Overgrown border - where to begin?

I've recently inherited use of a very overgrown border for growing some flowers, fruits and veg. I initially hacked all the foliage to about thigh high to make it manageable but then life got in the way and I had to stop work.

I'm ready to begin again but I think it might take me a while to get everything dug out. As I'm unlikely to be ready to plant anything before the frosts start I'm wondering if there's anything I can do with the plot over winter to prepare it for planting in the spring?

 

I would not plant anything in my own garden till spring .... (I am planting for clients though as life goes on and some sites on the internet say that autumn is the best time to plant) ... and if I don't plant, I don't earn money
:o

but saying that, the shrubs/trees I buy from a large garden centre closeby have a 12 month guarantee

my theory is that I would rather sit out the cold months and plant in early spring so as to give the plants time to establish before the next winter ... (and we may have another record breaking cold winter)

you can take your time planning what to plant .... you have an idea today .... tommorow it will be different...

so you have time to research and make sure of your choices before spending

 

Kat,

There's no reason why you shouldn't start planting now and at least for the next couple of months. It would help if you could tell us what sort of plants you would like, vegetables, flowers, shrubs etc ?

Now is the time to get spring bulbs in also.

 

I've always been happy to plant in the autumn, right up to the first frost. The ground will be warm enough and there 'should' be increasing rain fall to help with moisture in the ground and as the plants are stopping active growth above ground they can concentrate on getting some roots down, then come the spring they are established ready to support all that new growth :thumb:

 

What a good idea. Then you can tell me why I don't really want to grow the plants I've been thinking off (I admit it, some of the choices were "oooh that's pretty")

Right, I'm probably being a little ambitious for my first year of gardening but this is my ideal list. I'll probably end up having to hack stuff off it though. Sorry for the length of this but, well, you did ask... :D

Flowers:

• Hydrangea 'Bavaria' - I can't stand them but the garden owner loves them so I thought I'd give her a dwarf variety

• Snake's Head Fratillary - because I love them, I believe I'll need to plant the bulbs on their side or they will rot?

• Penstemons - they look pretty

• Freesias - again because I love them but reading more I'm not sure how well they'll do in Scotland?

• Blue Chip Dwarf Buddleia - to attract butterflies but it's small and infertile so won't become a problem

• Lupins - because they're supposed to be good for strawberries?

• Chinese Lantern 'Halloween Queen' - because they're pretty

Herbs:

• Rosemary - I've had no luck growing it indoors so hoping it will fare better in the garden
• Thyme
• Borage
• Sage
• Oregano
• Basil

Fruits

• Mount Everest Climbing Strawberries - to save space and try and avoid the slugs. Haven't decided if I need to grow them in a line along the back of the border or in a block across the width of the border?

The rest of the fruits are more to get them established before I get my allotment in 2/3 years where I would then transplant them there.

• Blueberry 'Top Hat' - which I believe is a dwarf variety
• Honeyberry - because they sound fantastic
• Lingonberry - because they make great jam/cordial
• Red Currant 'Rovada' (Cordon) - possibly?

Veg:

Still deciding on these...

I like french beans and would quite like to grow a bean that could be used as a bean rather than in it's pod (not broad beans - yuck!)

I use garlic and onions in nearly ever meal and get through a lot of carrots in cake, so I should probably try growing them.

Don't use potatoes that much so thought I might try sweet potatoes?

I wasn't sure about the brassicas, I'd quite like to grow something I wouldn't normally get in the shops but some things sounded like they'd need more than a year until harvest? Was considering a purple sprouting brocolli and brassica 'petit posy mix' because my partner won't let me grow sprouts but these are crossed with kale so I should get away with it.

I'd also quite like to grow raddishes (I believe I can grow them between slower growing crops?) and swiss chard.

 

Well you've certainly got a good selection there to be going on with. I'm not a veg grower so can't give you any advice on that.

The Hydrangea and Lupins are quite hardy, so they shouldn't be a problem. My guess with the Freesias is to try some in the ground and others in a pot, so at least, if they look as if they are suffering, you can rescue those in a pot by giving them shelter of some sort. Think I might give them a go next year!

You could try one of the larger Sedums......butterflies and bees love those. This is my deep red one, it needs moving from it's present site as it tends to dominate there. The first pic shows it just starting to open.

 

You can still plant hardy perennials out as long as the ground isn't frozen or waterlogged.

But I think if it was me, I'd be more focused at this point on preparing the ground properly. If you rush it you'll end up not doing it properly, and all the weeds will just grow through your young plants next spring.

I'd be deciding if there's anything already in there that I really want to keep. If there is, I'd extract them and put them in containers. If not then just skip that step. Then just ripp everything out. Dig it over. Dig in some compost or manure if it needs it (won't do any harm anyway). Let the coming frosts get to work on the large clumps and the roots of any weeds you miss. Then early spring, dig it over again, add some chicken poo pellets to feed it up. Mid spring onwards, any remaining weeds will start to show themselves. Pull them out. Then plant away.

 

Thanks for all the helpful advice. Will take it all in and have a think. There's nothing in the border that I want to keep so it's all coming out (hopefully starting today if the weather holds off).

Oh (stupid question alert) where would I get manure in a city?

 

You could try Gorgie City Farm.
Convenience would depend on just where you are based in the city.

Do you fancy wandering down Princes St with a wheelbarrow load?

 

Well it might clear some space on the pavement! :D

I keep forgetting we have a farm, unfortunately looking at their website they've none available until May now, though that might be out of date as they're talking about butchered pigs for 2010 so I'll maybe ring them and see

 

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I ordered some off eBay in spring. It was cheap, working out at £2.50 per 50L sack. Its gone up a bit since then it seems. Here's what I bought:

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I had an interesting discussion with a landscaper yesterday ... the theory of 'autumn being the best planting time' stems from the old days

in the old days, plants were not sold in pots .... people had to dig them out from forests or gardens, and transplant them immediately

the best time to do this ... i.e transpant, (when removing from the ground) is in late autumn/winter when the plants/shrubs/tree's are dormant

nowadays, plants/shrubs are potted .... so, in my opinion, it's best to plant in spring, when you can buy and see the plant is healthy and has shown new buds/growth and the threat of bad cold has surpassed .... this gives the plants several months to establish and grow before the next cold

with the past 2 cold winters, it is a risk when buying now (unless the plant is 100% hardy) .... we could get temperatures of -20 degrees C and many plants that are planted in the next few weeks could suffer

saying that, on Gardener's world a few weeks ago, the presenter also said that the best time to plant was in autumn, but I will stick with my theory as plants cost a lot of money nowadays

I'm still learning, but that's my opinion anyway