Crowdsourcing my beds

Just as there is no ideal time to have a baby, there’s no ideal time to get your garden revamped. In the past year, I’ve done both.

In the summer, when I got the back of my garden sorted – new shed, raised beds, picket fence – I was itching to get growing but couldn’t do a huge amount because 'd just given birth. This winter, the bit of the garden closest to the house has been transformed, along with the knocking down of the garage and replacement with a garden office/guest room/bathroom/storage (visible on the left of the picture above). The weather was the problem here, with the builders facing snow, ice, lashing wind and rain with surprising good spirits. Oh, and the aforementioned baby’s had everything from flu to croup via vomiting and eczema, so I’ve been trying to project manage the whole thing while sleep deprived, dishevelled and possibly slightly deranged. No wonder, I guess, I haven’t been particularly on the ball with updating this blog. I’ve been blogging here since 2004, so I think I am allowed the occasional break in service, yes?

But because things are beginning to settle downI am going to get blogging again. So it is with some trepidation that I am posting a picture of the new look to my garden - well, the patio near the house anyway.*

Trepidation? Yes, because a) it’s cost me a lot of money (although the building cost a lot more than the patio) and b) because I designed the patio area and surrounding beds myself (all the money we had went into the architect and the build, no money for a garden designer except, er, me). I already know where I’ve gone wrong in a few respects: the raised brick planters (visible in the foreground of the top picture) have ended up slightly different sizes, and I would have preferred the bed alongside the building to be wider. And I know it's probably also rather boring looking (I had thoughts of Anne Wareham peering over my shoulder the whole time I was sketching plans), but I am hoping the plants will do the talking. A professional garden designer would have undoubtedly done a far better job, but not for the princely sum of zero pounds.

And a lot of things have gone right too. I’ve put beds in the right places for planting up the walls with heaps of climbers, and the steps feel wide enough to double up as a seating area but not too steep for tiny legs. The big windows in the office are designed for an expansive view of the garden, and the plants in the raised beds will eventually form a bit of a screen to help the patio feel separated off from the rest of the garden. I plan to put a big wooden table and chairs on here and eat every meal there when it's not raining. (I haven’t even begun to tell you about the green roof on the garden office, have I? I’ll save that for a separate post.)

Speaking of which, the next big job is sorting what to put in the seven (SEVEN!) beds I have to fill. This seems a less tension-filled task, partly because it’s more my area, and partly because any mistakes I make are fixable – plants in the wrong place can be moved. And, of course, the money squirreled away for plants has gone elsewhere so I’ll have to buy gradually as my purse allows.

Here’s where you come in. I have ideas about what plants I’d like, but I’d like to know what you think. The beds have all been filled with topsoil which I’ll enrich with compost from the heap and wormcasts. I've been working on plans for the dingy side passage pictured, (mostly full shade with a tad of occasional sun at one end first), so here's the plant list so far.

Bed 1, alongside the fence (which I am going to paint pale green to lift the dinginess)

• Skimmia 'Kew Green' for evergreen leaves, winter colour, scent and structure
• Sarcoccca confusa, ditto
• Another Skimmia I can't recall the name of
• Climber Pileostegia viburnoides for the fences to give evergreen colour plus flowers and will cope with the shade: I probably need one other climber for the sunnier end, any suggestions?
• Garrya elliptica 'James Roof' as a wall shrub for beautiful catkins, to screen next door's back door
•  a couple of unidentified deciduous, medium-sized ferns I already had
• Hosta 'Sum and Substance' for its big leaves. I've always had a problem with hostas but this one's supposed to be slug resistant and there's a first time for everything
• Dicentra spectabilis alba for its longlasting white blooms

Bed 2, alongside the house - full shade

• Asarum europaeum
• Polygonatum x hybridum
• Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost'
• Couple of dark-leaved heucheras I already had, possibly 'Silver Scrolls' and 'Obsidian'
• Some kind of climber going up the house wall, not sure what, possibly more P. viburnoides

Bed 3, under the kitchen window - full shade

• Bergenia 'Silberlicht'
• Dryopteris wallichiana

That's it so far - I'll post some more plant lists if I get a good response to this. Let me know what you think of the plant list, and the patio (be kind, though, you wouldn't want to rile a woman who hasn't had a full night's sleep for eight months, would you?).

* For those of you interested in this kind of thing, my builders were the excellent Bedford-based firm ADMC and the patio stones are Marshalls' ethically sourced limestone in ‘Autumn Bronze’.

--

Comments

[Anne Wareham]

I'd love to help/encourage, but realise a list of plants leaves me a little bewildered. I think maybe because I start planting with a 'core' plant which I repeat and build around. Or just go with just one plant or two for a smallish space. See http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/8323867/Plantaholism-is-a-real-killer.html !

Not that you've overdone it (just couldn't resist the link! ) - I just can't see where the coherence is and I am probably totally out of order because I can never 'picture' things when I don't see the real space.

Anyway, since I was leaning over your shoulder you'd have known I'd say all that...Sorry to hear the baby and you have had such a tough time.

