I've just had our garden completely removed and re-landscaped at long last.
Trouble is, it's a lot later in the year than I'd planned. I'm looking for
some planting suggestions for things I can buy now and will survive the
winter.

The garden is south facing, has reasonable drainage and quite neutral soil.
One side fence is mostly shady but gets a little sun. The back fence gets
continuous sun all day, as does most of the other side fence. The two sides
have two flowerbeds each. Currently there is a climbing type rose on the
shady side and two healthy but out of control (gonna prune hard this
autumn!) bushes on the sunny side. The bottom of the garden for about the
last 5m is woodchiped with a stone circle in the centre. I'm hoping to put
some small potted trees on that bit to brighten it up.

Any suggestions for any of these areas would be very welcome )



a

"al" wrote in
:

I've just had our garden completely removed and re-landscaped at long
last. Trouble is, it's a lot later in the year than I'd planned. I'm
looking for some planting suggestions for things I can buy now and
will survive the winter.

The garden is south facing, has reasonable drainage and quite neutral
soil. One side fence is mostly shady but gets a little sun. The back
fence gets continuous sun all day, as does most of the other side
fence. The two sides have two flowerbeds each. Currently there is a
climbing type rose on the shady side and two healthy but out of
control (gonna prune hard this autumn!) bushes on the sunny side. The
bottom of the garden for about the last 5m is woodchiped with a stone
circle in the centre. I'm hoping to put some small potted trees on
that bit to brighten it up.

Really don't recommend buying trees or shrubs now. You will be watering
them like mad for the next couple of months, and they will do just as well
(or better) if you leave getting them till the autumn.

You could buy some potted drought-tolerant things like lavender, rosemary,
sedums for your sunny area - they should settle in OK, though you'll have
to remember to water them from time to time till they are properly
established.

Victoria

"Victoria Clare" wrote in message
Really don't recommend buying trees or shrubs now. You will be watering
them like mad for the next couple of months, and they will do just as well
(or better) if you leave getting them till the autumn.

I'm watering like mad at the moment anyway with the new grass ;o)

I take your point though, might leave it for a month or so ...

You could buy some potted drought-tolerant things like lavender, rosemary,
sedums for your sunny area - they should settle in OK, though you'll have
to remember to water them from time to time till they are properly
established.


I shall Google up a few pics for them! Have some lavendar in the front at
the moment, it's doing quite well despite the sun like you say. Any ideas
for cheering up the empty flowerbeds?



a

al wrote:


I've just had our garden completely removed and re-landscaped at long last.
Trouble is, it's a lot later in the year than I'd planned. I'm looking for
some planting suggestions for things I can buy now and will survive the
winter.


Almost any hardy herbaceous perrenial and any 'nursery stock' eg hardy
shrubs, can be planted later in the year.. In fact right through the
dormant season for most trees and hardy shrubs.
High summer is NOT the ideal time to plant anything unless you can
afford to water and care a lot in the initial period oafter planting.

See also whats looking good at the moment in local garden centres and in
neighbouring patches for an idea of what does well in your area.
//
Jim

Xref: 127.0.0.1 uk.rec.gardening:157927

"al" wrote in newsl4Ya.697$t9.595@news-
binary.blueyonder.co.uk:

Any ideas
for cheering up the empty flowerbeds?

Depends how much watering you want to do!

for this year, you could rummage round the local market or a garden
centre sale, and see if anyone has any cheapo annuals left over to cheer
the beds for a couple of months till you are ready to start planting the
permanent stuff (late October onwards probably).

Impatiens might be good for your shady bed - I like the white-flowered
New Guinea hybrids. They are perennials really, but you can often get
them very cheaply at this time of year, so just yank them out when the
frosts arrive.

Red flowering pelargoniums are another good 'last minute' buy, and if
you get some you really like, they can be over-wintered indoors: if not,
compost 'em.

If you fancy them, look out for 'naked ladies' - colchicums with a
crocus-like flower that flower in autumn and are very tolerant of drying
out - they will even flower without soil, hence the name. The leaves,
which will appear next year, are a bit huge and ugly, but you can always
move them once the flowers are over.

You can start thinking about spring bulbs soon: I got my first bulb
catalogue in the post this morning!

