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Mr Sandman[_3_] 19-02-2017 08:43 AM

Garden in France
 
Hi all,

I am looking for ideas for my French house's garden, ideally need to post
pictures of what is here now and describe my ideas and get feedback. An
online forum rather than usenet would be better if there are any good ones
you chaps can recommend? otherwise i can post some pics and link to them
here if this is the better place to get some advice from you kind people:-)

Any advice welcomed:-)

Cheers,

Steve


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Mr Sandman[_3_] 19-02-2017 09:25 AM

Garden in France
 


"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
...

On Sun, 19 Feb 2017 07:43:17 -0000, "Mr Sandman"
wrote:

Hi all,

I am looking for ideas for my French house's garden, ideally need to post
pictures of what is here now and describe my ideas and get feedback. An
online forum rather than usenet would be better if there are any good ones
you chaps can recommend? otherwise i can post some pics and link to them
here if this is the better place to get some advice from you kind people:-)

Any advice welcomed:-)

Cheers,

Steve


This newsgroup has many very well qualified contributors, amateur and
professional. It has to be one of the better sources of information on
the net. But France is a big country with many climatic regions.
Advice given will depend very much on where your house is; info on
some or all of North, South, coastal, Massif Centrale, max/min temps
and rainfall would all help with the advice given.

--

Chris

Thanks Chris, i will take some pics and put some thoughts together and get
back to the group.

Cheers!

Steve
Gardening in West Cornwall overlooking the sea.
Mild, but very exposed to salt gales


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Jeff Layman[_2_] 19-02-2017 09:31 AM

Garden in France
 
On 19/02/17 07:43, Mr Sandman wrote:
Hi all,

I am looking for ideas for my French house's garden, ideally need to post
pictures of what is here now and describe my ideas and get feedback. An
online forum rather than usenet would be better if there are any good ones
you chaps can recommend? otherwise i can post some pics and link to them
here if this is the better place to get some advice from you kind people:-)

Any advice welcomed:-)

Cheers,

Steve


Look around you and see what others are growing. It will give you an
idea of what will grow in your area. For example, if you don't see any
rhododendrons, you can be pretty sure the ground is too alkaline. If
there are lots of prairie-type plants, then it is going to be hot and
dry in summer and the soil probably poor nutritionally and free-draining.

Visit local garden centres and see what they are offering. If there is a
long-established one locally, ask their advice about local growing
conditions and what plants do well.

--

Jeff

Mr Sandman[_3_] 22-02-2017 09:12 AM

Garden in France
 


"Mr Sandman" wrote in message
o.uk...

Hi all,

I am looking for ideas for my French house's garden, ideally need to post
pictures of what is here now and describe my ideas and get feedback. An
online forum rather than usenet would be better if there are any good ones
you chaps can recommend? otherwise i can post some pics and link to them
here if this is the better place to get some advice from you kind people:-)

Any advice welcomed:-)

Cheers,

Steve

Hi all,

Here is a picture of the house from the lane at side of house. Just for
perspective.

http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_0315.jpg

Here is a picture of the long fence as you drive up towards the house. It
needs someone doing to hide it or break it up and I'm not sure what to do
with it. I have put the odd rose up though...

http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_0314.jpg

Here is the main problem. This area at front of house we want to use in the
cooler weather but at the moment it's just a sitting area in the middle of
nowhere. I have had a suggestion to create some pergola or structure over
the seating to enclose it a little and create a little dappled shade, or
with a full roof, a nice sheltered area. Also extend the box shrubs behind
the seats somehow. I am thinking it would be nice to make this area into a
garden but with shrubs and trees etc coming out of the gravel?

http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_0317.jpg

http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_0318.jpg

View from house.

http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_0319.jpg

Any suggestions comment welcomed:-)

Many thanks,

Steve


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Mr Sandman[_3_] 22-02-2017 09:15 AM

Garden in France
 


"Jeff Layman" wrote in message ...

On 19/02/17 07:43, Mr Sandman wrote:
Hi all,

I am looking for ideas for my French house's garden, ideally need to post
pictures of what is here now and describe my ideas and get feedback. An
online forum rather than usenet would be better if there are any good ones
you chaps can recommend? otherwise i can post some pics and link to them
here if this is the better place to get some advice from you kind
people:-)

Any advice welcomed:-)

Cheers,

Steve


Look around you and see what others are growing. It will give you an
idea of what will grow in your area. For example, if you don't see any
rhododendrons, you can be pretty sure the ground is too alkaline. If
there are lots of prairie-type plants, then it is going to be hot and
dry in summer and the soil probably poor nutritionally and free-draining.

