(sahara) wrote in
om:

last
night that I exci (as suggested on this list
earlier last year) as well as some bee flowers mix from chiltern seeds
(for the bees that will hopefully be nesting in my new bee nest box).
Today, in the cold light of dawn I am having doubts. Will my
wildflowers be weedy thtedly ordered some meadow mix, primroses, red
campion and the like from www.wildflowersuk.comugs that will make my
neighbours hate me and rampage over my smallish terrace garden? Have I
done the wrong thing??

Well, it would be sad if everyone's garden was the same. :-)

It's unlikely that your neighbours will hate you for planting
wildflowers, though do be prepared for them to look down their noses:
some people just can't see beyond petunias - their loss!

If you bought teasels or ox-eye daisies, I would advise some caution.
Teasels are gorgeous, but they do seed like mad, get quite big, and not
everyone likes them (I do though!).

Ox-eyes can get to a couple of feet, and will muscle your grass out of
the way: I think they look sensational in long grass myself but don't
put them right on the edge where they will flop over and get in the way,
and don't expect to mow a lawn with ox-eye daisies in it more than a few
times a year. It won't be a lawn in the conventional sense.

If you're planting buttercups, it would be polite to make sure they
can't send runners through into any immaculate next-door lawns if you
can, because they do like to run and run.

I can't see anyone complaining about primroses or cowslips, and they do
well in lawns, though you will have to mow from time to time or they
will be lost. Campion is quite a tall plant for a lawn though - nice,
but it will shade out the primroses if you let the lawn grow that tall.

NB that you can't just sow meadow mix seed onto an established lawn -
only the biggest thugs will survive that.

Something I like to plant into longer grass that I think looks
sensational are camassia bulbs. They make long grass look really
special, and flower in midsummer when a lot of other things are going
over.

Oh, and I don't know if you got any tufted vetch, but that is well worth
the effort. I grow it in my flowerbeds: it's far too gorgeous for the
wild garden.

Victoria

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

In article , sahara
writes
hello
like many of you i am excitedly formulating plans to put into action
once the long awaited the spring arrives. My latest plan is to solve
our problem of being too lazy to mow the lawn.
I'd like to resow the lawn with meadow type wildflowers so that when
we leave weeks between mowings it will look like it's meant to be like
that! Great idea! I was so impressed with my own thinking that last
night that I excitedly ordered some meadow mix, primroses, red campion
and the like from www.wildflowersuk.com (as suggested on this list
earlier last year) as well as some bee flowers mix from chiltern seeds
(for the bees that will hopefully be nesting in my new bee nest box).
Today, in the cold light of dawn I am having doubts. Will my
wildflowers be weedy thugs that will make my neighbours hate me and
rampage over my smallish terrace garden? Have I done the wrong thing??
For your info my lawn is about 10 sqm (I think?) and is slightly
overshadowed by the neighbours (lovely) ceanothus and a (large)
conifer.

Whether a plant is a wildflower, a weed, a companion plant or whatever
is purely in the opinion of the person regarding it. If you like the
plant and you want it to be there, it does not matter if you put it
there, or if it arrived of its own accord. I tend to think of all plants
as being either natural or cultivated, but that simplification does not
cover every case, for instance self-set varieties of grass can appear in
a cultivated lawn etc. Some gardeners don't mind that, others do.

Our lawn is a self-grassed oval patch used and enjoyed as a family
recreational area and a place of relaxation. It also serves as a
wildflower area. We achieve that by mowing regularly at a chosen height,
then allowing any other plants to grow as they will in those conditions.
Which wildflowers will thrive will vary according to the height of cut
chosen, but it is important to keep that height steady and to mow the
lawn regularly. We keep ours at 1.5ins./3-4cms. during the growing
season, letting it over-winter a little higher.

The lawn has masses of daisies, buttercups, celandines, self-heal,
clovers etc. and mosses in spring and autumn. We don't plant anything,
nor take any away, the area is as nature decides according to 25 years
of our management. The surface is lush and springy, it remains green
without ever being watered, even during long droughts.
--
Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs.

