Gardening
In this monthly serial I seek to review the margin as a whole . Do they work , are there gaps , do I care the overall effect , do plants call for go or removing ? Shall we take a spin?Rear Garden
Border 1 – the patio border . well-nigh everything presently in this border is untidy looking . I am not happy with it . I’ve decided that this borderline will get a serious re - vamp next class . When push make out to shove , there ’s just not enough in it that I enjoy . I ’ve identified a bit of lawn that can be sacrificed to extend the distance of this border and interchange its shape more or less . That will be a project for late fall or mayhap wintertime . The loosestrife is straggly looking , it did n’t appreciate the teetotal summer , despite frequent sousing . In fact it ’s all a bit straggly look . It ’s on take up prison term . Border 2 – the cheery borderline . This looked great a couple of months back , and still look OK in topographic point , but there are thing I want to change for next twelvemonth . My middle have been open up to the joyousness of yearbook this twelvemonth . I have n’t bothered much antecedently , preferring to stand by to perennials which give back the seed sow / growing with longevity and encore performance . Tagetes ‘ cinnabar ’ has been a strike , I have saved seed and will grow again . The tithonia is another success , along with cosmos sulphureous . Seeds have been save . I cerebrate I would plant more tithonia towards the center of the borderline . I ’d like some genus Ricinus too , for supply altitude and foliation interest group . I desire the roses and clematis on the fencing descent , mostly absent without leave-taking in these picture , stop pout and establish honorable roots over the winter . I am wait better thing . One of the rose has been strip down bare of foliage , sawfly I strike . Not sure if that will come out to play next yr or not . I have an genus Abutilon ‘ suntense ’ I could match in this border , so could trade that out . I had visions of hiding that fencing this year , but have only been part successful , clematis ‘ mme Julia correvon ’ make most of the track . There are two , bookending the mete , I am look forward to those next year , along with their slower - out - of - the - closure cousin-german . I have several geraniums that should be ready to plant next spring , they should do good service towards the front of the margin . I also have in judgement a woods of verbena bonariensis for the front , an effect I have tried and conk out to make the last brace of years . I was expecting the one or two plants I had to self seed and colonise , but nothing doing . I have resorted to buying a packet of seed ! Anyhow , two borders in and plenty of program .
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Border 3 – the wisteria border . The new border surround the seating domain , conjointly love as the Eye of Sauron , has settle in moderately well . I ’m especially pleased with the persicaria ‘ juicy domino ’ . I grow these from seed this yr and they have grown on enthusiastically and project up many prime spikes . Next year should be fab . There are plenty of annuals in this borderline too , calendula ‘ snow princess ’ , tagetes and universe again , plus old maid , all of which I would happily grown again , assuming my eye is n’t pack by something else . The original margin in front of the wisteria trellis has been somewhat upstaged by the Modern one surround the seating room area . I have some healing work to do on the pilot , it needs a bit of a percipient out and a rethink . How exciting . The backcloth is taken care of , the wisteria , hops , clematis and roses take care of that between them , I ’m pretty glad with that , although would wish to see the pink wine and clematis combo establish more next year . But there are yawning gap where I could have height , interest and vividness . Must examine harder . It ’s not all bad though – a recent high spot has been a zingy purple aster . I will look to separate that in the bounce , propagate the love a piece . I do n’t want to fathom too negative , as an overall effect , I ’m pretty glad with the fresh contour . Some chance to improve is all .
Border 5 – the funny border . Nothing has been done to this border over the summer , other than a very casual tearing . It has do much practiced than the sunnier boundary line which required frequent drenching to keep even passingly presentable . The abelia that I pruned back intemperately in the winter has grown on quite well and is flowering forth . A bit too well actually , the new growth is sprawling over a lot of underplanting I put in after pruning . Those will struggle unless I do something about it . Perhaps I can seek to raise the shrub a niggling by trim back the lower branch , or maybe by providing a minuscule support . In oecumenical I am felicitous with the underplanting I ’ve added over the last couple of class , the perimeter looks pretty well block now . I ’ll tinker with it , of course . The pittosporum is still leaning drunkenly , my efforts at jeopardize having failed – the interest is still there but the rubber tie keep slipping . I have cerebrate of using a bungee corduroy , but I remark that the shrub is throwing out fresh vertical growth from close to the base of operations of the trunk . I might take a more radical approach and lop off the full canopy and upper trunk in the hope that it will re - establish in a more vertical fashion from the bottom up . What ’s the worst that can happen ? Further along , I ’m still a slight dissatisfied with the gap between the dogwood and the nandina . It is miss height . I have planted some shade tolerant eurybia divaricate , or blank wood aster , behind the hostas , but they will get to maybe 60 curium so perhaps not enough . possibly I necessitate an interesting but non - invasive bamboo in there .
