General Chat

Isnt it strange how differently other people do thing with planting. Watering my neighbours garden while they are away made me think of it. I am quietly criticising some things and how I would do them differently, then I come across a good idea that I might copy, and a flower I dont recognise.

Lol Jean - that's me to a T!

One of my neighbours came into my garden last week, and quite blatently said "well I never would have thought of doing that...........I think I'll do the same.............you have given me so many ideas".

I didnt know whether to be flattered or annoyed)))))

I am incredibly nosey though about other peoples gardens and I suppose subconsciously I do snitch ideas - only subconsciously though - lol


Jac xxx

I love looking at other peoples gardens . I don't go in for bedding plants in neat rows myself but if it's done right it can look quite stricking .
I like a cottage style garden myself and am always pleased if passers by say that this or that about my patch .

Hi all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery they say, why are we so fond of watching gardening programes, if not to hope that our gardens look just like the expert ones do?

I love gardening, but tend to buy what takes my fancy in the nursery and bung it in wherever there is a space. If it lives, good if not, tough.

Despite my cavalier attitude, my garden is a riot of colour at the moment, and smells gorgious. Enjoy your gardening, love Nina

I like the sound of " cavalier attitude " Nina......sounds just like myself.....lol

I am sure we all 'filtch' ideas from friends and neighbours and vice versa. Where would we get ideas from otherwise? I think it is flattering if somebody wants to copy what we have done. I am for the cottage garden look too, if there is a space fill it with a plant!!

ann
Glos

Well, my garden looks very different from Ann's... but Ann's garden was my inspiration... I have unashamedly *copied* her ideas, and maybe used different materials and plantings to give a slightly different effect. Not only have I copied some of her ideas, but Ann and her hubby have been very kind and have even given me a lot of plants and cuttings, lol!!

But when mine is matured, it will look just as full to overflowing, with all those little treasures around unexpected corners...... and still look a totally different garden! I hope ;¬))

Love

Daff xxxx

going slightly off the subject, Yesterday my OH called me into the kitchen(which is the front of the house-1960,build!!) and asked if I seen the big Phormium which is planted in the middle of a raised bed ,Its been in about 4 years after being in a pot for a couple of years before that> sooooooooooo to my surprise over night it had sprung up from the centre an enormous flower stem with several shoots with flower buds that look almost like birds of paradise flower shape. we are waiting to see what flowers it opens up with but I,m really surprised how a stem can come up literally overnight to about 4 feet high, It definitely wasnt there on show on Wednesday as we would have seen it.
It has redeemed itself too as i was contemplating cutting in all down as it was getting too big and too wide for the bed.
Shirley

What a lovely surprise, wonder if it one of those plants that only flowers every so many years?


Daff, your garden is lovely and will be wonderful when all the plants grow to fill the spaces.

I love my garden but I tend to make it up as I go along and it has changed quite a lot over the years as things have grown and trees and shrubs matured.
Ours isn't a big garden but people think it is bigger than it is. Even one of our neighbours was convinced ours was longer till we pointed out that her house was level with ours and the back fence was too! LOL
The trick is to make sure you curve beds so you can't see it all at once. We've made little different areas and we have planted trees which are not too dense but are tall. Our silver birch is especially beautiful. I think even small gardens should have height. When I see programmes on TV which show tiny gardens with tiny plantings I think they'd be better with more dramatic taller designs.
:)

sounds lovely Sue, yes ours was made up as we went along and for a few years changed every year!

I see so many lovely plants, previously unknown to me, as I visit lots of gardens open for Charity and often they have plants for sale quite reasonably too, so you have a new plant to add to your own garden and you have a memory of the garden it came from. You can pinch their ideas too so well worth a visit to an Open Garden or several near you.

Lizx

That's a good idea, Liz..... how do I find out which gardens are open in this area? I'll google in a moment.... I can now start driving further afield, as well... might drag Ann kicking and screaming along with me for the company, ;¬)) Another week or so!!

I have to start developing a long-term attitude to my garden... having moved around so much, I had to go for instant effect.... many of my shrubs were in containers so that I could move them more easily. If I went for long-term effect... well, often, I would only have 1 year in a place.... not much time to see the fruits of my labour.

