My 3 new gardening rules

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I do like flowers by the way. But when the garden is left to its own devices the strong ones choke the more delicate ones. Since having a clearout I have discovered long lost plants underneath the overgrown bushes. Now we can see what we have and hopefully keep a good eye on everything so it doesn't happen again. In our soil things seem to grow like fury or die right off. Also we have lived in this house for 38 years and some of the plants are really old and not even suitable or well loved, so we plan once the autumn comes to dig up what we don't want and put in some fresh in the spring.

LewLew

You are on the right track. We don't need a gardener, at the moment anyway. I can/have done lots of heavy work over the past week or so and DH is more than happy to tackle anything I can't.

Your suggestion of bark is exactly what we have planned after seeing BILs garden they have that.

The edging we already have in the form of blocks which had disappeared in the main but are now out on show again.

I just feel at our age 6 ft shrubs and dense undergrowth are not in keeping with an easy to manage garden.

Shysal

I certainly wouldn't say I hate your garden it looks lovely you have maintained it so that is the difference.

In case you all think I have a barren landscape this is what one side of the garden looks like after all our hard work. The tubs are on the patio

It is very difficult to get a real gardener. They call themselves gardeners but they don't really know a weed from a plant and only want to cut the lawn and slash away at the shrubs. After a succession of these so called gardeners my help now does my garden under my supervision. She only has a small courtyard garden of her own and enjoys my garden as though it was her own. I have lots of shrubs and perennials and ground cover and don't have bare earth so few weeds.
Re geraniums Ihave a large number right from very small ones to large varieties. Cut hard back after flowering and they will soon come back and flower again.

I saw some Rozanne geraniums for sale today and they didn't look a patch on those shysal (nearly £7 too!!

frasus and Bijou thanks for the tip re cutting down geraniums
Mildred thank you for the tip re bindweed - I had heard that before but had forgotten it (oh dear)
jingls I have tried that dab-on weedkiller, it was quite pricey, I got more on my gardening gloves than I did on the weeds as it's not that easy to use precisely and the weeds still look as if they are thriving 3 weeks later.

Some really good tips on here, we will just have to go with what likes our soil because like you overhill In our soil things seem to grow like fury or die right off

I think geraniums are one of the best plants as they can be put into all situations are tolerant of most soils and come in all sizes and gorgeous colours. My Rozannes are planted between the 3 roses Olivia a soft pink, but I am going to move the geraniums this Autumn as I don't think they can be seen well enough.

I have always dead-headed the geraniums but never cut them back hard, although I am usually renowned for my pruning

I will be out there tomorrow with my shears and secateurs

Lots of you have suggested geraniums I believe we already have the blue ones. It would be interesting to hear any other suggestions on plants that keep on giving. My suggestion would be Lavatera it just keeps flowering all summer long.

My pick of front of border perennials has to be Salvia. The one I use is Merleau, a deep rich inky bluey/purple. It is very hardy and flowers from early summer right through. At the moment it looks great with Crocosmia Lucifer, deep pink Hydrangea, and various orangey shades. For a less dramatic look it would team well with the Lavatera you mentioned.
It comes up year after year and can be divided every two or three years. I prefer this plant to lavender for its punchy strong colour.

There are hundreds of Cranesbill Geraniums ( hardy geraniums). From quite tall ones, through carpet forming to small rockery types. Colours range from dark purple to white, flowering from spring to Autumn.

They are easily divided and quite a few people have them in their gardens. So when I moved I asked friends for bits of their geraniums to plant in my new garden. I will think of them as they flower.

Agree with Craftycat, when it gets too much --- get a gardener!

I have eight g.rozannes and they are wonderful. They will flower for up to six months and the slugs and snails don't go near them. I would like to know if there is a pink version of rozanne that would do the same. It's an easy plant that never has to be dead headed or pruned. Grows in sun or shade.

I have chopped back the geraniums and I must say they look - threadbare
DH is saying 'are you sure this is what you're supposed to do?'

Another long flowering geranium in bright pink is Tiny Monster. Despite its name it isn't much smaller than the Rozanne although it doesn't clamber through/over other plants in the same way. The two varieties were recommended in the Telegraph a couple of years ago.

Geranium Tiny Monster.

www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/how-to-grow/the-best-geranium-varieties-to-grow/

I hate our garden, it is so big and out of control, the most awful soil - I have given up, and we cannot afford a gardener.Depressing to see it so bad.

OH does the lawn with ride on mower, and sometimes trims hedges.It was a small holding and we now try and keep it low maintenance. It is extremely heavy clay, I just went out to try and dig in some montbretia I had been given. Cannot touch it, rock hard cement.Left them in water. I ave added lots of mushroom compost/straw in past - all a waste of time and money. I would love a small courtyard garden.

jalima I am going to dig the whole bed out and replace with offer. It includes Rozanne. I I'll have 3 pink ones, 3 white and 3 Rozannes. I live near enough to do click and collect so will not have to pay postage.

Don't worry. I'm sure yours will come back just fine though. Or you could replace?

Meant to put "this offer".

Oh shoot! I didn't add it then.

geranium collection

seacliff could you just dig out one or two small plots near the house, and fill with topsoil from the garden centre? Or get one of those large wooden plant troughs on legs. DD has one. She painted it pink and has it full of bulbs in the spring with perennials in he summer.

Seacliff, I once had a house with the soil you describe and when it was put up for sale, the estate agent couldn't hammer in the "for sale" sign. This was despite me digging in tons of rotted horse manure over the years.
If I still lived there I would have gravelled it over and used pots to grow things in. Not much else you can do really.

Or you could replace?
that's what we are thinking of doing (or I am, I have volunteered DH to do the digging out of everything in there!).
Moving, discarding, replacing, and the soil needs a lot of tlc as well.
An autumn job (if we are still here)

Yes, thank you! that's it, partial shade.

seacliff some of the soil a foot or so down in areas of our garden would be good for making cups and saucers, green clay, combined with rocks.
DH has put in compost, manure, chicken pellets, other fertilisers, but it is an ongoing process.

I will have to try Tiny Monster Shysal. Thanks. We are constantly having to put soil and compost in this garden. Our sandy soil is very close to the surface. It is pure white sand with round pebbles. I like to think of it as an old prehistoric beach!

I am beginning to buy Erigeron . Little daisy like plants. You can shove them into all sorts of corners and they are no trouble.