Cultivating a beautiful garden by June - possible?

Discussion in 'General Gardening Discussion' started by Leyland, Feb 13, 2014.

  1. Leyland

    Leyland Apprentice Gardener

    Joined:
    Feb 13, 2014
    Messages:
    2
    Ratings:
    +2
    I am opening my bungalow to the public June this year, as part of an artists open houses event.

    I am hoping to create something with a bit more character than it has currently - by June, and on a budget. I don't know if this is naïve of me considering plants take time to establish.

    I have 4 areas to considerer.
    - A small front garden which is currently very forgettable, dry soil and fairly wind swept.
    - The indoors, I was considering growing some coleus from seed to breathe some life into the place.
    - A small decking area which currently has a lone potted plant. I am thinking lots of hostas in containers and nice grasses. Its a fairly shady area.
    - A back garden with 3 beds, one on each side. Has plants already but its fairly dull. I'm looking for something that I can plant now that will flower in June and brighten things.

    I'm on a fairly tight budget, while exploring sites to buy plants from I came across one called J Parkers wholesale. Some of the prices seem to be incredibly reasonable compared to other sites. Has anyone heard of them?

    I have seen a few plants that I like - aquilegia, Echinacea, choisya ternate, do you think these would work?

    Also I have to consider containers, whats my best option on a budget? Let me know what you think, and other good suggestions.
     
    • Like Like x 1
    • ARMANDII

      ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

      Joined:
      Jan 12, 2019
      Messages:
      48,096
      Gender:
      Male
      Ratings:
      +100,834
      Well, if the inclination is there everything is possible, Leyland. You need to have at least some sort of idea/plan in your head as to what you want the garden to look like. At the moment you can't post any pictures due to the system not allowing you until you've posted a reasonable number of them, but when you can they will help the gang to give you better advice.
      Sowing annuals will give you lots of different varieties for the borders and containers, bulbs will do the same of course. Shrubs are a different matter as buying them at a reasonable size such as Choisya will strain your budget if you haven't got them already.
      Aquilegia, which is a perennial, was in your garden will usually appear year after year so it's a good addition. Japanese Anemones are also good, Monarda, Veronica, Saponaria . Iris, etc are all good. You say you're opening the garden [in June?] to the Public so you're going to have to do some research to try to decide what will, hopefully, flower at that time..........and that's not guaranteed!! I'm sure the gang will be along to give some good advice.:snork:
       
    • Jenny namaste

      Jenny namaste Total Gardener

      Joined:
      Mar 11, 2012
      Messages:
      18,325
      Gender:
      Female
      Occupation:
      retired- blissfully retired......
      Location:
      Battle, East Sussex
      Ratings:
      +31,029
      Good evening Leyland,
      I think that for budget / flower this season , you won't go far wrong if you look out for mini plug plants from either Supermarkets or Garden Centres. They will need a bit of extra TLC - a bit like prem babies but should provide some colour . To be realisitic - June's rather early to expect a garden full of colour.
      Anyway, ever the optimist is a GC gardener - so browse away,
      :sign0016:
      Jenny namaste
       
      • Agree Agree x 4
      • Kristen

        Kristen Under gardener

        Joined:
        Jul 22, 2006
        Messages:
        17,534
        Gender:
        Male
        Location:
        Suffolk, UK
        Ratings:
        +12,667
        That's my thought too, particularly for anything grown from seed.

        They won't be very big by June. Coleus have tiny seed, and initially grow very slowly. They will be just about getting going by June, but it will be July, or probably August, before they are looking good.

        J Parkers do good, keenly priced, bulbs. Their plants tend to be on the small side (which is partly why they are cheap) so I think best suited to people on a budget who will grow them on (e..g in a greenhouse) to plant out later in the year - perhaps even with the intention of creating something for the following year. I don't think they are going to get you to where you want to be by June I'm afraid.

        I wonder if your local Parks and Gardens might be able to help you with any surplus plants they may have? I don't know if your open-day is for charity, but if so maybe they would give you the plants for free? (Wishful thinking I expect!!)
         
        • Agree Agree x 1
        • Leyland

          Leyland Apprentice Gardener

          Joined:
          Feb 13, 2014
          Messages:
          2
          Ratings:
          +2
          Thanks for the suggestions Jenny Namaste, Armandii and Kristen. Its a good reality check, I was probably being overly optimistic with the goal of June. I can try my best and see what happens, and theres always next year.
           
          • Agree Agree x 1
          • JWK

            JWK Gardener Staff Member

            Joined:
            Jun 3, 2008
            Messages:
            30,694
            Gender:
            Male
            Location:
            Surrey
            Ratings:
            +45,653
            Hello and welcome to the forum :)

            Aquilega does flower in June but don't try growing that from seed as it won't flower till June 2015 - it needs to grow through a winter first. Once it's in your garden it self seeds and will come up year after year. A nice cottage garden type flower if that's the look you are after.


            They are very slow growing and you would really need to have sown them by now and have lights/heated propagator to stand a chance of getting decent sized plants by June. I think trying to grow any plants from seed for a good show in June is

            My suggestion to get colour cheaply in a garden for June would be to visit Lidl/Aldi/Asda in April as these supermarkets sell cheap and cheerful bedding plants at that time. Buy a selection and plant in decent compost in mid-May after your last frost. You don't need to have a carpet of plants, just place a few in odd numbered groups to get a good effect. I would also consider visiting car boot sales over the Easter period, a lot of folk start preparing for summer then and will be selling excess plants very cheaply. You should be able to find some decent specimens. On your open day move the containers that have the best colour to the front door/path - to create an impression as folk arrive.
             