I have had the hard landscaping done for me.... the skeleton is there, now I need to fill it all in, lol I love jam-packed plantings... cottage style with a couple of modern twists thrown in. It will evolve over the coming years.... but I am loving it right now, as well, and that is the important thing.

Love

Daff xxxx

Ours is cottage style, but the front has recently been landscaped for ease of care as it was a steep slope to mow. We buy plants and think where to put them afterwards. Some plants are disappointing when the blurb praises them to the skies. We had 2 nice large pot and bought tree peonies to go in them. They have done nothing but open a few leaves this year. But the Sedum is almost in flower and will be a blaze of colour soon.

Ours is a jungle, but l love it:o)))) Wild grasses from the bird seeds, beautiful yellow thistles about 4ft high, aliums about the same height, obedient plant (don't know it by any other name) this year are about 4 ft hight. My secret path, well the beginning of the path is'nt secret but you can't see the rest, tiny bench half way round right next to what was the pond but we filled it in, loads of weeds!! lol
l have'nt a clue what l'm doing, and too often buy plants and forget to plant them. l have 6 waiting to be planted now!!!!

The birds love it with all the grass and thistles:o))

jude :o)

www.ngs.org.uk/ will take you to the site then you put in your postcode and how far away you want to go, and the dates etc and the open gardens are listed, we have visited dozens over the years, some more than once. Some times they have lots in one village so you can see many different styles, talk to knowledgable people and get lovely plants at a fraction of the cost usually of garden centres. Sundays will never be the same once you start this malarkey lol

Some garden centres etc have leaflets, there is one printed every year for each area.

Lizx

Thanks Liz........ Poor R, I'll be dragging him around all these gardens now!

Jude, I am naughty for buying plants and then not getting around to planting them....... I have made myself promise that I shall do it more quickly in future, before they become potbound, lol Your garden sounds lovely, too.

Love

Daff xxxx

I agree with everything on this thread, and although I have a jungle/tropical border, after a couple of years to get it established, I got a bit fed up with just all the green leaves to look at. So, now I buy anything that is about 2-3 foot high, with plenty of colour, and 'drop' them in between the ferns and foliage. I do not 'do' bedding plants as such, but love the fuschia hanging baskets, and the bizzie lizzie window boxes on the summer house. Fortunately for me, my kitchen is on the back, so I can see everything from my window. I even have baskets up in the winter for a bit of colour, though not as much of it.
I did the garden visiting about a couple of years ago, and without sounding big headed, was not greatly impressed. I thought mine was better, but the entrance monies are for charity, so it is a good idea.
I would not say my garden is perfect, but it suits me, and unless the nosey neighbours hang out their bedroom windows and cran their neck, it is for my viewing only.
Happy gardening ladies, off to the garden centre for one or two things, but OH is as now emptying the car boot.
Julia in Derbyshire

Managed to get two contrasting clematis on my trip to the garden centre, also a climbing fuschia, said to be the only variety that does this.
I do not like Aphrodite like statues in my garden, but then I don't like Gnomes. It is just that my garden is not that kind of garden, but I know alot of people do like them.
However I do like jingly-janglies, like wind-chimes. So went to a second garden centre and bought two more, had a lovely much needed cup of tea and a lovely drive home. What a way for a very keen gardener to spend a Sunday afternoon.
Best Regards to you all
Julia in Derbyshire

I'm not into statuary, generally, either... but do plan on an Aphrodite eventually, all coyly tucked away around a corner, lol... reason being, one of my sons was born in Cyprus, so it will hold a memory... I'd like it to be quirkified, though, lol... and have some plants screening her modesty, lol!!

We'll see.

Next door have wind chimes, quite a few... they do tend to keep me awake on a breezy night, and I can't sleep with the window closed, either. Still, they are wonderful neighbours, so mustn't complain!!

Love

Daff xxxx

I have just put my peas and sweetcorn into their final spot!! And found a couple of nice pots for the grasses. Then it rained... well, bucketed, is a more apt description!!

Love

Daff xxxx