Allymc

Beared iris Border

Forgot to mention that the border in question is 5m in length. Now have all the info

Beared iris Border

There are some nerines already against the wall that were discovered struggling  amongst the couch grass that had taken over the border, they seem to be doing quite well now they have had the grass removed from around / over and in them . The border isnt very deep only 1.5m from the path to the wall and isnt in very good shape and is very stony and rubbly with the odd half brick etc in there so decided to go with the conditions that are there already. 

The wall isnt the best looking wall , a low rendered and painted breeze block affair about 1/2 m in height that has been put in ( i assume to retain soil and make a level area for the greenhouse that was behind the area in question when I moved in).

I like the idea of the I reticulata.

Beared iris Border

Hello there everyone,

Last september I divided some bearded iris and made a new border at the foot of south facing wall. The irises seem to be growing well so am hopeful for at least a few flowers this year.

I planted some foxtail lilles (eremurus) as well as i gather they like the same conditions ie sunny and dry. I would like to plant something to give some interest during late winter / early spring time  and later on in the year ie july august time that wont overshadow the iris rhizomes but gives me something to look at other than bare soil once the irises are finished and the eremurus have died down. 

I was thinking other kinds of bulbs

Any suggestions ?

Low wall - straight onto soil?

If you are building a wall 4 slabs high i would lay a compacted layer base of ballast or some cast concrete and cement the slabs down.

If you just lay the slabs down onto the soil the soil may sink with the weight of the slabs above it and the wall will deform , and with the weight of soil ( especially if the soil is wet) behind the wall ( even though it is quite small) might still be enough to make the wall bow or collapse over time.

might seem a bit excessive for a wall 4 slabs high but better safe than sorry !

Unidentified growing object!

Hi there , It could well be American Poke Weed but the flowers look a little bit different.

it is American Poke weed , It has big black berries in the autumn which give the whole plant an aura of poisionous menace, which would be correct !

http://www.plantdatabase.co.uk/Phytolacca_americana

( sorry couldn't find it on the GW database)

I think birds like the berries so that is how it could have appeared in your garden !

winter or spring

You prune the group 3 clematis in late winter ( mid feb with me ) as if you dont you end up with all that growth growing away from where it got to last year, and for group 3s that can be high up on a fence or through a tree. You will then be left looking at its bare legs while it flowers away above you head.

That would be the con , a pro might be not to prune it as much say if it was growing up a tall tree and you want the flowers up high.

I suppose pruning in winter winter , say December or January wont make a huge difference i guess as the plant will be dormant , i like the fluffy seedheads so i leave it until Feb.

Thugs

I like Fennel as well hyppybyker but it seems that every seed that makes it to the ground germinates, i cant cut them down before the seeds set as they are nice in the winter plus as homes for ladybirds etc. So I end up with a little aniseedy forest, I find that they tend to lose their graceful semi see through-ness after a few years so pull them out and leave a seedling to take its place.

Thugs

I sowed some eryngium gigantum 'miss willmott's ghost' which was lovely and architectural , however i think that Miss willmott may be haunting me for sometime to come.

her offspring appear in cracks in paving, at the foot of walls and a rockery far from the original postion. As it biennial i can spot the ones growing where they shouldn't and pull them out when they in the leafy stage.

A bronze fennel plant that I rescued from the discount area of a garden centre has made me have some regrets. It was touch and go whether it would survive at one point but its offspring are very much full of vigor and hard to see against the soil.

Pond Plants

I like mark have used "normal" flower pots with holes cut in the side with a saw for some of the more ... adventurous plants like Equisetum , as it can be just as spreading as its terrestrial relative and have found the normal pots keep it more confined than the pond basket. It just breaks out through the many holes !

I repotted a number of the more lush plants this spring and am giving the new advice of just pure grit / gravel a go. Though as i recall from GW water lillies are still planted in the aquatic compost as they need a bit more substence to get their roots into.

Beware of Parkers Bulbs. .

I buy a fair few bulbs from Parkers each year ( mainly tulips which i treat as an annual) but also brought some Fritillaria persica and Fritillaria imperialis and they were fab .... once the lilly beetles were picked off that is . Other companies charge over £5 per bulb and as far as I can tell mine flowered as well as bulbs from other companies. 

Maybe Parkers is overstretching themselves after all they are called J Parkers Dutch Bulbs so I would expect plug plants etc to not be their forte.

I did buy a Cercis from them last autumn and it was a little bit smaller than i was anticipating but considering it was nearly a 1/2 of the price of any of the other places I had seen it online I was not so bothered, anyway isn't patience a virtue.

As i have said on other threads on this subject, and not wanting to be a Parkers apologist, if you worry about plug plants getting smooshed in the post or being poor quality buy them from a garden centre. I mean if you were a little bedding plant I expect you would not take kindly to Royal mails treatment of you.

That does not excuse the lack of a refund issue which isn't acceptable

Beared iris Border