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New garden
Hello folks,
I am, at last, close to getting my first house, fingers crossed! The garden is long (200 feet) and narrow and fairly bare. The most pressing thing to sort out is that the right hand border is rather exposed. For the bottom 60 feet or so the lawn goes all the way up to the neighbour's boundary fence which is only 3 feet high. His garden is also hardly fenced at the bottom and there's a public footpath along there which means that most of our garden has no privacy. My solution is to get a narrow, low maintenance shrub border going ASAP. It'll be south facing and, I think, rather clay. Anyway, this is as far as I've got, given my complete inexperience! I'd really appreciate some help getting started planning this - particularly a) nice/vigourous shrubs/combinations of shrubs for my purpose b) how I lay out the border other than in a straight thin line which'll probably make the garden look even longer and narrower c) how to get some instant height in there, so there's some privacy further up the garden at least. Phew - thanks for taking the time to read this, and for any ideas... glen. |
New garden
In message , Glen Able
writes Hello folks, I am, at last, close to getting my first house, fingers crossed! The garden is long (200 feet) and narrow and fairly bare. The most pressing thing to sort out is that the right hand border is rather exposed. For the bottom 60 feet or so the lawn goes all the way up to the neighbour's boundary fence which is only 3 feet high. His garden is also hardly fenced at the bottom and there's a public footpath along there which means that most of our garden has no privacy. My solution is to get a narrow, low maintenance shrub border going ASAP. It'll be south facing and, I think, rather clay. Anyway, this is as far as I've got, given my complete inexperience! I'd really appreciate some help getting started planning this - particularly a) nice/vigourous shrubs/combinations of shrubs for my purpose b) how I lay out the border other than in a straight thin line which'll probably make the garden look even longer and narrower c) how to get some instant height in there, so there's some privacy further up the garden at least. Phew - thanks for taking the time to read this, and for any ideas... glen. Hi Glen, So where abouts is this garden you're hoping you're getting then? Nearest city will do. Also we need to know whether that pesky right hand border faces north, south east or west. Without this info it will be very difficult to help you. -- Chris Boulby National Collection of Diascias |
New garden
In message , Glen Able
writes Hello folks, I am, at last, close to getting my first house, fingers crossed! The garden is long (200 feet) and narrow and fairly bare. The most pressing thing to sort out is that the right hand border is rather exposed. For the bottom 60 feet or so the lawn goes all the way up to the neighbour's boundary fence which is only 3 feet high. His garden is also hardly fenced at the bottom and there's a public footpath along there which means that most of our garden has no privacy. My solution is to get a narrow, low maintenance shrub border going ASAP. It'll be south facing and, I think, rather clay. Anyway, this is as far as I've got, given my complete inexperience! I'd really appreciate some help getting started planning this - particularly a) nice/vigourous shrubs/combinations of shrubs for my purpose b) how I lay out the border other than in a straight thin line which'll probably make the garden look even longer and narrower c) how to get some instant height in there, so there's some privacy further up the garden at least. Phew - thanks for taking the time to read this, and for any ideas... glen. Hi Glen, So where abouts is this garden you're hoping you're getting then? Nearest city will do. Also we need to know whether that pesky right hand border faces north, south east or west. Without this info it will be very difficult to help you. -- Chris Boulby National Collection of Diascias |
New garden
I'd really appreciate some help getting started planning this -
particularly a) nice/vigourous shrubs/combinations of shrubs for my purpose b) how I lay out the border other than in a straight thin line which'll probably make the garden look even longer and narrower c) how to get some instant height in there, so there's some privacy further up the garden at least. Hi Chris, So where abouts is this garden you're hoping you're getting then? Nearest city will do. It's just outside Oxford. Also we need to know whether that pesky right hand border faces north, south east or west. Without this info it will be very difficult to help you. It will be pretty much South facing. cheers. |
New garden
I'd really appreciate some help getting started planning this -
particularly a) nice/vigourous shrubs/combinations of shrubs for my purpose b) how I lay out the border other than in a straight thin line which'll probably make the garden look even longer and narrower c) how to get some instant height in there, so there's some privacy further up the garden at least. Hi Chris, So where abouts is this garden you're hoping you're getting then? Nearest city will do. It's just outside Oxford. Also we need to know whether that pesky right hand border faces north, south east or west. Without this info it will be very difficult to help you. It will be pretty much South facing. cheers. |
New garden
The message
