General Chat

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

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

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.
:)

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.

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

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

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

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

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 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 .

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

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.