            • Like Like x 2
            • Agree Agree x 1
            • noisette47

              noisette47 Total Gardener

              Joined:
              Jan 25, 2013
              Messages:
              5,865
              Gender:
              Female
              Location:
              Lot-et-Garonne, Aquitaine
              Ratings:
              +13,969
              :sign0016: Leyland. If you do order from Parkers, Alliums would be a good bet for June, Dwarf Gladioli also. Some of the most beautiful tulips are late-flowering..the Parrots and double-Lates like Angelique. Normally they'd be planted by now, but late planting might help to delay them for a critical couple of weeks! Asiatic Lilies would probably flower at the right time, too. If you want masses of colour, then bulbs are your best bet on a limited budget:)
               
              • Like Like x 1
              • Madahhlia

                Madahhlia Total Gardener

                Joined:
                Mar 19, 2007
                Messages:
                3,678
                Gender:
                Female
                Location:
                Suburban paradise
                Ratings:
                +3,089
                Hi Leyland, welcome to the forum.

                Where are you located? Is the art show in early or late June?

                The main concern is that it should be tidy and weed free. You could invest in a small number of carefully chosen shrubs and cover any bare soil with bark chippings - Cost about £30?


                As outlined above, coleus will be tricky. I would say that you do not need many plants as the art will be the star, but one or two large dramatic specimens would help to set the tone. You might be able to borrow them, or get them fairly cheaply at, say, IKEA - maybe £20? Alternatively, if you could get smallish pelargoniums in flower, for about £3 each, or other small flowering plants which are plentiful on sale at that time of year that might be nice.
                Sounds perfect, although grasses wouldn't be all that big by June. If it's shady, go for hostas and ivies. How well-developed will hostas be by June? Will they be fully up? I can't remember! Will you have 3D art out there?- because that will take pride of place and you may only need a few plants. You could borrow some!
                I would not spend a lot of money at places like Parkers because their plants are likely to be very small and almost certainly will not provide the display you want this year - although maybe next year! If the show is in late June then you might be able to get Asiatic lilies in bloom (not Oriental ones). They are in a red/orange/yellow colour range. You can buy bulbs fairly cheaply in mixed bags in places like Wilkos, they are easy to pot up and grow on. If you put them in pots you can arrange them strategically to liven up the boring bits. They also flower year after year.
                Alternatively, visit a cheap local garden centre (NOT B&Q, Homebase, Wyevale or any of that ilk, it will cost a fortune) the week preceding the event and choose anything that's looking good and position strategically around the garden.
                If the event is in late June, you could fill up gaps with fast growing stuff like morning glories, even runner beans, they are very decorative and only cost about 50p per plant or less.
                 
                • Like Like x 2
                • shiney

                  shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

                  Joined:
                  Jul 3, 2006
                  Messages:
                  61,006
                  Gender:
                  Male
                  Occupation:
                  Retired - Last Century!!!
                  Location:
                  Herts/Essex border. Zone 8b
                  Ratings:
                  +117,318
                  As the others have said, it's a bit of a challenge to get the garden ready for June. I'll try and think of things that will work for June.

                  Aquilegia - as John said - you will need to buy plants as they're biennials and, if it's late June, they may already have finished flowering (depending on where you are in the country) but the named species tend to flower through June. They're still a brilliant plant to have in the garden.

                  One tip, plant them (and other not too bushy plants) in threes. They look better and people coming for the art may notice that ones or twos don't look so good.

                  Sharp edges to the lawn (if you have one) will make the garden look good.

                  Alliums, poppies, campanula flower in June (most varieties).
                  Nigella will flower in June, from seed, as it's an annual (most artists like nigella flowers). Lychnis also looks good in June (another biennial, so buy plants).
                  To get a good look from hostas by that time you will find the large leafed varieties work better - they are, also, more resistant to slugs).
                  Clematis are also good if you have an area for climbing plants (ARMANDII, on here, can tell you which varieties flower in June). Shops such as The Range sell them about 2ft high, quite often with buds already on, in April/May for approx. £10 for 4 or 5.

                  All these photos were taken in June

                  Large leafed Hostas
                  P1070780.JPG


                  Campanula
                  P1070935.JPG


                  Lychnis (two different colours as you don't get more than one colour on a plant). The plant bottom right of the photo is verbascum chaxii.
                  P1070936.JPG


                  Double poppies
                  P1070961.JPG


                  Sweet peas
                  P1070976.JPG


                  Clematis and Nigella
                  P1070784.JPG

                  I open my garden every May and here's a link to some photos I posted.

                  http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/threads/sneak-preview-of-open-day.16514/

                  We get quite a good turnout from people here on GC and they come from all round the country. They're a very nice lot of people :blue thumb:

                  I'll shortly be posting this year's invitation here on GC. It's May 24th and 25th (Bank Holiday). Maybe you can come along to it (I don't know how far away you are).
                   
                  • Informative Informative x 1
                  Loading...

                  Share This Page

                  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
                    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
                    Dismiss Notice