Border 6 – the unequal border . I ’ll root on a better name when I ’ve taken steps to make it more adequate . Extending the border has been on my to - do list for month now , but I will make that pass off before the winter is out . I first need to move the washing line , perhaps I ’ll get that done this weekend . I plan to lift the greensward inside the line of the path , so more or less all the gage seen in the photo will go . That should offer a planting area 3 or 4 times the size of the current inadequacy . The penstemon is still put out sporadic flowers , the gaura is expire unattackable , if a little sprawly , and the helenium are doing their thing . I planted three genus Eryngium , grown from cuttings , at the veracious destruction of this borderline . They show no sign of flowering at all , to the period where I am even begin to doubt they are actually genus Eryngium . If they are n’t I am guilty of perpetratinga fraudon this here blog . The foliation certainly attend like genus Eryngium planum , and I sure enough had an eryngium in the general arena of the works from which I originate these cuttings – circumstantial evidence for the defense . I will hold on till next year in hope . Anyhow , better things to come for this boundary line next yr .
Side passage – the plantation owner on the cheery side are doing well , the various clematis , coast banksia and roses are making themselves at home . The c. montanas in particular are living up to their mile - a - minute moniker . I am search forrard to those leave some honorable semblance in early spring next class . I have architectural plan and indeed plants , for another two or three planters on the gay side . I just need to build them – cast off line for dark wintertime evenings . The shadowy side is a different matter , a more mixed bag . The ferny shelf - affair , a living wall affair , is doing OK . I was concerned about keeping it moist but being in full shade it seems to tolerate a couple of calendar week or more between lachrymation . The various fern were all buy modest so are launch at various rates . Next year should be more soapy . There are two other planters on this side . One contains a climbing rose and some hosta . I ’ll give it 6 out of 10 for drive . The other , larger , planter is in full refinement , tucked in the corner . It got passably full but did nothing exciting . It was engraft with a random selection of plant thingamabob I had kicking about . I ’ve off the astilbe which were sure-enough and scrubby example . That leaves some anonymous Funka and some leggy fuchsia . The clematis I had in here , theoretically tolerant of a bit of shade , did not thrive . I have ejected it so have a spot for a fully shade tolerant climber . suggestion thankfully received . In general , I need this planter to earn its keep next class , I ’ll get down again . Some sentiment is required . Overall though , the side passage is a much more interesting home than it was a year ago , solid advance .
Border 7 , 8 and 9 . The front garden lose the plot in the hot months of June through August , getting very dry and scraggy as I focused on keeping the rearward garden alert . Eventually I become around to solicit up the irrigation system which along with a respectable tidy up has give to a mild revival in fortunes . There are chance to better . When I first did the employment 15 months or so ago , the plants that travel in were a slightly random selection of perennials I happen to have in my waiting country – a mix of semen grown and pity - bench purchases . Some of those have not done well , some are good , and some I just do n’t like that much . babble of plant I do n’t like , the nicotania of which I thought I was rid , have made a ego - sown return . They ’ll have to fall out , they are inundate some angelica gigas that I in reality want . Bigger characterization though , given the limited time I expend caring for the front garden , it is still a immense betterment over the weedy stack that was there a couple of class ago .
That concludes the Border Patrol for this more and more autumnal calendar month . There is a definite theme emerging of variety , plant idea required , plants that will ask sourcing , sowing or growing . A nurseryman ’s oeuvre is never done .
I ’ll be back next calendar month for another twirl round the borders .
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