Gardeners' Chat

[MmePoppySeedDefage]

Chat. For gardeners. About gardening, but we can go off piste and chat about things like non-gardening clothes, or food or whatever, without being told off

I went to Hampton Court in 2021, so still a bit post pandemic, but definitely quieter than Chelsea. The crowds at Chelsea are at their thickest around the main show gardens and there isn’t that size of garden at Hampton Court so perhaps people are spread out more. On the other hand you can buy plants at Hampton Court which means lots of people pulling wheeled shopping trolleys around with them which take up a lot of space.

A few months ago, our behind (?) neighbour had her big copper beech hedge between us lowered to a less oppressive height. It looks shit because she's never properly maintained it as a hedge, so when we look at it from our upstairs windows, the top of it looks like a series of beheaded trunks. But anyway, doesn't really matter to us as we can't see it when we're in our garden.

But the lowered hedge means we can really see into her garden now (from DCs' bedrooms). She's really not a gardener. In past summers I've tamed ivy and battled bindweed coming from under her fence. This year, I can see there's a new invasion incoming - her entire garden is overtaken with mare's tails. Even what the DC call her "dandelawn" is mostly mare's tails.

I shall grit my teeth and prepare my secateurs...

@IcakethereforeIam , the Autumn Show has moved to Newby Hall. Thanks @Kucinghitam , I didn’t know about that

the top of it looks like a series of beheaded trunks. If she’s had it done properly, the cut will have been done 6 to 12 inches below the desired height, so regrowth will conceal the cut trunks.

But the lowered hedge means we can really see into her garden now (from DCs' bedrooms) There aren’t many houses which aren’t overlooked by neighbours’ bedrooms

Sorry to hear about your neighbour's garden, Kuc, horsetail is an absolute pain to get rid of and even if you're determined it can take years.

The problem weed in one client's garden has been bamboo coming in from next door. It started to spread under the patio and was making for the house so I talked to the neighbours and we joined forces to get rid of it. Fortunately, it seems to be working, but it's taken a couple of years of digging and regular spraying. Next on the list in that garden is ground elder. Sigh.

@MmePoppySeedDefage Thanks for starting such a fun thread. I did rather jump in without introducing myself as I was excited to discuss Chelsea. I’ll try to rectify that now. I’ve got a couple of acres of English country garden divided into different’rooms’. It’s still a work in progress after 10 years as I’ve done it all myself. I’m out there gardening for several hours each day and I think I may be addicted 😆
I don’t want to bore you all but I will post pictures if requested!

@notanicepersonapparently yes please I'd love to see pictures!

I have a tricky area in the garden which I'm reclaiming. For many years it's been awash with nettles, brambles and bindweed. I keep clearing it - in between other jobs - but keep ending up with not enough time to maintain it properly so it reverts and I have to begin all over again. This time, I've got one patch I'm being very determined with. I'm trying to confine the nettles to a swathe along the edge, as butterflies like them. Then I've got some dug over earth and some manky bits around some raised beds, I've planted a few little fruit trees and have the odd shrub. I also have a newly planted mixed hedge that I'm hoping will compete with neighbour's evil conifers.

My issue is, unless I am more decisive about what to do with this patch, the nettles just keep coming back. I've got a few areas where I've planted some wildflowers, but they have to compete with nettles. I don't really just want to just have it grassy because I don't like mowing too often and the nettles and thistles just grow through. Has anyone got any wildlife friendly low maintenance suggestions? I was wondering if planting a lot of red clover on the manky bits might help.

Is chamomile wildlife-friendly?

Don’t know, @Britinme , but it’s pretty, smells nice, and is weed-smothering.

This is probably my favourite bed, the first to flower, south-facing with the annexe between it and the north winds that make this valley such a frost pocket. It could do with a good weeding, but looks so lush and full with the long grasses and tall weeds that I don’t mind them at all.

That looks beautiful, @MavisMcMinty ! I would love a whole garden like that.

Chamomile is a good suggestion, thank you @Britinme

For @Tricyrtis2022 and anyone else whose interested…,

Oh, that's given me good chills. Admittedly it might be the peanut butter ice cream I'm eating. Those gardens are all the superlatives.

@notanicepersonapparently - just wow! My aim is to achieve a garden with minimum labour that looks nice, but I have to admire your spectacular result.

I just checked, and apparently chamomile dies off over winter here because we're too cold for it. There's a hardy German variety but it grows in hardiness zones 5-8, and we are either 4a or 4b here.

I saw someone who had a clover lawn, they maintained it just like grass but cut it a little higher.

We can't overwinter rosemary either here, but when we get things sorted out I'm going to try planting some right next to the house and mulching over it in the winter. Roses also need to be very hardy to survive Maine winters, but there is a beautiful nursery that specialises in Maine-grown roses and foxgloves not far away from us.

@weaseleyes I know what you mean about the nettles keeping on coming back. Despite the photos above I do have areas where the nettles and brambles try to gain the upper hand. I can’t quite picture what you are after. Is it something to plant between the trees and shrubs, as in the lowest storey in a border? I’m which case I would suggest heathers (due a comeback?) or hardy geraniums or ferns and hostas if a bit shady. Or you could put down bark chippings as a weed suppressant.
or are you picturing something to go in front of your trees and shrubs instead of a lawn?

Thanks @Britinme I cannot pretend any of this is low labour. I’m just taking a break from planting out 50 Dahlias and wondering why I put myself through this every year.

That’s just the sort of border I love @MavisMcMinty - a yew dome and a sprinkling of aquilegias.

I'm a bulbs, shrubs and perennials mostly kind of gardener, with a small space for a few bright annuals. However, all this gardening is currently theoretical until we get the patio done, and everybody is booked until the fall currently. We might even just get the base laid and finish it in the spring if it's too expensive to do all in one belt.

Wow gardens @MavisMcMinty and @notanicepersonapparently!

I didn't explain it well at all! I think I haven't really got a good structure or scheme in place. I have this biggish area with some raised beds for veg and a few young trees and shrubs dotted about, and I'm not really sure what to do with all the ground around it. I'm trying not to be too ambitious at the moment as I can't be there all the time, but I want something that will keep nettles at bay. The easiest solution would be to try to get it all into a lawn and just keep mowing, but I'm not a fan of mowing.

@weaseleyes I see. You don’t want a lawn because of the mowing? I don’t think I can be of much help, but this is what comes to mind as alternatives. You could put down bark with landscape fabric underneath. In my experience the best bark is nuggets and cost over £200 for a bulk bag. The cheaper kinds last for about 3 years before they break down. You could try gravel over landscape fabric which would be longer lasting and cheaper than bark nuggets. If you have the budget then paving it would be low maintenance.
Depending on how fast it grows you could just mow the lawn every few weeks. This definitely wouldn’t work for me as the grass would get too long for the mower to cut but yours may be different. Again depending on budget you could get someone to cut it for you perhaps?

Our back garden ferns were looking so pretty in the low morning sun that I scurried out in my dressing gown to take a picture. Hopefully it was so early in the morning that none of the neighbours were up yet.

The back garden is very overlooked but we've planted it to feel like a little sanctuary; throughout the warm months the interest comes only from foliage plants as any flowers/blossom are only winter/spring ones. The arbour is very strategically arranged to (a) catch the evening sun (b) be hidden from overlooking.