from "Glen Able" contains these words: I'd really appreciate some help getting started planning this - particularly a) nice/vigourous shrubs/combinations of shrubs for my purpose b) how I lay out the border other than in a straight thin line which'll probably make the garden look even longer and narrower c) how to get some instant height in there, so there's some privacy further up the garden at least. For fast vigourous screening up to 8ft or more, in the shortest possible time, I suggest buddlieas. They are cheap and foolproof, terribly easy to propagate your own if you can find a donor. A long thin garden like that can be divided into sections, with hedges/shrubberies/trellis across ways. This can actually make the garden seem a lot bigger than it is, because you don't see it all at once. It would also considerably improve your privacy at the house end of it. Paths and views don't have to go straight down the middle. If you go to your local library you'll find loads of garden design books with similar suggestions and details how to do it; the divisions-thing is commonly called "dividing a garden into rooms". Janet |
New garden
The message
from "Glen Able" contains these words: I'd really appreciate some help getting started planning this - particularly a) nice/vigourous shrubs/combinations of shrubs for my purpose b) how I lay out the border other than in a straight thin line which'll probably make the garden look even longer and narrower c) how to get some instant height in there, so there's some privacy further up the garden at least. For fast vigourous screening up to 8ft or more, in the shortest possible time, I suggest buddlieas. They are cheap and foolproof, terribly easy to propagate your own if you can find a donor. A long thin garden like that can be divided into sections, with hedges/shrubberies/trellis across ways. This can actually make the garden seem a lot bigger than it is, because you don't see it all at once. It would also considerably improve your privacy at the house end of it. Paths and views don't have to go straight down the middle. If you go to your local library you'll find loads of garden design books with similar suggestions and details how to do it; the divisions-thing is commonly called "dividing a garden into rooms". Janet |
New garden
In article , Glen Able
writes I'd really appreciate some help getting started planning this - particularly a) nice/vigourous shrubs/combinations of shrubs for my purpose Do you mean vigorous = fast growing or vigorous = robust? Fast growing sounds attractive but you'll spend forever cutting them back once they've reached the desired size. Everyone would like a plant which is evergreen, attractive, grows like a rocket to 6ft, and then remains exactly the same height for the next 20 years ;-) I'd suggest you choose the sunniest part of the garden for a sitting our area and make that private, and worry less about privacy along the rest. Instead, grow shrubs that you like, so that you won't begrudge the attention that they'll need. Think about all seasons - it's good to have the witch hazel and viburnum flowers to tempt you out of doors on a cold february morning. b) how I lay out the border other than in a straight thin line which'll probably make the garden look even longer and narrower When I had a garden which was 150 ft long and 20 ft wide, I divided it into compartments. The bit nearest the house had 6ft panel fence each side so was private. It was mainly lawn with daffodils and a few flowers and containers, and at the end was a huge old apple tree. Past the apple tree was the greenhouse and an asparagus bed. Next section was the veg bed, and finally, at the far end, was another lawn surrounded by young apple trees. None of the bits looked large by themselves, but they were all a reasonable shape, and because you couldn't see the garden in one go, it was a matter of exploring from one mini-garden to another. I'd suggest with your border you find ways of subdividing it, for example with a tree, or a shrub which juts into the rest of the garden, or a trellis at right angles to the boundary c) how to get some instant height in there, so there's some privacy further up the garden at least. Trellis plus climbers. Pyramids of canes plus climbers. Annual climbers such as sweet peas or runner beans And put something interesting within the garden so your eye is drawn to that rather than to the neighbours - absolute privacy is impossible, but a feeling of seclusion can be obtained without necessarily having an impermeable barrier. Phew - thanks for taking the time to read this, and for any ideas... glen. -- Kay Easton Edward's earthworm page: http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm |
New garden
In message , Kay Easton
writes In article , Glen Able writes I'd really appreciate some help getting started planning this - particularly a) nice/vigourous shrubs/combinations of shrubs for my purpose Do you mean vigorous = fast growing or vigorous = robust? Fast growing sounds attractive but you'll spend forever cutting them back once they've reached the desired size. Everyone would like a plant which is evergreen, attractive, grows like a rocket to 6ft, and then remains exactly the same height for the next 20 years ;-) (Snip) I started writing about the same thing, but this is so much more succinct Kay. You'll do well to heed Kay's advice Glen. -- Chris Boulby National Collection of Diascias |
New garden