Visit local garden centres and see what they are offering. If there is a
long-established one locally, ask their advice about local growing
conditions and what plants do well.

--

Jeff

Thanks Jeff. I have posted pics now, see other post. We are just north of
Bordeaux, have palms, olive trees ect, but winter is short but can be
cold -10c. On a hill so a bit exposed. Snow is rare but light. temps upto
42c in the summer, more commonly 32c.

cheers

steve


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Jeff Layman[_2_] 22-02-2017 02:02 PM

Garden in France
 
On 22/02/17 08:12, Mr Sandman wrote:


"Mr Sandman" wrote in message
o.uk...

Hi all,

I am looking for ideas for my French house's garden, ideally need to post
pictures of what is here now and describe my ideas and get feedback. An
online forum rather than usenet would be better if there are any good ones
you chaps can recommend? otherwise i can post some pics and link to them
here if this is the better place to get some advice from you kind people:-)

Any advice welcomed:-)

Cheers,

Steve

Hi all,

Here is a picture of the house from the lane at side of house. Just for
perspective.

http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_0315.jpg

Here is a picture of the long fence as you drive up towards the house. It
needs someone doing to hide it or break it up and I'm not sure what to do
with it. I have put the odd rose up though...

http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_0314.jpg

Here is the main problem. This area at front of house we want to use in the
cooler weather but at the moment it's just a sitting area in the middle of
nowhere. I have had a suggestion to create some pergola or structure over
the seating to enclose it a little and create a little dappled shade, or
with a full roof, a nice sheltered area. Also extend the box shrubs behind
the seats somehow. I am thinking it would be nice to make this area into a
garden but with shrubs and trees etc coming out of the gravel?

http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_0317.jpg

http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_0318.jpg

View from house.

http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_0319.jpg

Any suggestions comment welcomed:-)

Many thanks,

Steve


The pics are helpful, but I have a couple of questions.

Firstly, what direction does that front wall face? I assume it's south
or west as you say you want to use it in cooler weather. Secondly,
what's under the gravel? If it's just weedproof membrane over soil then
you could plant in it. But if it's, for example, a few cm of gravel over
maybe 20 cm of compressed hardcore then very little will grow unless you
can dig out the hardcore and replace it with some soil.

--

Jeff

Mr Sandman[_3_] 22-02-2017 11:18 PM

Garden in France
 

Hi all,

I am looking for ideas for my French house's garden, ideally need to post
pictures of what is here now and describe my ideas and get feedback. An
online forum rather than usenet would be better if there are any good ones
you chaps can recommend? otherwise i can post some pics and link to them
here if this is the better place to get some advice from you kind
people:-)

Any advice welcomed:-)

Cheers,

Steve

Hi all,

Here is a picture of the house from the lane at side of house. Just for
perspective.

http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_0315.jpg

Here is a picture of the long fence as you drive up towards the house. It
needs someone doing to hide it or break it up and I'm not sure what to do
with it. I have put the odd rose up though...

http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_0314.jpg

Here is the main problem. This area at front of house we want to use in
the
cooler weather but at the moment it's just a sitting area in the middle of
nowhere. I have had a suggestion to create some pergola or structure over
the seating to enclose it a little and create a little dappled shade, or
with a full roof, a nice sheltered area. Also extend the box shrubs
behind
the seats somehow. I am thinking it would be nice to make this area into a
garden but with shrubs and trees etc coming out of the gravel?

http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_0317.jpg

http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_0318.jpg

View from house.

http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_0319.jpg

Any suggestions comment welcomed:-)

Many thanks,

Steve


The pics are helpful, but I have a couple of questions.

Firstly, what direction does that front wall face? I assume it's south
or west as you say you want to use it in cooler weather. Secondly,
what's under the gravel? If it's just weedproof membrane over soil then
you could plant in it. But if it's, for example, a few cm of gravel over
maybe 20 cm of compressed hardcore then very little will grow unless you
can dig out the hardcore and replace it with some soil.

--

Jeff

Hi Jeff, yes you are right, the front wall faces due south, and the gravel
has compressed crushed limestone underneath, so yes, i will need to do some
work to plant it up. But as it happens, i have a digger on site in the next
few months doing another job.....

