Saturday 26 May 2012

Time off in the garden

Well I won't go in to just what a horrendous journey home I had, just to say, it involved a lot of stress. But when I got home at 11 pm and poured that glass of home made limoncello and went and sat in my garden, and the first sound that greeted me was an owl hooting and being answered by another distant oen for about 5 minutes, I knew that it was all worth it.

I've had wonderful weather and the first thing I had to do yesterday was mow the lawns as they looked like meadows. My friend has offered me a free strimmer, as I haven't got one, but I won't be able to pick it up until I am with him in the car, mid June, so instead I was on my hands and knees with a lawn edger trying to pull up some of the long grass and weed around the edge of all the beds. A quick trip to the garden centre for some compost and some manure and then I built up the compost around the potatoes and put some manure on the roses. Then I had a happy time examining all the activity in the garden: peas starting their long climb, apple tree thriving, fruit bushes full of healthy leaves, roses looking very happy, lupins beginning to grow flowers, onions growing well etc.

My neighbours have been putting up monstrous decking. They have decked their entire garden, 100% of it and there is nothing left now but soulless wood. Not my idea of a nice garden at all. The downside is that it has lost me quite a bit of privacy because it is so high it looks straight into my garden now which gets to me somewhat as I am not the constant chatting over the garden wall type in my back garden. Anyway, not one to stay annoyed, I now am planning my garden with a view to making these areas private again. I am going to use trellis around where my eventual seating area will be and that will instantly solve that bit (it was in my original plan anyway). There is a laurel growing in another area which will eventually be tall enough to solve the problem there although I might add another to it. The only other bit is at the side of the garden and I need to grow something that won't take years but isn't a privet, because they are not my favourite. On the list is ceanothus, forsythia and flowering currant at the moment, possibly a lilac tree. Any other suggestions are very welcome. Want it to grow at least 2 and a half metres and not take 6 years to do it.

Now I just bit my fingernails while I was thinking of plants (very bad habit), and got a distinct whiff of manure, so I'd better go and scrub my nails and finish up here.

Enjoy your weekend everyone.

12 comments:

  1. hi, although it's expensive, you can plant bamboo along the edge of the garden, buy the clumping kind, nice for them to look at and will soon screen you..........well in a couple of years - love froogs

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  2. Could be worse they could have a trampoline on top of the decking like our next door but one neighbour;-) Ribes Sanguineum, took a cutting from a bush and within 2 years was nearly six foot. First thing to flower in spring in my garden

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  3. What a flippin pain to have neighbours like that. I had to plant up a border when I moved in here, because there wasn't any privacy at all. Not that my neighbours were awful though, they are fine, it's just that I didn't want them and most of the other people close by peering into my back garden. I used Leylandi down at the bottom end, kept to six foot high, and an assortment of other shrubs for the rest. can't help you with names, I chose evergreens.

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  4. Hi Dan - what about a weigela? These grow fairly quickly - I had one at my old house , and also have a couple in the garden here - they've definitely put on a decent amount of growth since last year. An alternative is a lavatera - definitely fast growing. Both plants have lovely flowers so would attract bees to the garden too but wouldn't afford so much privacy in Winter as they lose their leaves and flowers.I don't know if that's an issue or if you just want privacy to sit out in Summer.Dogwood is a good all year round plant - gorgeous red stems in Winter, leaves and flowers in Summer and fairly fast growing.

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  5. How annoying for you! We have trellis on our 6 ft fence which separates us from our neighbours and we have climbing plants on them now which definitely helps.

    I couldn't tell you what plants they are...I am distinctly UN-green fingered but someone like yourself will be able to establish something suitable fairly quickly I am sure.

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  6. I'd be annoyed too. I love the privacy we have in our little cottage garden.

    Sft x

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  7. I think flowering currant has a distinct fragrance. My auntie used to call it "tom cats pee". If I've got it right the pong will keep your neighbours well away from your side. If you're putting up trellis, why not try a honeysuckle.

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  8. I was thinking the ususal of clematis, honeysuckle, summer jasmine but I think I'm showing my gardening time preferences there too. All these are quick growing and not very expensive but loose flowers and leaves in winter. At my last house we had a beech hedge which did take a few years to get high but it's dense and the leaves, although they go brown, don't really drop.

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  9. So sorry about your journey home, and the "surprise" of the neighbors. But yes, you've got all sorts of great suggestions and you can fix that problem. I hope you enjoyed your limoncello and the owls. That makes it all worthwhile!

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  10. Photinia 'red robin' then you get the red bracks in the spring, it is quite fast growing and thickens up if you can resist pruning.

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  12. Wow its a very good post. The information provided by you is really very good and helpful for me. Keep sharing good information..


    Garden Centre Cheadle

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