3 years ago we had our pond filled in and planted daffodil bulbs and roses.
The bed is at the lowest part of the garden and gets very wet (particularly
round the edges). The first couple of years the roses did very well but this
year some have died and the rest don't look particularly healthy. We also
have a big weed problem in the bed.

The plan now is to dig up the daffodils, lay a weed suppressant fabric over
the entire bed, re-plant the daffodil bulbs and gradually replace the roses
with shrubs. We would also cover the whole bed in bark chippings.

So my questions a

1. Is this the right time to lift daffodil bulbs and how do we store them
until ready to plant again in the autumn.

2. Any suggestions for low maintenance shrubs which could tolerate wet
conditions. This particular bed is quite a focal point from the house so I
would be looking for lots of colour.

We are in South Cheshire.

I would welcome any advice

Thanks

Jeanne

On 22/06/2014 12:00, Peter & Jeanne wrote:
3 years ago we had our pond filled in and planted daffodil bulbs and
roses. The bed is at the lowest part of the garden and gets very wet
(particularly round the edges). The first couple of years the roses did
very well but this year some have died and the rest don't look
particularly healthy. We also have a big weed problem in the bed.

The plan now is to dig up the daffodils, lay a weed suppressant fabric
over the entire bed, re-plant the daffodil bulbs and gradually replace
the roses with shrubs. We would also cover the whole bed in bark chippings.

So my questions a

1. Is this the right time to lift daffodil bulbs and how do we store
them until ready to plant again in the autumn.

2. Any suggestions for low maintenance shrubs which could tolerate
wet conditions. This particular bed is quite a focal point from the
house so I would be looking for lots of colour.

We are in South Cheshire.

I would welcome any advice

Thanks

Jeanne


You don't say what sort of pond it was, natural or artificial.
I'd dig out some of the soil you used to fill it in with and use it to
raise the soil level around it then make the ex pond into a bog garden.
There was probably a very good reason why the pond was put there in the
first place.
Accept that that is a wet spot and use it accordingly, then you can
plant your roses etc on the ground you have built up.
David@ a hot and sunny side of Swansea Bay.