I want some ideas for a labour saving small garden. At the moment it
is a patio with tubs.

In article ,
(Cdonahey41) wrote:

Find an old cushion (polyurethane foam), cut it out and fill it with soil to
suit. Any clumps of leaves laying around is a good way to start. Then plant
to suit. These kill any plants underneath. They can also be upholstered with
needle and thread. Burlap is nice. I have a number of dwarf perennials
in some.
Eventually, they cover the whole planter. Most plants will eventually attach
to soil. They will break down concrete with time, I suppose. But it
would take
some time. I had one on a concrete walkway over the summer. When I moved the
cushion planter, the walkway was lighter, although that has faded away.

I'd love to see photos of gardening by the method you describe. My first
response is that gardening with polyurethane foam sounds horrible, but
having never seen what you're describing, I wouldn't too quickly assum
that it couldn't be done beautifully. As a method to kill sod & weeds
underneath, it seems like overkill. I've killed weeds & sod around
plantings with a barrier of paper hidden by leafmold or dark compost, & by
the time the paper is eaten by worms, weeds or sod is wiped out, with the
cleared area newly suitable for spring bulbs or cyclamens or hepatica.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/

I have a bunch in the parking lot garden. We had too many parking places and
strange people parking there, so I extended the garden. It's mostly broken
down old concrete and I have mulched extensively there as well. I added lots
of leaves this fall Some of the planters look just like cutout sandstone.
Others look pretty raw. I obtained one cushion after a couch fire and that is
beautifully contured. I'll send you a picture. I lose dwarf perennials in
the regular garden - other plants just take over. The cushions are really
useful in this situation.

One thing I've seen occasionally and liked is taking
an old chair that either has the seat ripped out or
you can easily do that yourself, skritching a pot
into the empty seat area and letting it grow. While
it might not be exactly what you're looking for, it's
a little more interesting that just plants in tubs.
The plants I've liked the most in them are ones that
will vine up the back of the chair or ones that hang
over the sides.

Tracey