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#1
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Container gardening
We live in a rented house and recently we have had our back 'garden'
converted into a courtyard, half slabbed half shingles. Should help the 200-year-old house dry out. The courtyard is east-facing in Jersey and gets the sun from early morning until late afternoon (when it goes behind the four-storey house). With walls all round it's a proper little sun-trap. We've not had a frost in the last five years (i.e. as long as we've lived here). Think Mediterranean courtyard with lower average temperatures So, glad to see the back of the weedy 'borders' and rampant ivy, we are now into container gardening. We are looking to grow standard bay, an olive and already have a healthy agapanthus. Suggestions for other specimen plants e.g. palms suitable for container-growing would be very welcome. Nothing that makes too much mess, though - that's the dogs' job. tia Derek |
#2
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Container gardening
On 2013-05-22 21:30:32 +0100, Derek Turner said:
We live in a rented house and recently we have had our back 'garden' converted into a courtyard, half slabbed half shingles. Should help the 200-year-old house dry out. The courtyard is east-facing in Jersey and gets the sun from early morning until late afternoon (when it goes behind the four-storey house). With walls all round it's a proper little sun-trap. We've not had a frost in the last five years (i.e. as long as we've lived here). Think Mediterranean courtyard with lower average temperatures So, glad to see the back of the weedy 'borders' and rampant ivy, we are now into container gardening. We are looking to grow standard bay, an olive and already have a healthy agapanthus. Suggestions for other specimen plants e.g. palms suitable for container-growing would be very welcome. Nothing that makes too much mess, though - that's the dogs' job. tia Derek Some of the colourful Phormiums are good in containers and so are the big leaf Hostas. You could also go the topiary route and get some interestingly shaped box (St Peter's Nurseries had some a couple of years ago) Grasses of various heights and colours would be interesting and Camellias can be container grown, too. -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon www.helpforheroes.org.uk |
#3
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Container gardening
On 22/05/2013 21:30, Derek Turner wrote:
We live in a rented house and recently we have had our back 'garden' converted into a courtyard, half slabbed half shingles. Should help the 200-year-old house dry out. The courtyard is east-facing in Jersey and gets the sun from early morning until late afternoon (when it goes behind the four-storey house). With walls all round it's a proper little sun-trap. We've not had a frost in the last five years (i.e. as long as we've lived here). Think Mediterranean courtyard with lower average temperatures So, glad to see the back of the weedy 'borders' and rampant ivy, we are now into container gardening. We are looking to grow standard bay, an olive and already have a healthy agapanthus. Suggestions for other specimen plants e.g. palms suitable for container-growing would be very welcome. Nothing that makes too much mess, though - that's the dogs' job. tia Derek Courtyard size? I would consider succulents such as agaves and aloes if you have the space. Maybe some of the hardier cacti if you can keep them on the dry side in winter. Could you get away with a bougainvillea against one of the walls? If you want something exotic, try Banksias. They have wonderful flowers and interesting fruiting bodies. You could also try other Australian proteaceae such as Grevillea, which can have some flowers for much of the year. What about a fig? Perfect for a largish container. You might also get a loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) to fruit in a walled garden. It is a very attractive evergreen with its large leaves anyway, and being in a walled garden sheltered from wind (which tends to damage the leaves somewhat) it should look its best. For smaller plants, there are many South African bulbs which would enjoy a dry baking in summer, and reward you with flowers in the autumn and early winter. -- Jeff |
#4
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Container gardening
On 23/05/2013 09:16, Jeff Layman wrote:
