Garden Bedding Ideas

Hi all.

I'm no gardener, but with the impending party season upon us, I have decided to tackle the garden...

I have a patio down. And have put up some log surround around it. I'm digging out beds around the garden now.

Question:

1) Is mulch a good idea for beds. If not what else could I put over bare soil in the beds? Gravel? Do I need to put down plastic over the earth?

2) I need a feature(s) of sorts - not a fountain or pampas grass! Any ideas?

Many thanks,

BM

Put down membrane to prevent weeds (available Woodies etc) but ground must be weed free before laying. Numerous types of gravel, bark etc

Plant some annual seed in a bare patch in early April - just get a packet or two u like and sow it - ground must have grass removed and lightly raked - really good display, cheap and u feel like a gardener when they grow and open - don't sow too many seeds though

Feature ?????? Bay tree - not just for pots, underplant with some lavender in a circle

Best of luck

Hi Brian, Yes by all means use the membrane. However be carefull on what kind of mulch you decide to use. (i) bark, this is a great mulch but you should not use with a membrane. The reason for this is that bark mulch rots and will break down to form a kind of compost. This will only provide a growing medium suitible for weeds. Bark should be allowed to rot into the soil. It will than need replacing after a couple of years. (2) Stone chips. This form of mulch is permanent. It cannot rot and it will not diminish over time. You will however have to use a membrane as it is important to keep the stone separated fro the soil.
Also if are not a gardner, keep away from seed, as it requires some skill and space to produce and harden of the stock. Much better to buy trays of bedding plants. There is a limited variety available at the moment, but this will increase greatly from middle of May onwards. Also look into buying some alpine plants as they low growing, free flowering and easy to grow.

Before you start try to improve the soil as much as you can with lots of manure and a good general purpose fertiliser.

The big disadvantage about putting down a membrane is that it is very difficult to improve the soil after it's done. It's inconvenient to plant in too ... but on the plus side there is very little weeding to be done. I would recommend taram rather than a woven type membrane. Have you considered using slate as a mulch?

The other option would be to use low growing shrubs which will cover the ground.

If you put in at least one feature tree ... try something like a snake bark maple ... which doesn't get too big. Another interesting tree is the weeping pear (pyrus pendulata I think) which has nice foliage and spring blossom. If the area is sheltered you could try a japanese maple.

I would underplant with some spring bulbs. They come up every year and are very uplifting to the spirits on cold spring days.

Lavender as previously mentioned is very easy to grow and there are lots of summer perennials that are worth a try ... gladioli and dahlias give good results and lots of colour.

Try some architectural plants such as phoriums and mahonias for all year interest.

Good luck and happy planting.

Tackling this project this week all.

Thanks for your tips...

BM