Garden Projects 2009 - Part 2 - More Planning, Digging and Buying Plants...

This is going to look fantastic Angie. You are never going to want to go back inside after sitting looking at your new bed. Great blog.

Can't wait to see the photos as it takes shape and then as everything grows! Nice to see the bottlebrush included - a little touch of Oz! Always good for attracting birds and butterflies.

Thanks, i am really excited about it all, it is really nice to share my ideas with some like minded individuals, glad you enjoyed the blog. and yes Bernieh, i am going all out for attracting wild like in this area, we do get lots of mini beastie in the garden anyway, and they are great for Brooke to watch, and discover. and Bottle brush is one of my favorites...i have had one in my last 3 gardens!

It sounds exciting Angie. I really like the pittosporum . It's a lovely colour. I hope you'll show more photos of how your plan progresses.

i will Hywel, i am going to try some cuttings off this Pitto, once its bigger, proberly try layering, so if i am sucessful i'll send you a cutting. :-)

Oh thanks Angie. I had a similar one in my previous garden but all the cuttings I took when I moved have failed.
My Carmel Blue fuchsia has survived the bad winter I think so I can still send you some cuttings in the spring.

Thanks Hywel, that would be lovely. my friend Carmel will be soooo pleased ;-)

This looks really good Angie !
I've hand-drawn two maps of Canada on my Wellie blog which went on GoY yesterday, so I am extra-impressed with your plan of the new garden bed. :o)
I look forward to seeing your progress.

Your plan looks really good.........keep us up to date as it takes shape..... my garden was just a lawn 4 years ago and is now how i want it......you have certainly got it all organised....

Your garden is going to look really nice, waiting to see as you go along with it.

Great plan - doesn't look as if you will get much further this week with a forecast of lots more white stuff to come. Went out there this morning for half an hour - freezing cold - had to come in again so the birds could come down to their food.
You've got some smashing plants there, particularly covet the pittosporum and hamamelis.

Well done, Angie - a plan, lots to get your teeth into (or maybe your fork - lol) and some of the shrubs and plants already available. It will look great and I hope you will keep taking photos to update us.

Your plan looks like the ones I draw - not a rude comment, just true! At least we have ideas, don't we, and isn't it great to put them into practice... FUN, too.

thanks so much for as always your kind and incoraging comments.. ofcourse i will keep you all updated with the progress, and Wagger, i did venture out today for an hour or so, and yes freezing cold, and even continued through the snow, had Brooke with me too, well wrapped up ofcourse, tried to get a pic, of us both digging out our new bed with the snow falling all around us - neighbours must of thought we were mad! lol eventually it became a bit of a bizzard so had to give in an except defeat! and Spritz lol yes wonderful drawing tallents! lol don't worry i won't give up my day job...but on such a big project like this it does help, as i like to work from back to front when digging out and planting, so it helps to have an idea of where i am going. at the end of the day does'nt matter what it looks like if it works! lol

Don't forget to check how big some of those shubs are going to get. It would be a shame to have to dig some of them out again in a couple of years because they were already getting too crowded

wow uncanny be cool to have a massive toad as a toad house .i wouldnt want full grown plants.im up for a deal some say others say im just tight.ive never got money it burns a big hole lol.its the same as for fish indoor or out .even if i was rich i would still like a deal and generaly buy my plants or fish on the younger imiture side anyway.i dont think my gardens back and front with plants sculptures 2000 gallon pond all of it has cost me more than about £300 and im being generous.i get plants for prezzies or bricks or what ever i need.i beg,swap or do things myself.always got my eyes open.theres looking and theres seeing.take care looking good ps i think id rather have a garden that needs work than a ready done one

thanks for the tip Andrew, i know that some of these plants can get big, but i do want quite a compact and overgrown look, and i have done my homework all of these plants can be hacked back to required size. so i think i will be ok. and NP, i completely agree what is the point of saying your a gardener if you buy everything ready done for you, it's not hard to place things and design if your plants are the size they are always going to be, the real skill and fun is in researching your plants, buying them small, imagining what they will look like once fully grown, watching them grow and ofcourse moving them around a few times along the way! lol all part of the fun...and i sell plant on ebay to fund my habbit, so most of what i have, i have bought from money i have made out of the garden. i proberly spent 2-3 hundred pounds to get going, but now i am on way, i am hoping that my hobby will fund it's self.

depends how tight you are im sure youl manage lol.my front garden is totaly overplanted as it goes.i wouldnt do anything else with it so its wall to wall plants with the odd statue.i want the totaly over grown bat cave look lol.im going to build some mad pagoda and get some climbers.im hoping as you get in my garden you dissapear lol

lol sounds like a jungle NP, i do like the look, but some plants don't grow well if overcrouded, and it can encorage P & D's i think this is what Andrew means. and not tight, just skint lol

same thing realy tight skint lol ive lost a couple of plants because of the overcrowding but in general the plants are doing realy well overcrowded.hardly any weeding and brilliant for small animals etc and its rented so when i peg it they will dig all the plants up anyway so what the hell.

p & d`s ?

