Which Flowers and plants for the garden?

[sammy.se]

Hi,

I am completely non-green fingered, but I do like being in the garden surrounded by flowers and leaves during the summer when I use my garden.

I'm hoping now (early march) is not too late to get it ready??

Anyway,
Can you please advise me what I should buy? Here's some info.

* All my plants are in pots and hanging baskets, nothing is planted in the ground. I'm open to buying more pots (large ones) as well.

* I already have some evergreen, green leafy plants that give a tiny bit of flower, so I don't want to buy more of those, I'd rather buy something with colour

* I only bought evergreen plants in the past so that has limited me, so I guess I need to buy deciduous plants if I want more flowers and colour? (I like that ever green is alive all year round)

* It's a southern facing, fenced in small garden (5mx7m) so sun and shade available in equal parts.

* I'd love to buy flowers for the hanging baskets that flow out of the basket and hang down, the bigger the flower the better

*should I be buying bulbs and planting them, or something that is ready grown?

I'll be visiting a couple of large garden centres in Essex at some point soon (recommendations welcome!) and would appreciate any guidance before that

Thanks all from this completely novice plant person!



Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

 

[Mike G]

This is a "how long is a piece of string?"- question, Sam. I'm not your man for this one, and my wife, who could talk about the subject for a week without repeating herself, isn't here. Take a couple of reccomendations from me, though.......

Mexican daisies. They're indestructible, will grow anywhere, and will flower profusely every year from April to November or later.

Forget-me-nots. Masses of early spring colour (blue), and again, will survive no matter how badly they are neglected.

 

[novocaine]

concrete? :lol:

 

[sunnybob]

In complete and utter seriousness. You need plastic flowers.
They are now incredibly lifelike, require ZERO care, and always look like they have just flowered.
Our climate is very harsh on "pretty" flowers, and although the mrs has always been a keen and successful gardener, she is now admitting there is a place for plastic.
She bought a potted shrub standing about 4 ft tall covered in lilac flowers (I have no idea what, not my thing) and placed it in the corner of the garden. Every gardener who has visited has complimented her on it before being told its not real. it lasted about 3 years before the sun and strong winds started it to fall apart.

 

[RogerS]

First off, don't go to a garden centre. Start watching gardening programmes, get a feel for what plants/flowers you'd like. Then search for the independent small nurseries specialising in those. Buy a few gardening magazines.

Be prepared for a shock. Plant prices have gone through the roof recently and in the last year. Partly down to Covid, partly down to Brexit.

 

[AJB Temple]

I've PM'd you separately, but as an aside, if you crack on it is not too late to sow from seed into protected trays, or use plugs. Lots of very good stuff available on line. Beware that seeds in garden centres will almost certainly be old stock.

You may also consider things that are good for wildlife, birds and insects. Just a very small water feature, pond or pool will attract nature very quickly, including dragonflies, water boatmen, newts etc and provide a drinking source for birds. Bird feeders rapidly bring life to a garden of any size.

 

[Trevanion]

Be prepared for a shock. Plant prices have gone through the roof recently and in the last year. Partly down to Covid, partly down to Brexit.

No joke, on eBay people were bidding on sets of five Carrot plugs for £20+ April time last year, bearing in mind that you only get ONE carrot from a plug :lol:

I understand everyone wanted to get into a new hobby and possibly be self-sufficient if worse came to worse, but paying £4 a carrot was a ridiculous way to go about it.

 

[Chris101]

Not a gardener Sam but I have been a landscaper in a previous life and the Mrs is at 'I have a botany degree you get to cut the grass peasant' level of knowledge. So I will share one bit of knowledge that I have that I have picked up being around professional gardeners etc without being able to give much plant advice.
Think in terms of shape and form and long term planting. The difficulty most 'beginners' have is trying to fill spaces quickly and not having the knowledge to see a couple of years into the future. If you have the patience to layer in height and think in 3D terms where you want to be in a 'complete' garden you can begin to work towards that vision, knowing that of course it is fluid and will change many times on the way. The joy most gardeners feel is essentialy that moulding. If you visit a fairly formal walled garden you can see this clearly. The bigger plants at the back sloping down to the fronts of the beds give shape and a sense of form that makes semse classicly. It surrounds you with wall of leaf and coluor and aroma... But these are high maintenance and require a lot of gardening, knowledge and work.
Try to look for planting examples online that will suit the level of time and cost you want to put in and the space you have. Then you can find the plants to fit that rough idea.
Got 12 acres and a trout stream? Or a little balcony sized space to snooze in the sun and maybe be surrounded by aromatic plants while you sip your gin in the summer. Just saying, planning is everything.
Doesn't need to be formal planting but it's nice to plant so you have a little colour all year rather than two weeks of a riot of spring flower colour then nowt all year.