XXXXXXX

[Suebeesley]

My first thought, looking at the two beds in the picture, was something tall and airy in both beds, to semi-enclose the paved area and create a sense of mystery beyond. For an evergreen, I'd suggest Fargesia nitida. Deciduous: Calamagrostis x actutiflora 'Karl Foerster'. Otherwise, a two tier effect with something like Astrantia major 'Moira Reid' or 'Shaggy' combined with Verbena bonariensis

[Anne Wareham]

O bother! So plant preoccupied forgot to say that I love the good, clean simple look in the picture. So very promising - should say more along similar lines but am on way to bed and zzzzzonked.

[Jane Perrone]

Anne, you are so right. The lists for beds 1 and 2 are basically a combination of things I already have that need putting somewhere (the skimmias, the ferns...) and things I think will work. I reckon I need to halve both lists and maybe I'll be getting somewhere... I will post a picture of said dingy passageway but couldn't bear it until the new gates are in place, it still looks so miserable.

And Sue, I'm liking your ideas for the raised planters! I thought a shedload of bamboo in there to act as a screen woud work but I may have understated the amount of sun these beds get, particularly the left-hand one in the picture. Plus bamboo's so expensive I might have to have a stopgap such as beans until I can shell out on mre plants!

[Rrosewarne]

while you're waiting for your bamboo to grow you could have sweet peas wigwams with trailing edibles (toms or peas perhaps) surrounding?

Rosa City of York does well on a North facing shady wall (at a friends) and at mine on an east facing fence with 2 hours sun a summer day. Nicely scented and prolific flowers.

note to say I would have designed it for £zero as long as it got built and I could have used the pics for promotion (new designer syndrome!) that said you've done a great job from what I can see, nice simple background to the soon to be gorgeous planting.

[Jane Perrone]

Damn, that would have saved me a lot of sweat! Am growing tons of sweet peas so maybe those should go in the raised beds as a stopgap. Am LOVING that rose, too ...sounds ideal

[Anne Wareham]

Been thinking about this a lot and feeling I was unhelpful really. I would only put one plant (matching) in each of those planters.

What was missing came before the issue of even cutting plant list - and it has been referred to in comments. It is - what effect are you wanting to create? And when in the year especially? You'd free up an awful lot if you unfashionably abandoned a season.

Then you can start on plants. Jane - you have friends who would love your 'must move' plants. It's not a huge area to plant and garden designers on twitter could point you to good affordable local suppliers.

Use only the plants you really really want and which fit your scheme and then you won't be disappointed or wonder why on earth you bothered with all that thought an effort.

Ha'p'orth of tar?

XXXXX

[Deborahbarnish]

lovely mix of plants for Bed 1. budgets permitting I would add some Epimediums for evergreen ground cover, gorgeous spring flowers AND autumn colour (fav hard working plants, can you tell?).

Can I persuade you to think about a different paint for the fence? I love black because it shows off plants really well, visually recedes and fades to a pleasing grey, would go well with the lovely clean lines you've created too and the detailing on the house - but colour is such a personal thing!

[Rareplants]

If looking at bamboo look at Fargesia rufa 6ft. Fargesia Robusta up to 12ft. For shade you could try some of the more drought tolerant epimediums, Pachysandra, cylcamen, Saruma Henrii. As far as another climber is concerned you could look at Holboellia latifolia.

[Suebeesley]

Completely agree with Anne sticking to one plant in those two brick raised beds - hope you thought that's what I originally meant! Agree Bamboo a bit pricey and slow to do the job. The Calamagrostis would reach full height in second year and would do the job beautifully. By cutting it down in late winter you would gain valuable spring light into the patio. Two 2 or 3L plants in each side would be fine so not bank-breaking. A few narcissus around base would add a little spring colour.

[Anne Wareham]

O, yeah, black fence - sexy!!!

[Jane Perrone]

Thanks for everyone's comments so far. On the black fence front, I love that idea for the fence you can see in the pic above (visible on the right-hand side) and indeed for the rest of the garden. I was thinking of pale green for the fence in the side passageway, which is very dark and miserable and I'd worry that black's only going to make it worse!

Sue and Anne, yes one plant for the brick planters was what I had in mind, and I do need to simplify my plant lists for the other beds. I like the idea of the Calmagrostis and don't mind about having to cut it down, but I am slightly worried about the soil, which is very heavy right now and lacking in organic matter - something I can fix, but not immediately.

[Anne Wareham]

The virtue of black is that it is wonderful background to plants. Won't lighten your alley but what it does is 'disappear', so I don't believe will make it seem darker. Try it and see - it's only a coat of paint..(I know.... still means work...)

Re organic matter - wonder if you're thinking you'd have to dig it in? A nice generous covering of something organic as mulch - bark, compost, wood chippings - (try local tree surgeon, they often want to get rid of stuff, if it can be delivered easily. I imagine that could be difficult if not bagged up though) will soon get incorporated and enrich/lighten the soil. Top up whenever possible but plant when you like.

Don't worry about that old myth about nitrogen robbing. You can add a little nitrogen fertiliser if it happened. (Only don't tell anyone, of course. The horticultural community will collapse in shock horror if they hear of you using it...) But it probably won't. I have only had evidence of nitrogen deficiency once in 23 years of intensive mulching with fresh bark and chippings.

Keeps weeds down too! XXXXXX