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Im new to gardening but like colourful wild looking gardens. Any tips on where to start please anyone???

mcknome

By Mcknome

United Kingdom

Id like things with a bit of height and lots of colour. Many thanks.




Answers

 

Hi
we recently put in a wildlife pond and so to help attract more wildlife we literally mixed lots of wildflower seeds together in a pot with a bit of soil and sprinkled over the area we wanted covered which we had scored so as the seeds fell in to little beds
we then threw over a fine layer of soil and watered and let mother nature do the rest

its mad now and any bits we dont want in we can pull out at ease

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what ever you do take lots of pictures and keep us posted

WELCOME TO GOY

oh and if theres one I would reccomend it would definatly be Borage its magnificent and bees love it

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15 Jul, 2009

 

Look at nature, roadside verges in the country, fields, riversides etc then go for the equivalent cultivated plants. Try then to plant in a way to resemble how plants grow together in the wild. You will end up with a mixture of grasses, daisy type plants and umbellifers. Then look at the planting styles of Piet Oudolf, James van Sweden, Mary Payne to get you started. Make a plant list, and off you go!

16 Jul, 2009

 

First, don't think that 'wild gardening' is easier. In fact it can be more difficult to get the combination of wild plants and cultivated ones without being taken over by real weeds like thistles and brambles. Having said that, I agree that these are the best form of gardens for wildlife and appearance.
Flowers which are wonderful attractants for insects and look very colourful are phacelia, an annual with lots of pink/purple flowers. This self seeds easily so once you have it you should keep it. Tall things like hollyhocks do well in a wild garden. The ones we sowed six years ago are still growing despite being surrounded by grass and other creeping weeds.
Another good annual is borage, with its blue flowers, which attracts lots of insects. If you want a real 'monster', try Inula Magnifica, a tall perennial with large yellow flowers. Once established this will take over an area, but is best at the back of a border. (6 to 8 ft in conditions it likes.)
Foxgloves are good too in a mix, but rather than digitalis purpurea go for one of the perennial ones like digitalis parviflora or ferruginea. If they like the spot, they will come back year after year. Maltese Cross, (Lychnis) has prominent red flowers on long stems and survives well in a crowded environment. Lilium regale do well we find as they can reach up through surrounding vegetation.
As for grasses, stipa tenuissima (Pony Tails) is beautiful and non invasive, but easily grown, and there are many different miscanthus which vary in height and growth from things as tall as bamboo to 3 ft or so.
Good luck with your wild garden, and welcome to GOY.

16 Jul, 2009

 

Thank u guys for ur help and advice....ill be sure to keep u all updated with some photos. Thanks for the warm welcome too!!!!!

16 Jul, 2009

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