Starting to become a wall of text so just briefly. Have a think about getting round the issue. Raised beds to cut down on pot watering and maintenance maybe. Japanese design?!? A big bamboo for shade maybe in that tricky corner? Might take 5 years to get to size. That's gardening unless you have silly money. Time and directing nature a little bit as it gently argues back.
If my garden was up to me I'd have a big old nature garden to attract bees and insects and all that. I like a wild garden and the lack of work suits me very well. Somewhere for a hammock.

My Mrs just walked past Sam and I've had a quick word and she is happy to have a chat via PM/email etc or on the phone about plants and ideas. Let me know if that might help. She's a lot nicer than me so you'll be alright and while she's no Monty Don she will be able to help.

Good luck and enjoy it. Being lucky enough to have a place to sit in and be quiet and enjoy a bit of peace is a real luxury in life I reckon. A glass of ice cold is just heaven. Doesn't have to be the Chelsea Flower Show.
A pot with salad plants from seed is easy and make you feel like Percy Thrower without the need to dig (especially with recent seedling prices)
Best as always
Chris

 

[Chris101]

Be prepared for a shock. Plant prices have gone through the roof recently and in the last year. Partly down to Covid, partly down to Brexit.

No joke, on eBay people were bidding on sets of five Carrot plugs for £20+ April time last year, bearing in mind that you only get ONE carrot from a plug :lol:

I understand everyone wanted to get into a new hobby and possibly be self-sufficient if worse came to worse, but paying £4 a carrot was a ridiculous way to go about it.

A few years ago I was admining on a pretty popular gaming clan site. This guy signed up and he'd come on the servers and have a game on teamspeak. (That's like a radio chat channel so you can talk to the guys/gals on your team, it's good fun and controlled by admins so there's no random idiots on there. Good substitute on a friday evening for the pub when you have two young kids).

Any way we are on there one night and this fella starts going on about survival gear, apocalypse end of the world stuff. Do you have a go pack? All sorts of stuff. What about gas masks and emergency rations. Most of the regular clan members were just a bit bemused and this guy starts gettin g more and more enthused about the end of the world. (Being pre covid he must have thought the toilet roll past shortages of last year were proof he'd been right in stockpiling C Rations all along... One of them who was actually happy he was being proved right after all...
Sooo.. hes going on and on. (Bit like me) and he says 'So what are you guys going to do to prepare? (Now he's shown us the light).
There were a few umms and ahhs.
No need to prepare mate I said.
Really?
Yep. All I have to do once it all kicks off is find someone like you I say.
Regular members have all gone quiet...
What do you mean he says.
I'm going to take that survival knife you have and in a couple of minutes I'll be all set once you tell me where you've stashed all your gear.
*uhhmmm*
And with that he dropped out of teamspeak and we never saw him on the site again. :lol:
Preppers. The first ones to be eaten by angry non preppers.

Anyway. Sorry. Back to gardening.

 

[Lurker]

Aldi are currently selling seed collections.
8 packets of seed for 99p
That's cheaper than even wilkinsons own seed.

There are not many seeds in each packet but you don't need 20 tomato plants or 40 corgette plants unless you have five acres and are supplying a restaurant.

 

[sammy.se]

Wow, such great and useful advice - thanks all !!!

I need to do each reply justice so once I'm in front of my computer later this morning I will reply properly

 

[9fingers]

Bearing in mind that I'm not much of a gardener and I just labour under instruction from SWMBO on some of the maintenance.
However I have observed over the last few decades more and more garden go for patios and other paved areas covering up the soil, realise they need a bit of colour and then put out pots, planters etc needing bought in compost , topped up each year and worst of all need either an auto watering system or time spent manual watering daily through the warmer months. Also bear in mind that all but the best quality pots will crack with the frost.
If I were starting out again, firstly I'd pick a non arthritic SWMBO so she could do most of the work :lol: but mainly I'd construct patios etc with openings in them through to the soil underneath and plant into those.

One area I do enjoy is our soft fruit garden as we enjoy the produce and an evening picking session is quite relaxing in the evening sun. Woodworking connection: I built a fruit cage to keep the birds from nicking the fruit, they now get seed feeders instead.

Bob

 

[sammy.se]

This is a "how long is a piece of string?"- question, Sam. I'm not your man for this one, and my wife, who could talk about the subject for a week without repeating herself, isn't here. Take a couple of reccomendations from me, though.......

Mexican daisies. They're indestructible, will grow anywhere, and will flower profusely every year from April to November or later.

Forget-me-nots. Masses of early spring colour (blue), and again, will survive no matter how badly they are neglected.

Thanks Mike - I agree! a very long-ended question but those recommendations you made are just what is helpful, a couple of recommendations I can neglect/mistreat unintentionally and not lose out too much

concrete? :lol:

Ha! Yes, that's where I started: Patio slabs > Artificial Grass > Hanging baskets > where I am now. I just want a little colour, but am happy with my artificial/patio surface.

