My Six on Saturdays usually consist of what’s happening on my allotment or in my daughter’s garden, which I also help look after. This week I introduce you to the garden surrounding the small block of flats where I live.
We have a maintenance gardener who comes twice a month to mow the lawns and trim the hedges. Nothing else has been done and the original landscaped beds laid 25 years ago are sadly neglected. We have therefore started up a residents gardening group. There are 12 of us (all over 60) and the idea of gardening has spurred everyone into action and the response is heartening.
1. The tree removal
These three enormous Leylandii were cut down in January, but the tree surgeons didn’t grind them down to the ground, leaving us with three 1ft high stumps.
2. The first container
Because the stumps are directly opposite my windows, I decided to buy a half barrel to put on the middle stump in which I planted 3 Begonia Samba from Farmer Gracy with several Gladioli Nanus Mixed also from Farmer Gracy. They have really come into their own and look spectacular, standing almost 4ft in height.
3. The new flower bed
Because of the tree roots, it will be difficult to plant a lot of shrubs, so we plan to build a raised bed along the wall. This will also make it easier for the older members of our little community to help with the gardening. Meanwhile, we have dug over a narrow bed, placed pots on the other stumps and have filled in the gaps with ’sell-off’ plants from the local garden center. The grass is non-existent due to the enormous Monterey Cyprus sucking up all the moisture, sadly very little grows, not even weeds! It has a TPO (Tree Preservation Order) so there is little we can do.
4. The side borders
We have given the border beds to the side of the drive a bit of a spruce up; there are a lot of Euonymus that have taken over. We are going to clear some and do a massive spring bulb planting just before winter sets in.
5. The rose garden
At the rear of the building is a rose garden. It too, has been much neglected. We have cleared all the weeds, dead headed and trimmed the roses, the next job is to feed them. In the winter we will prune them properly and add more roses.
6. My patio
I can’t finish my Six on Saturday without showing off my patio, which is my pride and joy. It only took a few pretty pots to give my fellow residents the impetus to make the whole of the garden look more cared for.
Thank you for reading my post and I look forward to updating you on our progress. Please pop along to The Propagator’s blog where you can read all about what is happening this weekend in other gardens.
