My Garden Project - Need some inspiration and advice

Eden don't mistake Geraniums for Pelargoniums. Geraniums are commonly know as Cranesbills.

I found the same with French Lavender. You need to find the British grown types although they are not native to Britain.

@Scrungee - Eden said in a previous post he will be laying topsoil.

 

Scrungee's made a good point, though. If it's possible to incorporate 'French' drains (don't worry, all you francophobes out there, they're nothing to do with France really ) at the base of the retaining walls, and if the soil is well fluffed-up, that should take care of any surplus water.
Perhaps if we start chucking a few Latin names around, that would avoid confusion? Lavandula stoechas = french lavender, two-tone, 'butterfly' flowers. Lavandula intermedia = dutch lavender, pale flowers, best scent. Lavandula angustifolia = english lavender, deeper blue, some scent. 'Hidcote' = deep blue flowers, dwarf, good scent.

 

I'm getting a digger in for a few hours to shift the rubble that I've excavated by hand over the last 6 months so I'm hoping he will scrape all that bad soil off the surface of the new bed. Then I'll add a good think layer of good soil.

The retaining wall is well drained and I have drainage channels on the patio at the back of the house. The front garden is steep as well so I have no problem getting rid of surface water.

 

We use the black wrap-around cable covers, or tidys, they sell in Ikea (other stockists are probably available)and set these in at the bottom of the planting home, sitting the rootball on top, before back-filling with soil/compost mix. We find the split along the length provides the water around the deeper roots, which stops the plants (mainly trees) putting roots up to the surface, where they will bake in the dry sandy soil.

 

Ok so its been a busy few weeks since my last post and I have made some nice progress. I have finished the stone work on the big bed facing the house. I dug out a 4 inches of the bad soil, dumped in some of my not quite ready compost and then 3 inches of fine stone free top soil. So I think I'm ready for the fun part, Planting!!




I have seen these lavender plants are coming up in Lidl tomorrow morning.

I know they are quite small but I'm thinking of buying loads of them and planting them along the front (lower) side of the bed. What are lidl plants like? I love lavender and price is also attractive to me because of my low budget. If I plant these do you think they would flower this summer? By next summer would I have a nice solid lavender border?

Also you might be able to see in the pics I have sloped the soil up around the stone seat in the middle. What would be good to plant here? I'd like something with a nice scent that would really make a nice frame around the back of the seat.

 

I’ve not bought Lidl (UK) plants, but regularly buy Aldi (UK) and Lidl (Belgium) plants. If you get them on the first day of the offer, and use your eyes to check the plants over, you should be well on the way to a bargain! Lavender plants bulk up quite quickly, and that looks like a free-draining site, so they should grow well, with possibly a flower or two this year....

 

I find Lidl plants to be of a very good quality and great value.

I agree with Sian, the less time they spend on the shelves the better they are.

 

Cheers guys. I'll nip in early in the morning and see what they are lol. How closely should I plant these small plants?

 

The label should tell you their estimated eventual size (might even tell you the spacing) and you allow for that when planting.

@Verdun might know better, he has awesome lavender hedges.

 

Why, thank you BellaBlie
Very small plants are best potted on for a while but I space lavendar plants 30 to 40 cm apart.
As much free draining soil as possible and as warm as possible and as dry as possible will produce wonderfully scented flowers in summer
Part of 40’ plus lavendar hedge. Glorious scent

 

I went to Lidl every day that the Lavender offer was supposed to be on and they had none in either of my two local shops which was frustrating. We were having family round for a barbi and I had this lovely bed of pristine soil and I went a bit crazy. Went straight to my local B & Q and bought some plants to get a start. They are probably totally unsuitable and won't survive the winter but they looked nice and were such a nice change from the grim stony bank we were used to looking at.

I've planted Box up the sides.
A row of Campanula Catharina across the front
Marguerite's around the stone seat
Also some large grasses (not sure what they are called)








I'm using the tarps to try and keep the weeds away until I get some mulch down.