Thanks ever so much to Kay and Janet for giving me just the inspiration I
needed! There's a natural place to make a first division in the garden, 45' down, which also will nicely obscure the shed. I've done a mockup and it looks spot on. As for further down, I'll tackle that later... If I use some 6' trellis panels to do this, d'you reckon it would be nice to plant bamboos behind them? Also, if I'm going to get some permanent climbers started off, will they play nicely if I mix in some annuals (sweet peas etc.) for quick screening? thanks all! |
New garden
Thanks ever so much to Kay and Janet for giving me just the inspiration I
needed! There's a natural place to make a first division in the garden, 45' down, which also will nicely obscure the shed. I've done a mockup and it looks spot on. As for further down, I'll tackle that later... If I use some 6' trellis panels to do this, d'you reckon it would be nice to plant bamboos behind them? Also, if I'm going to get some permanent climbers started off, will they play nicely if I mix in some annuals (sweet peas etc.) for quick screening? thanks all! |
New garden
"Glen Able" wrote in
: If I use some 6' trellis panels to do this, d'you reckon it would be nice to plant bamboos behind them? Bamboos do have a reputation for spreading, so be a bit careful which ones you choose and where you put them. If you can mow all the way round they will have a harder job escaping, but if they can sneak along the bed you may want to put in a barrier to contain the roots. They can do the 'grow to 6 feet then stop' thing though, which is definitely handy! Also, if I'm going to get some permanent climbers started off, will they play nicely if I mix in some annuals (sweet peas etc.) for quick screening? Should be OK if not too closely planted and all are well fed, though some perennial climbers are quite quick in their own right - some of the honeysuckles for example, and perennial sweet pea is almost as quick as its annual relative for me. Another thing to consider- those rolls of brush screening. They don't last all that long, but they do make quite a good thing to put behind young shrubs, which will grow up and obscure them as they start to rot away. Victoria -- gardening on a north-facing hill in South-East Cornwall -- |
New garden
"Glen Able" wrote in
: If I use some 6' trellis panels to do this, d'you reckon it would be nice to plant bamboos behind them? Bamboos do have a reputation for spreading, so be a bit careful which ones you choose and where you put them. If you can mow all the way round they will have a harder job escaping, but if they can sneak along the bed you may want to put in a barrier to contain the roots. They can do the 'grow to 6 feet then stop' thing though, which is definitely handy! Also, if I'm going to get some permanent climbers started off, will they play nicely if I mix in some annuals (sweet peas etc.) for quick screening? Should be OK if not too closely planted and all are well fed, though some perennial climbers are quite quick in their own right - some of the honeysuckles for example, and perennial sweet pea is almost as quick as its annual relative for me. Another thing to consider- those rolls of brush screening. They don't last all that long, but they do make quite a good thing to put behind young shrubs, which will grow up and obscure them as they start to rot away. Victoria -- gardening on a north-facing hill in South-East Cornwall -- |
New garden
"Glen Able" wrote in
: If I use some 6' trellis panels to do this, d'you reckon it would be nice to plant bamboos behind them? Bamboos do have a reputation for spreading, so be a bit careful which ones you choose and where you put them. If you can mow all the way round they will have a harder job escaping, but if they can sneak along the bed you may want to put in a barrier to contain the roots. They can do the 'grow to 6 feet then stop' thing though, which is definitely handy! Also, if I'm going to get some permanent climbers started off, will they play nicely if I mix in some annuals (sweet peas etc.) for quick screening? Should be OK if not too closely planted and all are well fed, though some perennial climbers are quite quick in their own right - some of the honeysuckles for example, and perennial sweet pea is almost as quick as its annual relative for me. Another thing to consider- those rolls of brush screening. They don't last all that long, but they do make quite a good thing to put behind young shrubs, which will grow up and obscure them as they start to rot away. Victoria -- gardening on a north-facing hill in South-East Cornwall -- |
New garden
The message
from "Glen Able" contains these words: Thanks ever so much to Kay and Janet for giving me just the inspiration I needed! There's a natural place to make a first division in the garden, 45' down, which also will nicely obscure the shed. I've done a mockup and it looks spot on. As for further down, I'll tackle that later... If I use some 6' trellis panels to do this, d'you reckon it would be nice to plant bamboos behind them? Be sure you choose a non-invasive variety. See Bamboo thread. Also, if I'm going to get some permanent climbers started off, will they play nicely if I mix in some annuals (sweet peas etc.) for quick screening? I can't think of any which won't. -- Rusty Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar. http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/ |
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