Steve :-)


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Jeff Layman[_2_] 23-02-2017 09:39 AM

Garden in France
 
On 22/02/17 22:18, Mr Sandman wrote:

Hi all,

I am looking for ideas for my French house's garden, ideally need to post
pictures of what is here now and describe my ideas and get feedback. An
online forum rather than usenet would be better if there are any good ones
you chaps can recommend? otherwise i can post some pics and link to them
here if this is the better place to get some advice from you kind
people:-)

Any advice welcomed:-)

Cheers,

Steve

Hi all,

Here is a picture of the house from the lane at side of house. Just for
perspective.

http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_0315.jpg

Here is a picture of the long fence as you drive up towards the house. It
needs someone doing to hide it or break it up and I'm not sure what to do
with it. I have put the odd rose up though...

http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_0314.jpg

Here is the main problem. This area at front of house we want to use in
the
cooler weather but at the moment it's just a sitting area in the middle of
nowhere. I have had a suggestion to create some pergola or structure over
the seating to enclose it a little and create a little dappled shade, or
with a full roof, a nice sheltered area. Also extend the box shrubs
behind
the seats somehow. I am thinking it would be nice to make this area into a
garden but with shrubs and trees etc coming out of the gravel?

http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_0317.jpg

http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_0318.jpg

View from house.

http://i885.photobucket.com/albums/a...e/IMG_0319.jpg

Any suggestions comment welcomed:-)

Many thanks,

Steve


The pics are helpful, but I have a couple of questions.

Firstly, what direction does that front wall face? I assume it's south
or west as you say you want to use it in cooler weather. Secondly,
what's under the gravel? If it's just weedproof membrane over soil then
you could plant in it. But if it's, for example, a few cm of gravel over
maybe 20 cm of compressed hardcore then very little will grow unless you
can dig out the hardcore and replace it with some soil.


Hi Jeff, yes you are right, the front wall faces due south, and the gravel
has compressed crushed limestone underneath, so yes, i will need to do some
work to plant it up. But as it happens, i have a digger on site in the
next
few months doing another job.....

Steve :-)

Hope you see this OK as you use Windows Live Mail, and it's messed
things up by putting your reply in after my sig. I've had to
copy'n'paste your reply in, but it'll look like it's my text as there's
no "" at the beginning of your text.

Well, we are getting somewhere. That limestone means ericaceous plants
really won't like the conditions. There are some lime-tolerant rhodos,
and if you really want one then you'll have to look at some internet
pages which cover them. There is a lot of information available on which
shrubs and trees to avoid on alkaline soil, and similarly a lot on those
which love it. I wouldn't bother putting ericaceous plants in containers
with acid soil. As you pointed out that area will get very hot in summer
and you'll be forever watering them (by the way, is your water chalky?
If so, it's another good reason to avoid anything which doesn't like
chalk and needs regular watering). For shrubs remember that area will
get very hot, and things like cistus will go mad and romp away. You
might want to consider any "Mediterranean" climate plants from the
southern hemisphere and California (such as ceanothus). How well they do
in winter might depend on exactly how cold it gets in winter, but
remember that many American plants, particularly trees, grow better in a
continental climate. They survive much colder weather than in the UK
because the wood is ripened by extreme summer heat. In fact, many flower
much better than they do here.

To cover the fence you could grow various clematis and lonicera.

You could do worse than put some climbing roses on that wall. They
should do very well there. As to shade in summer, you could put up a
pergola and grow a decent wisteria up and over it. The advantage is not
only the wonderful flower display in April/May, but the foliage will
provide ample shade in high summer, and when you need more light in
winter, the leaves will have fallen. There are many other choices for
climbers on a pergola; being where you are, you might find that a grape
vine isn't exactly out-of-place!

Remember that many plants need maintenance to keep them growing well, in
particular pruning. And with a large garden that can take some time.

You pretty much have a blank canvas on which to experiment. There will
be mistakes, no doubt, but it will be a lot of fun. And one hell of a
challenge!

Bonne chance!

--

Jeff

Jeff Layman[_2_] 23-02-2017 12:41 PM

Garden in France
 
On 23/02/17 09:13, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Thu, 23 Feb 2017 08:39:58 +0000, Jeff Layman
wrote:
a lot of god advice snipped


Hmm, I've never considered myself all-knowing... ;-)

--

Jeff

Mr Sandman[_3_] 02-03-2017 09:06 AM

Garden in France
 


"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
...

On Thu, 23 Feb 2017 08:39:58 +0000, Jeff Layman
wrote:
a lot of god advice snipped

In addition to everything Jeff said, you need to get some height in
there to provide a bit of interest and break up that 'flat'
appearance. In other words, a couple of trees. See what grows locally,
or is available in local garden centres. Pinus pinaster grows well in
the Landes Forest. Poplars also do well, apparently. But they'll not
be instant solutions.

For more ideas in the Bordeaux region, see
http://www.greenart.com/plants-exped...1-forests.html

You might even consider a grape or two on the fence.

--

Chris

Gardening in West Cornwall overlooking the sea.
Mild, but very exposed to salt gales

Thanks both for your help.

