Hello from a hill in NI

I'm a gardening novice from the edge of the stunning Glens of Antrim in Northern Ireland. I've been here 5 years. It's a new build so the garden was a blank canvas. It's a large plot with breathtaking views from every angle.

Sounds idyllic doesn't it?

Now comes the 'but'! I'm on top of a hill. I have to contend with constant high winds and an unprecedented amount of rain and lack of sunshine. The soil is heavy clay; even worms don't survive up here. Being in the wilds (nearest town 20 miles away) we have a constant stream of wild life visitors who take great delight in uprooting any new plants.

Even with all these obstacles, I have no intention of giving up! I must admit, I've been lurking on here some time, reading posts and realising there is a lot of knowledge on these pages. So here I am!

 

Welcome to Gardeners Corner SandyNI. You are indeed in a beautiful area. I had the pleasure of staying in Antrim many years ago.

Lurking is fine but we are glad you took the plunge and joined us. Some of us here are gardening in and with difficult situations so you're not alone, we're all here to help each other.

 

Welcome to GC Sandy, I lurked before I joined but that was 14 years ago.

 

Hiya Sandy welcome to the forum....I never lurked I just barged straight in haha

 

Thanks for the wee welcome

 

Hi @SandyNI and

 

Welcome from the far west of Ireland ie Mayo. As I am on a bare offshore island I share some of your issues. Especially gales and rain. My cats keep other wild life away BUT your priority is fencing. It really is. I lived years up in Orkney where there was a plague of rabbits and no predators. Go figure, as they say! Oh and I had hens and peafowl also. We fenced, digging the fencing in by a good 12 inches. I did in fact invest also in a fruit cage which I took down every autumn as else it would have taken off, and we dug wire netting in deep on all sides. It worked. Depends also what you want to grow; I seek food plants as well as flowers. Here I find as you will where the shelter is better ie which is the prevailing wind. Or the most frequent! And make shelter with study bushes eg any fuchsia. But fencing is a must. it is a one off job.

 

We share the same awful weather @Islander77 . Some good advice there. The wind causes incredible damage every year. I've used some hardy shrubs to create some shelter which has worked to some degree. My bunnies are highly intelligent. When my delphiniums started to grow, and were looking good, they had them one night. They waited till they'd recovered and got going for the second time, then had them again! I Cried! I had thought of fencing, but the garden is enormous and it would really spoil the look. My nearest neighbour (I haven't got many on this hill) went all out with sunken fencing..... and his plants are in a worse state than mine. I've got a big old dog so I think that may make them a bit more cautious. We discovered yesterday that we have squirrels too. Hey ho..... the dog gets plenty of exercise chasing them! I'd really like to know which shrubs have worked for you as most of mine are wind damaged apart from the viburnam and brachyglottis.

 

If you look back at my posts re the recent winds here! I succeeded!

We have no rabbits out here as the ground is sheer rock a few inches down. They cannot burrow. We have hares but I have 6 cats. In Orkney I once fortified a small cage for salad stuff, looked out of the window and a rabbit was in! My methods re the fruit cage worked; netting off the parts you use most and digging the wire netting at least 6 inches down will stop them. The only time I had an invasion in the fruit cage was when a gale had slightly opened the door and the peahen had decided to nest in there.. Oh and passing seagulls would drop tiny fish as they passed.

I rent and am on a small pension so am limited but there are already a few very old fuchsias here that withstand even the worst gales. Best shrubs there are for wind protection. The bees love them too. These are the old "wild" ones . Sturdy and dense.

If you have access to a garden centre that has coastal plants?

And learning which small sections are less exposed in which winds is the biggest help. I have 2 areas; small patch between gate and dwelling which is fine except in southerly.south west/ south east and is further from the actual coast, and the back area which is literally a field away from the north Atlantic.. Northerly gales scorch but there is one huge old fuchsia.

It pays to get organised re wind direction. To plant something on each side and deep fence smaller patches.

google coastal gardens?

 

Swap your Delphiniums for Lupins Sandy. Rabbits didn't touch them in a previous garden of mine.

 

Thanks Sheal. I'm very much a beginner and it's a bit of trial and error on my part.... mostly the error! My nearest neighbour has lupins, which have barely bloomed this year because of the high wind. Like Islander77, the wind comes straight off the Atlantic and it's brutal. This year is worse than normal.

For the first time this year I've put in 300 bedding plants to cheer the struggling borders up. I grew them myself in a cold frame (can't have a green house else it will end up in the farmers field!) Surprisingly, although some are leaning precariously, they are blooming brilliant!

 

Hello @SandyNI and welcome to gardeners corner forums