"sahara" wrote in message
om...
hello
like many of you i am excitedly formulating plans to put into action
once the long awaited the spring arrives. My latest plan is to solve
our problem of being too lazy to mow the lawn.
I'd like to resow the lawn with meadow type wildflowers so that when
we leave weeks between mowings it will look like it's meant to be like
that! Great idea! I was so impressed with my own thinking that last
night that I excitedly ordered some meadow mix, primroses, red campion
and the like from www.wildflowersuk.com (as suggested on this list
earlier last year) as well as some bee flowers mix from chiltern seeds
(for the bees that will hopefully be nesting in my new bee nest box).
Today, in the cold light of dawn I am having doubts. Will my
wildflowers be weedy thugs that will make my neighbours hate me

Yes.
I have a neighbour behind me whose back yard might possibly be a haven of
delight for miscellaneous insects and small mammals, and it might well have
a wide selection of inconspicuous flowers in the apropriate season. However,
it is a perrenial source of weeds in my garden

and
rampage over my smallish terrace garden? Have I done the wrong thing??

Yes.

For your info my lawn is about 10 sqm (I think?) and is slightly
overshadowed by the neighbours (lovely) ceanothus and a (large)
conifer.

Apply weedkiller as soon as growth has recommenced, before the weeds have
set seed. Dig and reconvert the ground into a lawn.

There really are verygood reasons why one does not see "wild gardens" or
"alpine lawns" in tiny suburban gardens except ones produced by neglect.

Franz

"Jaques d'Alltrades" wrote in message
...
The message
from (sahara) contains these words:

[snip]

Three square metres is a very small lawn - just a bit larger than three
paces by three paces.

{:-((

Franz

"Kay Easton" wrote in message
...
In article , Franz Heymann
writes

Apply weedkiller as soon as growth has recommenced, before the weeds have
set seed. Dig and reconvert the ground into a lawn.

There really are verygood reasons why one does not see "wild gardens" or
"alpine lawns" in tiny suburban gardens except ones produced by neglect.

Franz, I think you're over-reacting!

She's talking about things like primroses and red campion. They're not
going to cause a problem to neighbours. Less than, say, Leycestria
formosa, some of the euphorbias, cotoneaster etc belonging to her
neighbour will cause to her.

Why do you think cotoneaster will cause her problems? I have one which I
keep trimmed back but I hadn't thought of it in that way

Ophelia

"Kay Easton" wrote in message
...
In article , Franz Heymann
writes

Apply weedkiller as soon as growth has recommenced, before the weeds have
set seed. Dig and reconvert the ground into a lawn.

There really are verygood reasons why one does not see "wild gardens" or
"alpine lawns" in tiny suburban gardens except ones produced by neglect.

Franz, I think you're over-reacting!

I know
{:-))
Sarah, please don't take my previous note on this issue seriously.
I was giving vent to the fact that that neighbour of mine (Not the one to
the East, but to the South) has a totally uncultivated back yard whose only
purpose seems to be to rain cowparsley, rosebay willowherb and dandelion
seeds into my garden.

She's talking about things like primroses and red campion. They're not
going to cause a problem to neighbours. Less than, say, Leycestria
formosa, some of the euphorbias, cotoneaster etc belonging to her
neighbour will cause to her.

Yes. Particularly euphorbias.

Franz

The message
from Jaques d'Alltrades contains
these words:
The message
from (sahara) contains these words:

For your info my lawn is about 10 sqm (I think?) and is slightly
overshadowed by the neighbours (lovely) ceanothus and a (large)
conifer.
please advise

Three square metres is a very small lawn - just a bit larger than three
paces by three paces.

I meant ten square metres, (of course.)

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

Jaques d'Alltrades wrote:

I meant ten square metres, (of course.)

