The zombie army COVID-19 Gardening thread.

[Bill]

DonkeyApple said:

However, the better half went out to buy some vegetables and accidentally bought some elephants!!!

I thought you meant elephant garlic, but no! Actual elephants.

[Harry Flashman]

I have been digging out a bed next to an oak tree myself. Had always wondered why nothing grew there except for the odd small weed.

Some backbreaking labour later, and I know - the bed is just a bit of soil over a crazy paving path, properly laid over compacted gravel. I have taken the paving up, but keep just finding stones as I dig down.

Can I get away with a couple of deep holes for my Acer trees, and the rest as a shallow bed for some spring bulbs and summer shade loving plants? Or do I really have to dig it all up???

[DonkeyApple]

Never dig too deep in London unless you want Tony Robinson and an army of beardy weirdies evicting you for 6 months while they ‘just dig a trench’.

The problem with just punching holes through for trees is that you don’t know whether rain water is going to flow towards the holes or away from them? I also imagine there’s not much living in the soil underneath which might mean they really don’t grow all that well. Perfect for containing bamboo though!!

[CharlesdeGaulle]

DonkeyApple said:

Any thoughts on plants?

How about some of the tall decorative grasses? Low maint, can look pretty architectural and you get some nice colours and texture. Would provide some veldt for the pachyderms too.

[Harry Flashman]

DonkeyApple said:

OK, so I dug out a bed at the front of the house so as to make mowing that section of lawn less fiddly. The plan had been to now leave the bed until next Spring, maybe planting some very low growing rose shrubs by the wall. I’m not keen to open a second front against nature so the bed which is North facing, gets hit by very cold winds in winter and is only in the sun for the middle of the afternoon needs to be low maintenance.

The plan is hardy, low growing evergreens that will push together and leave little visible soul for weeds to get their teeth into.

However, the better half went out to buy some vegetables and accidentally bought some elephants!!! Apparently these need to be in this bed. In turn this now has me thinking what I can plant this late in the season to fill the bed and soften the blow of these err, objects. Incidentally, I’m pretty sure they are not original Henry Moore’s.

[Img]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50057741178_9b552625f2_n.jpg[/thumb]

Oh and the edging of the bed has been a disaster so that’s coming out and I will live without a formal edge or use the bricks I have to match the edging around the cherry.

Any thoughts on plants?

DA - I have a north facing bed and it is instructive to see how the same plants in it as planted in my sunny beds grow so much slower. Bonus us that weeds find it tougher as well.

I think your problem will be the cold wind - so try some herbaceous perennials in amongst the tough shrubs, that will bring colour in summer, but that won't have exposed foliage in the winter and so can survive that exposure. Astilbes are great for colour, for example - and the white ones give elegant flower plumes if you don't like colour. Mine are only doing well after decent soil preparation though - you need to dig in a lot of compost, but frankly that's true for any new bed.

Also, I would plant some of your shrubs now and let them establish, so that next spring you can see how they are doing and then plant smaller stuff in amongst them. But even cheap, smaller plants (I bought my astilbes on eBay from a trusted seller and they are doing really well) can go in now, giving them time to put roots down and settle for the winter. I'd certainly have something in there now, so that next spring you are working to a base, rather than trying to do it all at once.

Think also about small deciduous trees from cold regions. Some Japanese Acers could do well there and provide decent summer foliage and fiery autumn colour That said, my Acer hated an exposed position, so that may not work - but research varieties that are from cold areas. Siberian dogwoods may work too, giving winter interest with their bright red trunks, around which you could plant...

...spring bulbs this autumn. Cheap as chips and you can see what does well and what does not in that low light environment. Things like snowdrops do well without much light, for example. A nice thing to see as winter ends.

Edited by Harry Flashman on Monday 29th June 16:50

[DonkeyApple]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

DonkeyApple said:

Any thoughts on plants?

How about some of the tall decorative grasses? Low maint, can look pretty architectural and you get some nice colours and texture. Would provide some veldt for the pachyderms too.

Thanks. It needs to use low growing plants. Nothing that would go above 2 foot max so as to retain the view from the ground floor window. The lawn is not far off the window sill at this point.

[PositronicRay]

Harry Flashman said:

DonkeyApple said:

OK, so I dug out a bed at the front of the house so as to make mowing that section of lawn less fiddly. The plan had been to now leave the bed until next Spring, maybe planting some very low growing rose shrubs by the wall. I’m not keen to open a second front against nature so the bed which is North facing, gets hit by very cold winds in winter and is only in the sun for the middle of the afternoon needs to be low maintenance.

The plan is hardy, low growing evergreens that will push together and leave little visible soul for weeds to get their teeth into.

However, the better half went out to buy some vegetables and accidentally bought some elephants!!! Apparently these need to be in this bed. In turn this now has me thinking what I can plant this late in the season to fill the bed and soften the blow of these err, objects. Incidentally, I’m pretty sure they are not original Henry Moore’s.