On 22/05/2013 21:30, Derek Turner wrote: We live in a rented house and recently we have had our back 'garden' converted into a courtyard, half slabbed half shingles. Should help the 200-year-old house dry out. The courtyard is east-facing in Jersey and gets the sun from early morning until late afternoon (when it goes behind the four-storey house). With walls all round it's a proper little sun-trap. We've not had a frost in the last five years (i.e. as long as we've lived here). Think Mediterranean courtyard with lower average temperatures So, glad to see the back of the weedy 'borders' and rampant ivy, we are now into container gardening. We are looking to grow standard bay, an olive and already have a healthy agapanthus. Suggestions for other specimen plants e.g. palms suitable for container-growing would be very welcome. Nothing that makes too much mess, though - that's the dogs' job. tia Derek Courtyard size? I would consider succulents such as agaves and aloes if you have the space. Maybe some of the hardier cacti if you can keep them on the dry side in winter. Could you get away with a bougainvillea against one of the walls? If you want something exotic, try Banksias. They have wonderful flowers and interesting fruiting bodies. You could also try other Australian proteaceae such as Grevillea, which can have some flowers for much of the year. You might also get away with citrus fruit under these conditions. bottle brush plants are fun too. I expect jacaranda is a bridge too far - I would love to grow them and have tried but winter not warm enough. Daturas are good value in a courtyard for evening scent. I have grown and flowered Notocactus Tabularis seedlings outside in the UK in a rock garden although a hard winter will kill them. BCSS should have a list of species that stand a chance outside but they do tend to mark even if they survive and flower. Agave americana or stricta and variagated forms of it do look impressive but are *very* spikey. victoria regina is more fogiving and supposed to eb OK outside. What about a fig? Perfect for a largish container. You might also get a loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) to fruit in a walled garden. It is a very attractive evergreen with its large leaves anyway, and being in a walled garden sheltered from wind (which tends to damage the leaves somewhat) it should look its best. For smaller plants, there are many South African bulbs which would enjoy a dry baking in summer, and reward you with flowers in the autumn and early winter. Do the plants have to survive untended for a month or two or do you live at the house continuously apart form holidays? -- Regards, Martin Brown |
#5
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Container gardening
On 23/05/2013 10:01, Martin Brown wrote:
Do the plants have to survive untended for a month or two or do you live at the house continuously apart form holidays? The latter. We usually get house-sitters to cover holidays so occupied more-or-less 52/52. |
#6
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Container gardening
On Thu, 23 May 2013 10:01:25 +0100, Martin Brown wrote:
I expect jacaranda is a bridge too far After a bit of research, I suspect that it may not be: two nurseries in Cornwall supply them. What I don't know is whether it's really a container specimen. One site googled said (of container-grown) up to two metres at which size it MAY get SOME flowers (emphasis mine). So I'm wondering whether it's worth the effort? |
#7
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Container gardening
On 24/05/2013 15:26, Derek Turner wrote:
On Thu, 23 May 2013 10:01:25 +0100, Martin Brown wrote: I expect jacaranda is a bridge too far After a bit of research, I suspect that it may not be: two nurseries in Cornwall supply them. What I don't know is whether it's really a container specimen. One site googled said (of container-grown) up to two metres at which size it MAY get SOME flowers (emphasis mine). So I'm wondering whether it's worth the effort? Probably not. I have grown it from seed a couple of times but it has always died in a miserable winter before reaching flowering size. North Yorks is probably not the best location even in a heated greenhouse. I have had the same problem with proteas from seed. Bottle brushes are easier but again they peg it up here if you don't protect from frost. Ginko biloba is fun to grow as an unusual specimen plant hardy (and relatively easy from seed). It is close to being a deciduous conifer. Very ancient and unusual leaf shape and nice autumn colour. If you have a female and it sets fruit in a decade or two you might regret it but they are very handsome and unusual hardy trees. Mine is in a big patio pot and about 4' tall and a neighbours I gave him is planted in the ground and twice that size after a couple of decades. Fatsia japonica is quite handsome in a big glossy leaves brutal sort of way but not sure if it won't break out of a pot. Plenty of acers to choose from if it isn't too windy. One thought is pick some styles of leaf shape, colour and flower and then gradually collect plants that match your goal. -- Regards, Martin Brown |
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