Front Garden Project

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Well this is a follow on from an entry last year. I posted a question about what I could do with the front garden in our new house. I began like this

I had plenty of advice from my gardening buddies, particularly Andrew who curbed my enthusiasm to plant some monster trees in the front!
We paid for a labourer to clear the plot and ‘rotivate’ the soil to ensure it was broken up to a reasonable depth. Everything was cleared, but he only ‘cultivated’ the top 4" of soil and when I came to start planting I couldn’t dig any further than the top 4" hitting compacted hardcore!!

Not to be put off I hired a posthole borer, got manure, compost, fertilizer and my husband Jed who spent the whole weekend drilling, digging and improving the quality of the plot, with my assistance/supervision of course :)

My original plan was to plant a hedge between us and the neighbours using Coprosma Pink splendour and Phormium Tricolour as the leaves on the plants compliment each other beautifully. Unfortunately after discovering that Phormiums come in different sizes I discovered that the ones I had used were Tenax which would grow up to 6’ up and around rather than cookianum which is the dwarf version of the shrub. In the end I decided to take out the Phormium and just plant the Coprosma. Also included in this border are thrift, Sedum Spureum and tulips

The sunny border next to the fence was the most fun! After making a trip to Ventnor Botanical Gardens on the south of the Island I took inspiration from the New Zealand garden and the majority of the plants originate from there. I’m pretty sure that I’ve made some gargantuan planting errors, but I hope some pruning and maybe replanting somewhere else won’t prove too much of a problem. I’ve never used the majority of these plants before so I will learn by my mistakes and successes.

Some of the plants in this border are
Eucalyptus pauciflora niphophila x 1 Tree
Phormium Tenax Yellow Wave x 2
Beschorneria yuccoides X 1
Echium Candicans x 3
Callistemon ‘Red Clusters’ x 3
Rosemary x 1
Jasmine? X 1
Grevillea rosemarinifolia x 1
Grevillea juniperina x 2
Convolvulus cneorum x 3
Osteospermum Orange Symphony x 3
Stipia Tenuissima x 6
Stipia Gigantica x 1
Miscanthus sinensis ’Ferne Oseten x 1
Pennisetum Rubrum x 1
Chondropetalum tectrum (thatching reed) x 1
Festuca Glauca x 5
Pseudopanax Ferox x 3
Santolina x 1
Heuchera – Key Lime Pie x 6, Purple Prince x 5
Dierama ‘ Snowbells’ x 2
Cirsium japonicum x 3
Euphorbia Rubrum x 5

Hebe (conifer) x 3-can’t remember the variety
Hebe small shrub x 3 – can’t remember the variety
Coprosma Kiwi Red x 1

The border nearest the house is the most challenging. It is in semi to complete shade and quite damp. I have incorporated horticultural grit and sand to improve drainage and have put in plants that enjoy these conditions

Euonymous x 3 different varieties
Fathedra Lizei x 1
Pachysandra Terminalis x 5
Astilbe Chinensis Vision in Red x 6
Hydrangea Lady in Red x 4
Rodgersia x 2
Athyrium Niponicum ’Lady in Red x 3
Athyrium Burgundy Lace x 3
Melianthus comosus x 1
Garrya Eliptica x 1
Azalea dwarf various x 3
Rhododendron x 1
Polygonatum Solomons Seal x 3
Trillium Kurabayahii x 5
Ajuga x 3
Hellebore Stinking x 3-4 small seedlings

My original plan was to plant a tree in the centre of the garden inside a stone circle, however I decided to keep a full circle and just use plants in pots which compliment the season.

We used gravel to cover the area around the circle and up to the beds and we are in the process of covering the beds with bark chippings, I also have some cobbles which I am going to use to break up the gravel To separate the bark and the gravel I have used Lavender Dwarf Fragrant Munstead which will form a small compact hedge in between the gravel and bark. The shady borders do get sun in the summer towards the late afternoon so the lavender shouldn’t be too deprived of sun in that area of the garden. I bought over 90 plugs!! Great deal from J Parkers.

Finally after all the shrubs and perennials were planted I put in 100’s of bulbs

Trillium Kurabayahii x 5
Minature Daffodills, 3 varieties x 150
Ballerina tulips x 90
Queen of the night tulips x 50
Alliums, Christophii, Purple sensation, Karataviense Ivory Queen,x 80 approx
Anemone Blanda x 50
Muscari comosum Tassel Hyacinth x 20
Dichelostemma Ida-Maia x 30

I am now exhausted and my husband has been longing to get back to work on a monday morning!!!
The final finishing touch in the front is to replace the fence with bricks, but I think we will take the winter off and do that in the spring.
I will keep posting pictures to update the growth and maturity. I really enjoyed this!! If anyone has any questions about the plants I have used and where to buy the, i’ll try and answer as much as I can.
Does anyone think I am bonkers doing this for a living???

• 24 Nov, 2008
• 8 likes

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