit where I'm planting them is east facing and gets the sun in the morning but not the pm. I have clay soil (so people tell me). Before I get excited, can anyone think of a reason why I couldn't plant rose bushes to make a rose/ holly hedge? (You can get hedging varieties or so it says on the website). I can cope with some uncertainty but I don't want to doom them to instant death if there's something I've not considered!

(I have also discovered that a strange plant I get in the back garden is called mare's tail and it is Very Bad :-(. However my friend tells me she used to have Japanese Knotweed in a house in central Cambridge and this is much worse. So now I am nervous that it is slowly making its way towards my garden in some unexpected subterranean way, and will pop up like that plant that says Feed Me Seymore).

I think marestail is far worse than japanese knotweed. I have both... the JK is not spreading, but marestail is everywhere... you have to get EVERY bit of black root out of the soil and burn it. ISTR it suddenly pops up some time in May, just when you think things are going well, and you don't want to disturb your plants and seedlings too much... so you can't fork it over to get the roots out.. so it comes back every year !

The JK just lives under the apple tree and I hack it down once a year.

Have a look at Rosa Rugosa,it's native,good hedging,and will grow in most soil type.Plant now bare root (much cheaper),if your local nursery doesn't do it(not Garden centre) there are loads online that will supply,and bareroot means cheaper carriage.

The mares tail is something else......it's a prehistoric pain in the arse............(now if that aint an open goal....)

I am torn between horror and pride at having something in my garden which is worse than Japanese Knotweed. (Goes to look on Rightmove, thoughtfully).

I don't think we have a local nursery, I will google. We mostly have the type of garden centres which have tearooms and scented candles. And water features in the shape of elephants. And Windchimes. I have googled rosa rugosa and it looks very pretty, I have found someone who does bare roots online and I am going to order at the weekend. !!!!!!! It seems very cheap but perhaps my perspective is skewed after having to become immersed in the cost of fencing.

Also

oldjerry wrote:(now if that aint an open goal....)

Yes. Way too easy ;-). But, you know, there's a place for prehistoric pains in the arse as well ;-).

Prepare a trench for the rose hedging as you order it,then it wont be hanging around.2 spits wide and 1 deep,and if your soils really crap dig in a bit of compost ,rotted manure,spent mushroom compost,leaf mould ..whatever. For a strong hedge, in the dug soil/medium 2 rows 14'' apart, 18'' between plants,plant in staggered rows.If they're dry when they arrive (after phoning to complain)dunk them in a bucket of water for a few hrs.(roots down).
Don't plant if the grounds frozen,(refer to previous thread for storing).After planting water in well and mulch with,something,compost,leafmoulf straw even grasscuttings at a push.

Cant think of anything else,but I've probably forgotten something, Good Luck.