So, for the fence, grow stuff on it as suggested? and may be a tree or two
planted near to it to break up the length? You can see from the pictures i
have recently planted a few trees in the garden but they will take a few
years to really make their mark.

for the seating area, a wooden pergola with wisteria growing up each leg.
and what about the area behind the seats in front of the fence? just a
selection of shrubs of various sizes to hide the fence and 'frame' the area
a bit? as its all pebble ground there, i really want to avoid leaves being
dropped, so maybe mostly ferns of varying types?

Thanks for the advice:-)

Cheers,

Steve


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Jeff Layman[_2_] 02-03-2017 06:21 PM

Garden in France
 
On 02/03/17 08:06, Mr Sandman wrote:
Thanks both for your help.

So, for the fence, grow stuff on it as suggested? and may be a tree or two
planted near to it to break up the length? You can see from the pictures i
have recently planted a few trees in the garden but they will take a few
years to really make their mark.

for the seating area, a wooden pergola with wisteria growing up each leg.
and what about the area behind the seats in front of the fence? just a
selection of shrubs of various sizes to hide the fence and 'frame' the area
a bit? as its all pebble ground there, i really want to avoid leaves being
dropped, so maybe mostly ferns of varying types?

Thanks for the advice:-)

Cheers,

Steve


You don't need four wisteria plants. One, perhaps two, will soon take
over. One evergreen plant to cover the fence is Rubus tricolor, a superb
plant with shiny leaves and red-brown hairy stems. If you want to take a
chance, you could always try a passion flower, as they are a lot hardier
than many think. If it survives, a machete should be on the list of
required garden tools!

I doubt many ferns are suitable for the area you mention; from what you
said, it faces west, and will get very hot and dry in summer. Small
cistus and similar plants would do very well, also some herbs such as
rosemary. Maybe some of the giant alliums and things like kniphofia
would add interest, and would take the heat easily. Also consider trying
some eucalyptus, but quite a few get very big, very quickly!

A few choice conifers of various colours and shapes (check for
suitability on growing over chalk) would help break things up, too.

--

Jeff

David Rance[_3_] 04-03-2017 10:02 AM

Garden in France
 
On Thu, 2 Mar 2017 08:06:50 Mr Sandman wrote:

So, for the fence, grow stuff on it as suggested? and
may be a tree or two planted near to it to break up the
length? You can see from the pictures i have recently
planted a few trees in the garden but they will take a
few years to really make their mark.


Why not try a bougainvillea which you see happily scrambling across
fences and walls from the Loire southwards? Very pretty! I would have
mentioned it a few days ago but had forgotten the name!

By the way, I had difficulty in replying to you as you posted your reply
below the tear line (two hyphens and a space) and some mail readers
don't include it in the quote.

David
--
David Rance writing from Caversham, Reading, UK

volt23 20-03-2017 04:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Sandman[_3_] (Post 1024115)
Hi all,

I am looking for ideas for my French house's garden, ideally need to post
pictures of what is here now and describe my ideas and get feedback. An
online forum rather than usenet would be better if there are any good ones
you chaps can recommend? otherwise i can post some pics and link to them
here if this is the better place to get some advice from you kind people:-)

I tried to plane my own garden one time, but in result it was compleatly lame, becouse lack of exp, so u better try to call some pro's in that case. Casual amateurs tips will not make u garden of ur dream)

volt23 20-03-2017 04:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by volt23 (Post 1024342)
I tried to plane my own garden one time, but in result it was compleatly lame, becouse lack of exp, so u better try to call some pro's in that case.

Im telling that, becouse tips of casual amateurs would not make the garden of your dream in any way, so the proper consultation is the main need.

Jeff Layman[_2_] 20-03-2017 08:20 AM

Garden in France
 
On 20/03/17 03:16, volt23 wrote:
'Mr Sandman[_3_ Wrote:
;1024115']Hi all,

I am looking for ideas for my French house's garden, ideally need to
post
pictures of what is here now and describe my ideas and get feedback. An

online forum rather than usenet would be better if there are any good
ones
you chaps can recommend? otherwise i can post some pics and link to them

here if this is the better place to get some advice from you kind
people:-)



I tried to plane my own garden one time, but in result it was compleatly
lame, becouse lack of exp, so u better try to call some pro's in that
case. Casual amateurs tips will not make u garden of ur dream)


You mean you want somebody else's ideas for *your* garden? There are
many mistakes you can make of a practical kind, such as putting
rhododendrons on chalky soil, sun-loving plants on a north-facing wall,
or a pond under deciduous trees, etc, but these aren't design matters.

If I want a good laugh I always look at the "inspired" gardens at
Chelsea and Hampton Court. Well, they certainly make me take a deep
breath just before a long sigh...

--

Jeff


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