Did the original poster mean 10 square metres (i.e. 5x2 or 3.2x3.2)
or did he mean 10 metres squared (i.e. 10x10), I wonder?
--
Nick Wagg

thanks for all you enthusiastic replies! Particularly for victoria's
ideas (will be looking for camassia bulbs this weekend) and i like
alans approach too, although i can't say i'm planning to spend 25
years here (need a bigger garden!).
I wont let the lawn get long enough for rosebay willowherb or cows
parsley so hopefully i wont get anyone as upset as Franz seems to be.
Either way it will be an improvement on the vineweed infested space it
was before we moved in.
Although i am not planning to grow any of these what is so bad about
Leycestria formosa, euphorbias and cotoneaster?
And what is Leycestria formosa anyway?

sarah a

In article , Ophelia
writes


She's talking about things like primroses and red campion. They're not
going to cause a problem to neighbours. Less than, say, Leycestria
formosa, some of the euphorbias, cotoneaster etc belonging to her
neighbour will cause to her.

Why do you think cotoneaster will cause her problems? I have one which I
keep trimmed back but I hadn't thought of it in that way

I was thinking of C horizontalis which sends out suckers and can cover
large areas of ground if not watched like a hawk. I planted a small one
in my front garden, and last year removed about 3 sq m of it.
--
Kay Easton

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

And what is Leycestria formosa anyway?

sarah a

It's this and it's wonderful

http://www.habitas.org.uk/gardenflora/leycesteria.htm

In article , sahara
writes
thanks for all you enthusiastic replies! Particularly for victoria's
ideas (will be looking for camassia bulbs this weekend) and i like
alans approach too, although i can't say i'm planning to spend 25
years here (need a bigger garden!).
I wont let the lawn get long enough for rosebay willowherb or cows
parsley so hopefully i wont get anyone as upset as Franz seems to be.
Either way it will be an improvement on the vineweed infested space it
was before we moved in.
Although i am not planning to grow any of these what is so bad about
Leycestria formosa, euphorbias and cotoneaster?
And what is Leycestria formosa anyway?

L. formosa - a suckering shrub which has rather showy shrimp-like pink
bracts later interspersed with purple berries which seed freely.
Euphorbias and C horizontalis also spread by suckers. All three are
garden rather than wild plants, and i was gently making the point to
Franz that 'wild gardens' do not have the monopoly on spreading plants
across the boundary to their neighbours.
--
Kay Easton

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

Kay Easton wrote in news:CLUBiQAlyXBAFwC5
@scarboro.demon.co.uk:

In article , Ophelia
writes


She's talking about things like primroses and red campion. They're not
going to cause a problem to neighbours. Less than, say, Leycestria
formosa, some of the euphorbias, cotoneaster etc belonging to her
neighbour will cause to her.

Why do you think cotoneaster will cause her problems? I have one which I
keep trimmed back but I hadn't thought of it in that way

I was thinking of C horizontalis which sends out suckers and can cover
large areas of ground if not watched like a hawk. I planted a small one
in my front garden, and last year removed about 3 sq m of it.

It seeds itself too. I do like it (as do the bees), but you do have to
keep an eye on it or it gets everywhere!

Victoria

"Kay Easton" wrote in message
...
In article , Ophelia
writes


She's talking about things like primroses and red campion. They're not
going to cause a problem to neighbours. Less than, say, Leycestria
formosa, some of the euphorbias, cotoneaster etc belonging to her
neighbour will cause to her.

Why do you think cotoneaster will cause her problems? I have one which I
keep trimmed back but I hadn't thought of it in that way

I was thinking of C horizontalis which sends out suckers and can cover
large areas of ground if not watched like a hawk. I planted a small one
in my front garden, and last year removed about 3 sq m of it.

Ahh ok.. Mine seems to stay fairly compact.. You had me worried there

"sahara" wrote in message
om...
thanks for all you enthusiastic replies! Particularly for victoria's
ideas (will be looking for camassia bulbs this weekend) and i like
alans approach too, although i can't say i'm planning to spend 25
years here (need a bigger garden!).
I wont let the lawn get long enough for rosebay willowherb or cows
parsley so hopefully i wont get anyone as upset as Franz seems to be.
Either way it will be an improvement on the vineweed infested space it
was before we moved in.
Although i am not planning to grow any of these what is so bad about
Leycestria formosa, euphorbias and cotoneaster?
And what is Leycestria formosa anyway?

Both my wife and I love Euphorbias, and we have a goodly selection of them
in our garden. Every spring, however, we swear that next year we are going
to get rid of them, because they spread like wildfire.

Franz