What to do with empty large garden ?
Hi folks.
Im lucky enough that my new house has a 150ft garden. It wasn't tended for over 10 years and was totally overgrown with massive established brambles. I've cut them down and am hlaf-way though digging out the roots and turning over the top 6inches of soil as I go. I think the soil is reasonable fertile as I've heard that Brambles and nettles only grow on fertile soil (is this true?) and I know that the previous gardener used to grow serious crops of vegetables before he got too old to tend the garden, so this must have been approx 20years at least. However, about 12inches down, the soil turns to clay. Now the trouble is, I don’t know what to do with the garden once I have finished clearing out all the weeds and bramble roots. I'm not really ready to do anything specific with the bottom 60ft or so, and am happy for it to just grow wild with wildflowers and tall grasses, but I don't want it to get back into a state where its filled with nettles and brambles and I'll have another hard job of clearing it again. I had visions of a couple of newly planted fruit trees, with lots of nice tall whispy grasses all around etc, but not sure where to start as I am a complete beginner. Does anyone have any ideas of what I should plant ? |
What to do with empty large garden ?
Joe Shmoe wrote:
Hi folks. Im lucky enough that my new house has a 150ft garden. It wasn't tended for over 10 years and was totally overgrown with massive established brambles. I've cut them down and am hlaf-way though digging out the roots and turning over the top 6inches of soil as I go. On that scale my instinct is always to go for a basic chemical kill using glyphosate spray followed after it is all tinder dry and raked well away from any combustible fences to torch the dead plant material in situ. You effectively get two kills for the price of one. Expect some buttercups to survive this, but not a lot else will. You still have to dig out the deeper roots but there is less bulky top growth. BTW do you have any nasty deep rooted or pernicious weeds to see off? Marestail, groundelder, bindweed being obvious examples. You want to nuke them into oblivion before planting anything special. I think the soil is reasonable fertile as I've heard that Brambles and nettles only grow on fertile soil (is this true?) and I know that the previous gardener used to grow serious crops of vegetables before he got too old to tend the garden, so this must have been approx 20years at least. However, about 12inches down, the soil turns to clay. Clay is also very fertile just not well drained. Now the trouble is, I don’t know what to do with the garden once I have finished clearing out all the weeds and bramble roots. I'd leave some nettles and even brambles down the far end for the butterflies. Bramble jelly is quite good. I'm not really ready to do anything specific with the bottom 60ft or so, and am happy for it to just grow wild with wildflowers and tall grasses, but I don't want it to get back into a state where its filled with nettles and brambles and I'll have another hard job of clearing it again. Seed it with a wildflower meadow mix for now and cross your fingers. I had visions of a couple of newly planted fruit trees, with lots of nice tall whispy grasses all around etc, but not sure where to start as I am a complete beginner. They are cheapest and arguably more successful bare rooted in autumn from a specialist nuresery (mail order is OK). Does anyone have any ideas of what I should plant ? If you have the space two or three varieties of apple tree, a pear tree, rhubarb, and soft fruit are all worth growing. In a smaller space the family trees with two cultivars on one stock are worth a try. Regards, Martin Brown ** Posted from http://www.teranews.com ** |
What to do with empty large garden ?
Joe Shmoe wrote:
Hi folks. snippy Oh, I could dig a really large pond if I had a garden like that! :) -- Pete C London UK |
What to do with empty large garden ?
In message , Pete C
writes Joe Shmoe wrote: Hi folks. snippy Oh, I could dig a really large pond if I had a garden like that! :) Agreed - a good size pond would be a must for me (I have spent several hours during the last two days watching blue damselflies emerging from ours). A wildlife area adjacent to the pond would be good but to produce something that has a reasonable balance of plants for shade and full sun areas and a mix of annuals and perennials does take a bit of time. If you are interested in going down this route a worthwhile investment is Chris Baines' 'How to make a wildlife garden', or Natural England's series of free guides at http://tinyurl.com/62jb7n (Http://preview.tinyurl.com/62jb7n if you want the TinyUrl preview version). -- Robert |
Quote:
As to the bottom 60 feet - a grove of trees with lovely barks, underplanted with lots of native bluebells for the spring, and foxgloves for summer, with woodland grasses that do not need much mowing. Or Three good fruit trees, with meadow grasses and wildflowers underneath. I suggest you find open gardens with similar plantings to assess what you want to do before you buy anything. Don't rush into anything. If necessary, to keep the land in good heart, this year grow a catch crop [potatoes, which you can eat, or something like alfalfa which can be dug in as green compost]; and start planning for autumn planting. |
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