Speaking of watering: I bet you lot are all sweltering in the heat.
Here, there is thick fog, and I may not bother with watering today...

Victoria
--
gardening on a north-facing hill
in South-East Cornwall
--

"Victoria Clare" wrote in message

You can start thinking about spring bulbs soon: I got my first bulb
catalogue in the post this morning!

Speaking of watering: I bet you lot are all sweltering in the heat.
Here, there is thick fog, and I may not bother with watering today...


Yeah, bulbs probably a good idea. When's the latest they should be planted
for next spring? I want a good mix of small-ish shrubs to keep some colour
in winter (preferably something that changes 2/3 times a year) and some
bright vibrant colour for the spring/summer next year.

Main thing it to get quite hardy stuff - I love a good garden, but I hate
gardening (except for the sense of achievement afterwards!!). I'm good with
watering at the moment because I just paid a fortune for a new lawn. I'm
also not interested in stuff that needs digging up over winter to protect.
I want stuff that lasts on its own devices year round. Maybe I want too
much ;o)


a

In article , al
writes

Main thing it to get quite hardy stuff - I love a good garden, but I hate
gardening (except for the sense of achievement afterwards!!). I'm good with
watering at the moment because I just paid a fortune for a new lawn. I'm
also not interested in stuff that needs digging up over winter to protect.
I want stuff that lasts on its own devices year round. Maybe I want too
much ;o)


No, you're not asking too much. I don't dig up anything over the winter
or water anything. I believe in planting it once and then leaving it :-)

--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

The message . 10
from Victoria Clare contains these words:

"al" wrote in
:

I've just had our garden completely removed and re-landscaped at long
last. Trouble is, it's a lot later in the year than I'd planned. I'm
looking for some planting suggestions for things I can buy now and
will survive the winter.

Really don't recommend buying trees or shrubs now. You will be watering
them like mad for the next couple of months, and they will do just as well
(or better) if you leave getting them till the autumn.

That could be true of bare rooted plants or plants which had just been
dug up, but ime it really doesn't apply to well-grown plants sold in
pots. Now is a *good* time to plant those ime, because they can
establish a good root system in the three or four months before winter
freezes.

No need for "watering them like mad for months"; that only encourages
plants to send roots to the soil surface, making them more vulnerable to
drought and damage. The trick is to encourage new root growth downwards,
into cool soil where more moisture is available.

When you have deeply dug and prepared a good big planting hole, (but
before you put the plant in) completely fill it with water, and let the
water drain away. On very dry soils, you could do this twice. Take the
plant out of the pot, tease its roots a little with your fingers and
plant it. Now water the ground around it again, very thoroughly. If your
area is extremely hot and dry, cover the soil above the plants roots
with a mulch of home made compost, or pebbles, or even old cardboard
held by stones, any of which will help the soil below stay damp.

Janet.

"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message

When you have deeply dug and prepared a good big planting hole, (but
before you put the plant in) completely fill it with water, and let the
water drain away. On very dry soils, you could do this twice. Take the
plant out of the pot, tease its roots a little with your fingers and
plant it. Now water the ground around it again, very thoroughly. If your
area is extremely hot and dry, cover the soil above the plants roots
with a mulch of home made compost, or pebbles, or even old cardboard
held by stones, any of which will help the soil below stay damp.

Janet.


Thanks for the tip. If I leave small trees/large shrubs in big pots I take
it they'll need more attention in terms of watering and adding nutrients and
can't just be left to nature's mercy?


a

The message
from "al" contains these words:

"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message

When you have deeply dug and prepared a good big planting hole, (but
before you put the plant in) completely fill it with water, and let the
water drain away. On very dry soils, you could do this twice. Take the
plant out of the pot, tease its roots a little with your fingers and
plant it. Now water the ground around it again, very thoroughly. If your
area is extremely hot and dry, cover the soil above the plants roots
with a mulch of home made compost, or pebbles, or even old cardboard
held by stones, any of which will help the soil below stay damp.

Janet.


Thanks for the tip. If I leave small trees/large shrubs in big pots I take
it they'll need more attention in terms of watering and adding nutrients and
can't just be left to nature's mercy?

Yes that's right.They will need a lot more watering while living in
their pots, than they would if they were out of the pots and planted in
the ground.

Janet.