Sheal had recommended some shurbs and plants that would be suitable for this steep bank: "Choosing plants that are happy with their roots in dry soil is probably the best idea. Shrubs....Weigela, Cytisus, Euonymus, Potentilla are just a few. Perennials....Geranium, Lavender, Sedum (Ice plant) or any Sedums and rockery plants. Irises would be happy too. "

Also any advice on where to put plants would be useful. My wife likes everything uniform but I'm not a fan of this and like a more random planting pattern. I'd like it to be dense so I have less weeding to do. I'm thinking bigger shurbs at the back?

 

Like the campanula Eden 1.....yes, they will survive the winter and spread well.
Agree with Sheal’s suggestions too
Those marguerites will prob survive the winter too....as I said take cuttings for plants next year. They flower for months if dead headed regularly. Very few plants will flower as long....often during a mild winter too. I grow quite a lot of them in different colours. I would plant a helianthemum or two there and move the marguerites further back. The helianthemums, sun roses, are evergreen cascading perennials and have white, yellow, pink, red and more flowers. These would soften the top rock tier
I like hypericum Hidcote ....magnificent showy yellow flowers all summer on semi evergreen bushes. Contrast well with the campanula.
Agree about avoiding conformity too much
Penstemon would grow there too....evergreen and long flowering in a wide range of colours from white to purple.
How about some silvers there? Artemisia Powys Castle has aromatic feathery silver foliage. Santolina will form silver grey domes that are usually evergreen. The curry plant ...Helichrysum..... may well be the most silver of all plants plus has that curry smell esp in the late summer and autumn. Silvers offer great foils to most everything else.
A delightful long flowering yellow perennial that would enjoy it there is anthemis Mrs. C Buxton. Lovely plant
Caryopteris are delightful aromatic shrubs with amazing blue flowers in late summer. Ceratostigma willmottianum are similar but flower earlier and for longer with the bonus of red autumn foliage.
Grasses are a favourite of mine ......plant a group or two of stipa tennuissima. Delightful small....80 cm or so tall...tactile evergreen grasses that flower all summer. They give movement to the planting.
Pittosporums are evergreen shrubs..... check out a purple variety called Tom Thumb. This is a small, neat and shiny almost black foliage all year round. Another variety, Irene Patterson, has white/grey foliage and would contrast beautifully with Tom Thumb esp in winter.
And phormiums.....evergreens with red, yellow, variegated linear foliage to provide sharp contrast to mounded specimens.
Try achilleas......lovely aromatic foliage with amazing flat heads of flowers all summer.
So, you are spoiled for choice really
I would research the plants that interest you and make a few sketches with plants in different positions before you buy. Then place them still in their pots before you actually plant....get someone to assess with you how they look.
Try to associate plants according to shape as well as colour
Remember you can move plants if you feel you haven’t got it right first time

 

The plants look good Eden1. Don't forget to keep them watered in this hot spell.

I would suggest any shrubs you plant in that lower bed shouldn't be much taller than about 3ft/1mtr. Much taller and they will blot out any planting you do on the upper bed, unless of course you intend to use shrubs there too. Taking the slope into account check on plants that you buy so that height is graduated. Tall at the back/or top of this bed moving down through medium height to the smaller plants at the front as you have already done.

Single shrubs are fine planted randomly but small perennials and annuals of the same plant, unless used as a border, are best planted together in odd numbers, threes, fives etc.

 

If lavender plants are still your longterm aim @Eden1 then it would be worth subscribing to the Thompson&Morgan offers email - they often do offers of 25-50 lavender plugs for silly money a few times a year. I got some from them about 2 years ago, the plugs are no more than an inch in size and have taken a couple of years to bush out decently, but for the price (I think I paid <£5 including postage for at least 25 plants if not more) you really can't go wrong.

 

Or, buy one or two plants and take cuttings .....now is ideal Eden1
It’s how I grew mine here to make a 40’ hedge.
They root fast and grow quickly ....by September they will be big enough to pot on