Pests and diseases I think

cool i believe your right.all my plants dont suffer from snails.i havnt got any hosters lol and my puffer loves them.i almost encourage them lol.touch wood back and front gardens have bean flourashing.i get aphids on my artichokes that more look horrible than hurt and i get a caterpiller that eats one of my willows.it eats the fleshy bit and leaves the skeleton.most interesting.touch wood again there still nice and healthy.i love nature,all of it ish.plants are not my only reasen for my garden and i love spiders

NP - I have a lot of spare slugs you can have :-D

carefull andrew im eating my dinner andrew lol

yes me too, (have some snails and slugs to send) and yes i did mean pests and diseases. come on NP your a gardener would have thought you'd know that one ;-)

i always think people are talkin about me when they say p & d`s lol .i did say 8" puffer didnt i.i dont remember saying 2 ton snail crunching great white puffer did i lol.im not verry good with spelling and letters.a little bit of dyslexia i believe.i kind of know what ive done or sean.the words arnt importent just the knowladge.i only know 2 latin names (seraslum natari) red bellied piranha and (orcus orca)the killer whale excuse my spelling .another reasen to hate school,my head could keep up but i could never get my hands to.i gave up 2 computer courses for the same reasen.

LOL, spelling not my strong point either NP hence abreviating to P & D, lol glad Andrew spelt it as saved me from looking it up in my dictonary. i was terrible at school in bottom class for english, but like yourself quite intellegent, just a bit of a block with spelling.. but i actually found that my spelling improved greatly after floristry college, might sound strange but i found latin names far more easy to spell than English, and a lot of it for me was about confidence.

every thing is about confidance,staying cool and calm.you should see my writing if you think this spelling is bad.i found having to look things up on the internet helped me lots.i kind of had to but in my own time .i can read very well and i can tell if some thing is spelt wrong .our language doesnt help well spelling anyway.talk about misleading

I know exactly what you mean. Latin, is largely spelt as it is said, which is why i found this much easier and really helped me to overcome my spelling gremlins. my spelling is no where near as bad as it used to be. you are obviously a very intelligent guy, i don't know about you but at school i used to mess about in lessons i did'nt like, and English was one of them. i got grade 1 in English language, - i talk a good talk and quite knowledgable in most things, but written English i got an E. my English teacher gave me my corse work back 2 weeks before it was due to be sent off for marking, and said, 'i should'nt really do this, but the work you have done is worth an A or B but because of your spelling you will be lucky to get an E. i am going to give you 2 weeks to go though and change your spelling, just between you and me'....my reply was, 'NO thanks Sir, far too busy over the half term hols for this, just stick um in' so there you have it!

i hated all the school thing realy ya find if your good at something the teachers love ya and if not they barely want to look at ya.i got grade A in art but realy i could of done better not showing of.in fact all my reports said could of done better.i got an E in science and i swear i just took the exam but apart from that i only messed about.i knew i wouldnt need sport ,french or RE and i still stick with that

Majeek , I have asked Andrewr about how to treat a Camellia without chemicles he said you are the person to ask about such thimgs as Parasitic wasps etc . and where to buy them from .. can you tell me please !

BTW I love all your new plants and design .. it,s going to look brilliant !

Hi Amy, i am very flattered that AndrewR thinks i might know, but to be honest not sure about wasps, i did ask a question a while back about mixing Bio controls, eg nemaslug and Catterpiller killer. but was advised against it by Dr.Bob. i think maybe Andrew is refering to this. i have only ever used bio control for slugs and snails, and i must say very effective, hassle free and mess free, only draw backs are frost renders it inactive, so you will need to apply it during the spring 3 times. and secondly it's not cheap. i believe you can get simular products for most garden pests nowdays which are not harmful to other wild life or damaging to frendly bugs. but you would need to do some research. i would advise having a look on the Harold Horticulture web site, this is where i buy mine from, i know that they do a whole range of bio controls for different pests. failing that you could always ask Dr.Bob. he is excellent with P & D's - sorry to pass you about a bit, but he may have other green options you could try, other than bio warfare which can become expensive if it is a large area that you need to treat. hope this helps, good luck Angie x

you could also just go on the internet i find all the answers are here youve just got to ask the question the right way

Hi Angie, I noticed you plan on planting the Sambuca "Black Lace" I have a large healthy plant in my garden, so you're more than welcome to nick a cutting next time you're round, xxx

Hello! thank you, but i have got one - it was the one you said what is that, i think i reconise it, and i could'nt remeber off the top of my head lol. it is small but looks quite healthy, i have herd they grow fast, but if i get any problems i may just take you up on that.

get me a bit majeek lol