In complete and utter seriousness. You need plastic flowers.
They are now incredibly lifelike, require ZERO care, and always look like they have just flowered.
Our climate is very harsh on "pretty" flowers, and although the mrs has always been a keen and successful gardener, she is now admitting there is a place for plastic.
She bought a potted shrub standing about 4 ft tall covered in lilac flowers (I have no idea what, not my thing) and placed it in the corner of the garden. Every gardener who has visited has complimented her on it before being told its not real. it lasted about 3 years before the sun and strong winds started it to fall apart.

I didn't even considered that... I don't know how I feel about that (although I do have artificial grass! ) I will think that one over...

First off, don't go to a garden centre. Start watching gardening programmes, get a feel for what plants/flowers you'd like. Then search for the independent small nurseries specialising in those. Buy a few gardening magazines.

Be prepared for a shock. Plant prices have gone through the roof recently and in the last year. Partly down to Covid, partly down to Brexit.

Thanks! I visited a giant garden centre this morning - a 60cm to 80cm plant ranges from £40 to £60... it's more than I expected to be honest, but I don't really have a reference point. I will try the smaller nurseries next.
I have literally never ever watched a gardening programme. That will be a first for me. I think I heard a gardening show on Radio4 when I couldn't reach the radio to turn it off.

I've PM'd you separately, but as an aside, if you crack on it is not too late to sow from seed into protected trays, or use plugs. Lots of very good stuff available on line. Beware that seeds in garden centres will almost certainly be old stock.

You may also consider things that are good for wildlife, birds and insects. Just a very small water feature, pond or pool will attract nature very quickly, including dragonflies, water boatmen, newts etc and provide a drinking source for birds. Bird feeders rapidly bring life to a garden of any size.

Thanks AJB - appreciated, and will reach out via PM
I love the idea of a water feature. I will look into sowing something ASAP

 

[sammy.se]

Not a gardener Sam but I have been a landscaper in a previous life and the Mrs is at 'I have a botany degree you get to cut the grass peasant' level of knowledge. So I will share one bit of knowledge that I have that I have picked up being around professional gardeners etc without being able to give much plant advice.
Think in terms of shape and form and long term planting. The difficulty most 'beginners' have is trying to fill spaces quickly and not having the knowledge to see a couple of years into the future. If you have the patience to layer in height and think in 3D terms where you want to be in a 'complete' garden you can begin to work towards that vision, knowing that of course it is fluid and will change many times on the way. The joy most gardeners feel is essentialy that moulding. If you visit a fairly formal walled garden you can see this clearly. The bigger plants at the back sloping down to the fronts of the beds give shape and a sense of form that makes semse classicly. It surrounds you with wall of leaf and coluor and aroma... But these are high maintenance and require a lot of gardening, knowledge and work.
Try to look for planting examples online that will suit the level of time and cost you want to put in and the space you have. Then you can find the plants to fit that rough idea.
Got 12 acres and a trout stream? Or a little balcony sized space to snooze in the sun and maybe be surrounded by aromatic plants while you sip your gin in the summer. Just saying, planning is everything.
Doesn't need to be formal planting but it's nice to plant so you have a little colour all year rather than two weeks of a riot of spring flower colour then nowt all year.

Starting to become a wall of text so just briefly. Have a think about getting round the issue. Raised beds to cut down on pot watering and maintenance maybe. Japanese design?!? A big bamboo for shade maybe in that tricky corner? Might take 5 years to get to size. That's gardening unless you have silly money. Time and directing nature a little bit as it gently argues back.
If my garden was up to me I'd have a big old nature garden to attract bees and insects and all that. I like a wild garden and the lack of work suits me very well. Somewhere for a hammock.

My Mrs just walked past Sam and I've had a quick word and she is happy to have a chat via PM/email etc or on the phone about plants and ideas. Let me know if that might help. She's a lot nicer than me so you'll be alright and while she's no Monty Don she will be able to help.

Good luck and enjoy it. Being lucky enough to have a place to sit in and be quiet and enjoy a bit of peace is a real luxury in life I reckon. A glass of ice cold is just heaven. Doesn't have to be the Chelsea Flower Show.
A pot with salad plants from seed is easy and make you feel like Percy Thrower without the need to dig (especially with recent seedling prices)
Best as always
Chris

Thanks Chris - so much good advice here.
I will definitely start doing some planning on paper - I love the idea of thinking 3D - I like plants at varying heights and maybe the answer is not just large plants, but raised pot holders etc. I do have some large plants for the back of the garden...

I chose some nice evergreen plants over the last three years, and they are serving me well - but it's all green, hence the colour aspect I'm trying to introduce.

I'll share my ideas once I have some!

 

[sammy.se]

Aldi are currently selling seed collections.
8 packets of seed for 99p
That's cheaper than even wilkinsons own seed.

There are not many seeds in each packet but you don't need 20 tomato plants or 40 corgette plants unless you have five acres and are supplying a restaurant.

Thanks - I will check it out!