JennyC wrote:
"Steve North" wrote in message
om...
My house is going up for sale in six weeks and to improve its
sellability I need to do a makeover of the totally neglected and bare
back garden. Needless to say it must be as low budget as possible. I
have tall brick walls to the rear and one side of the garden and the
garden is just turfed with no flowers, trees etc. So, I would be
grateful for any ideas for pretty, budget plants or flowers that will
look nice. They only have to last for this summer but will obviously
have to grow quick or be bought half grown for me to get it finished
in six weeks. I particularly would like to hide the brick walls, so
ideas for this would be good..

many thanks Steve

As plants take years and years to get properly established,

Not all. There's Ground elder, ivy, thistles, dandelions, mile-a-minute
russian thingy, brambles, mint. probably not the effect desired though.

Perhaps some creative thought is required he how about levelling the
whole plot and filling it up with lots of gorgeous plants in pots that would
look good at the new place?

maybe you'd better call Ground Force :~)

or Aneka Rice (sp)?

--
William Tasso

Steve North wrote:

My house is going up for sale in six weeks and to improve its
sellability I need to do a makeover of the totally neglected and bare
back garden. Needless to say it must be as low budget as possible. I
have tall brick walls to the rear and one side of the garden and the
garden is just turfed with no flowers, trees etc. So, I would be
grateful for any ideas for pretty, budget plants or flowers that will
look nice. They only have to last for this summer but will obviously
have to grow quick or be bought half grown for me to get it finished
in six weeks. I particularly would like to hide the brick walls, so
ideas for this would be good..

You are probably better off buying relatively fast growing, colourful
annuals or half hardy plants. It is almost the season for buying them at
the moment and with good choices you can have 2-3' of growth by
midsummer. No point in going for expensive herbaceous stuff that won't
get established quickly enough to be useful.

Don't try and hide the walls you won't be able to do it convincingly -
put things at the bottom that look good there. And maybe a few annual
climbers like morning glory, sweet peas to break it up a bit. Your
biggest problem is making it look established - best chance is fast
growing annuals and a couple of bigger plants in pots.

A standard datura in the sunniest corner would work well in perfuming a
walled garden.

Regards,
Martin Brown

On 2 May 2003 16:31:24 -0700, (Steve North)
wrote:

My house is going up for sale in six weeks and to improve its
sellability I need to do a makeover of the totally neglected and bare
back garden. Needless to say it must be as low budget as possible. I
have tall brick walls to the rear and one side of the garden and the
garden is just turfed with no flowers, trees etc. So, I would be
grateful for any ideas for pretty, budget plants or flowers that will
look nice. They only have to last for this summer but will obviously
have to grow quick or be bought half grown for me to get it finished
in six weeks. I particularly would like to hide the brick walls, so
ideas for this would be good..

many thanks

Steve

Hi

It might be worth buying plants in tubs, so the investment you make
now won't be lost as you can take them with you. Perhaps you can
paint one or more of the walls, and find something attractive to mount
on them that again you can take away later, we've just bought a lovely
verdi gris plaque of the head of a greek god, the kind of thing that
you normally see as a fountain for only £20. How about some well
developed ivy which is cheap and can be wound through a trellis
mounted on the wall?

Don't underestimate though how many people will be grateful for a neat
but blank canvas that they can shape once they've bought your place.
Good luck.

Regards

"The only time you don't fail is the last time you try anything -- and it
works."

- William Strong

subbykins{Chrd}

in article , Steve North at
wrote on 3/5/03 12:31 am:

My house is going up for sale in six weeks and to improve its
sellability I need to do a makeover of the totally neglected and bare
back garden. Needless to say it must be as low budget as possible. I
have tall brick walls to the rear and one side of the garden and the
garden is just turfed with no flowers, trees etc. So, I would be
grateful for any ideas for pretty, budget plants or flowers that will
look nice. They only have to last for this summer but will obviously
have to grow quick or be bought half grown for me to get it finished
in six weeks. I particularly would like to hide the brick walls, so
ideas for this would be good..

Don't even try. Leave it clean and weed free, grass mown and that's it. Do
not even attempt to cover up something so lovely as brick walls for which
many people would kill! Let them shine.
Get rid of any garden rubbish, broken toys, old bonfire heaps, dead bikes,
that sort of thing, if they're there.
Your new buyers will look at it as they look at the rest of the property - a
blank canvas. Just make it clean and tidy and save yourself money. Same goes
for the house. Clean and tidy, so people can let their imaginations run
free.
Sacha

(subbykins{Chrd}) wrote in message ...
On 2 May 2003 16:31:24 -0700, (Steve North)
wrote:

My house is going up for sale in six weeks and to improve its
sellability I need to do a makeover of the totally neglected and bare
back garden. Needless to say it must be as low budget as possible. I
have tall brick walls to the rear and one side of the garden and the
garden is just turfed with no flowers, trees etc. So, I would be
grateful for any ideas for pretty, budget plants or flowers that will
look nice. They only have to last for this summer but will obviously
have to grow quick or be bought half grown for me to get it finished
in six weeks. I particularly would like to hide the brick walls, so
ideas for this would be good..

many thanks

Steve

Hi

It might be worth buying plants in tubs, so the investment you make
now won't be lost as you can take them with you. Perhaps you can
paint one or more of the walls, and find something attractive to mount
on them that again you can take away later, we've just bought a lovely
verdi gris plaque of the head of a greek god, the kind of thing that
you normally see as a fountain for only £20. How about some well
developed ivy which is cheap and can be wound through a trellis
mounted on the wall?

Don't underestimate though how many people will be grateful for a neat
but blank canvas that they can shape once they've bought your place.
Good luck.

I agree I got a fairly bznk garden myself recently and that was an advantage.

--
Neil Jones- http://www.butterflyguy.com/
"At some point I had to stand up and be counted. Who speaks for the
butterflies?" Andrew Lees - The quotation on his memorial at Crymlyn
Bog National Nature Reserve

In article ,
says...
My house is going up for sale in six weeks and to improve its
sellability I need to do a makeover of the totally neglected and bare
back garden. Needless to say it must be as low budget as possible. I
have tall brick walls to the rear and one side of the garden and the
garden is just turfed with no flowers, trees etc. So, I would be
grateful for any ideas for pretty, budget plants or flowers that will
look nice. They only have to last for this summer but will obviously
have to grow quick or be bought half grown for me to get it finished
in six weeks. I particularly would like to hide the brick walls, so
ideas for this would be good..

For a small section of the wall, buy a metal mirror about head height
and double the width of a door, screw it to the wall, mount some cheap
trellis over it and plant something that climbs quickly (too early for
nasturtiums?) Put a couple of bay standards to either side of in (in
planters so you can take them with you) and you now have afocal point
for the garden. Work out from there.

Warwick (wants a wall to do that on)

"Sacha" wrote in message
...
in article , Steve North at
wrote on 3/5/03 12:31 am:

My house is going up for sale in six weeks and to improve its
sellability I need to do a makeover of the totally neglected and bare
back garden. Needless to say it must be as low budget as possible. I
have tall brick walls to the rear and one side of the garden and the
garden is just turfed with no flowers, trees etc.

snipped

You might be surprised at what people will buy!
I bought a place with a massive and overgrown garden. All I saw was the
array of flowers and said gotta have it! Didnt get as far as the houseg By
the way the house was equally unkept and messy ( not to mention smelly and
grimey) But I didnt care , a bit of bleach in the house and mowing the grass
down in the garden worked wonders.

Most people of course wont be like me, but I suspect many will favour a
neatly mown and edged lawn. Put some annual flowers in tubs by the door and
you'll probably get away with it.