[Img]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50057741178_9b552625f2_n.jpg[/thumb]

Oh and the edging of the bed has been a disaster so that’s coming out and I will live without a formal edge or use the bricks I have to match the edging around the cherry.

Any thoughts on plants?

DA - I have a north facing bed and it is instructive to see how the same plants in it as planted in my sunny beds grow so much slower. Bonus us that weeds find it tougher as well.

I think your problem will be the cold wind - so try some herbaceous perennials in amongst the tough shrubs, that will bring colour in summer, but that won't have exposed foliage in the winter and so can survive that exposure. Astilbes are great for colour, for example - and the white ones give elegant flower plumes if you don't like colour. Mine are only doing well after decent soil preparation though - you need to dig in a lot of compost, but frankly that's true for any new bed.

Also, I would plant some of your shrubs now and let them establish, so that next spring you can see how they are doing and then plant smaller stuff in amongst them. But even cheap, smaller plants (I bought my astilbes on eBay from a trusted seller and they are doing really well) can go in now, giving them time to put roots down and settle for the winter. I'd certainly have something in there now, so that next spring you are working to a base, rather than trying to do it all at once.

Think also about small deciduous trees from cold regions. Some Japanese Acers could do well there and provide decent summer foliage and fiery autumn colour That said, my Acer hated an exposed position, so that may not work - but research varieties that are from cold areas. Siberian dogwoods may work too, giving winter interest with their bright red trunks, around which you could plant...

...spring bulbs this autumn. Cheap as chips and you can see what does well and what does not in that low light environment. Things like snowdrops do well without much light, for example. A nice thing to see as winter ends.

Edited by Harry Flashman on Monday 29th June 16:50

Hellebores (great in a limestone area) and ferns.

[Gretchen]

Might not be much to some but this is a big thing to me and has made me very happy. I’ve got new outside sockets



Also painted my water feature at the weekend

[RC1807]

Do you live in Brussels, Gretchen?

[Gretchen]

RC1807 said:

Do you live in Brussels, Gretchen?

Man-Can Piss jardin de Cambridgeshire

Known locally as ‘my garden smells of cat piss’

[Gretchen]

Bloody long day today as I’m putting in loads of overtime at the moment. Plans afoot. Finished work and went popped next door to see my ‘it’s complicated’ neighbour who has spent two days working on this



Where I gave more of my design input and have come up with some great storage solutions, skylight, and interior design plans. This is going to be office/living and sleeping space. Two sets of French Doors and a sunset view.

Of course claimed some sleepers, wood and wire mesh while I was there for my next project. Just home and quickly put up another platform in the Catio. Now sipping a pint of Pina Colada and getting caught in the rain.

[ChocolateFrog]

Outside sockets are so useful. I put one in before I started the parents garden and I've used it 9 days out of 10 for the last couple of months and it now has the garden lighting permanently plugged into it.

[paralla]

Again not really gardening but re-potting my 8 foot fiddle leaf fig was a bit of an ordeal today.

Edited by paralla on Friday 3rd July 21:10

[AC43]

Harry Flashman said:

I have been digging out a bed next to an oak tree myself. Had always wondered why nothing grew there except for the odd small weed.

Some backbreaking labour later, and I know - the bed is just a bit of soil over a crazy paving path, properly laid over compacted gravel. I have taken the paving up, but keep just finding stones as I dig down.

Can I get away with a couple of deep holes for my Acer trees, and the rest as a shallow bed for some spring bulbs and summer shade loving plants? Or do I really have to dig it all up???

I've got this problem. I first bought a breaker bar. Later on an SDS drill will a chisel tip. Each time I plant a new shrub I spend a load of time smashing through the paving/concrete/hardcore to make a hole for the rootball. The water table's quite high where I am so the roots get water just fine.

[Harry Flashman]

paralla said:

Again not really gardening but re-potting my 8 foot fiddle leaf fig was a bit of an ordeal today.

Edited by paralla on Friday 3rd July 21:10

Snap. Not a job I am looking forward to.

[55palfers]

Anyone growing runner beans? Doing any good?

Mine have grown and flowered well but none of the flowers are setting.

They are in a decent spot and have been watered regularly.

Maybe the swings in temperature are taking a toll?

[ChocolateFrog]

It's finished, no more looking at big patches of bare hardcore.









That last one is from the same roll it's just camera exposure, making it look different.

[sleepezy]

Great job, all my projects are still in progress. Will done.

[DonkeyApple]

That looks excellent. Grass has grown really quickly.

[ChocolateFrog]

DonkeyApple said:

That looks excellent. Grass has grown really quickly.

A few weeds had started growing in the girt sand, amazing how little nutrients stuff we don't want growing actually needs.