# Anyone want to see some of my garden? (Photo overload alert)



## DirtyGertie (Mar 12, 2011)

I've just started venturing into this section, I usually hang out with the dogs .

I have a very small garden, probably 30' x 20' max, mainly hard landscaping with borders. I'm not much of a gardener, my late hubby knew more about plants than me, but I'm trying to get some colour and prettiness into it with the little knowledge I do have. I don't have a pretty outlook, the railway line runs right alongside and beyond that is the yacht compound but if I look to the right I can see the beach and the sea 

Can I bore you with some pics?

This is the garden when we first bought the house in early 2009:



















One year later we'd tidied up the borders and I was experimenting with some veggies in tubs:




























A couple of months later Poppy (our dog) came on the scene and we decided to have the garden re-vamped, it went from this:










to this in a couple of weeks:










We weren't able to save all the plants but did our best to keep the better ones.

All things dog became more important so I just bought bits and pieces to fill up the holes when I saw something I liked. Hubby died the following year, neighbour from hell moved next door and with one thing and another I didn't have much time/interest for a while so I've got no photographs from the last couple of years.

This year I've taken a bit more interest. No longer bothering with veggies as it's just me but am trying to fill the remaining gaps with interesting things. Lots of things have grown a ridiculous amount and this is just a bit of the garden today:

From the left:

Camelia, Corkscrew Hazel (needs a good trim), dwarf Hydrangea with bedding Begonias in front, seedheads of Allium at rear, Prairie Mallow (not yet fully in flower), Dwarf Veronica in front (not doing so well this year), a couple of perennial Geraniums and something that will be a surprise as I can't remember what it was! Neighbour from hell sold the cottage, it's now a holiday let and their garden can be seen behind the wire fence so it actually makes my garden look bigger.










I'm really pleased with how the Hydrangea has come on this year, this is it's 3rd year and there's masses of flower heads. It's a double flowered one, I think it's from the "You and Me Together" collection:










A bit from the other side of the garden. The big pink Hydrangea is my neighbours and I have the little expanding fence up at the end of my garden to stop Poppy wandering up to the shared gate which leads to a pedestrian lane. Large Calla Lily was here when the house was purchased and has done really well this year, I've had a total of 37 flowers on it, it's coming to the end now. To the left of that are some Lilies that have increased year on year.




























Finally a picture taken a couple of weeks ago when I was dog-sitting my son's two dogs. Poppy is in the middle, Lottie to the left (Poppy's litter sister) and their new puppy Lily to the right. Lily worked out how to get through the little fence, the other two didn't bother. They were all having a mooch round, there wasn't anything in particular they were after:










It's still a work in progress and I'm always changing my mind about where things should be.

If anyone is interested I started a blog when we first moved here but haven't updated it since the garden was re-vamped but there's more pictures on there

My Seaside Garden

Perhaps I'll start it up again as it's interesting to keep a record and see how things progress, perhaps best to start again next Spring when the Primroses come out, there's quite a bit that's finished already this year.

Thanks for looking, I hope I haven't bored you, and I'm always happy for any advice


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## JANICE199 (Feb 1, 2008)

*Wow you have been busy. Love your garden, it looks great. I wish i had more luck with Hydrangeas but i just can't seem to grow them.*


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## DoodlesRule (Jul 7, 2011)

It looks lovely


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## DirtyGertie (Mar 12, 2011)

JANICE199 said:


> *Wow you have been busy. Love your garden, it looks great. I wish i had more luck with Hydrangeas but i just can't seem to grow them.*


Thank you. Not sure how relevant this is but my neighbour (the one with the large pink hydrangea in the picture) told me about it. She's always used Epsom Salts once a year on hers and she has enormous flowers and a really healthy plant. I've used it the last couple of years, I put one teaspoon dissolved in a normal watering can and just water round the base.

Also last year the leaves on both of ours went very pale in parts. I read up about it and it was recommended to use Sequestrene Plant Tonic which is for iron deficiency that causes pale yellow leaves, poor growth and flowering. I used one sachet last year and the leaves became much healthier. I haven't needed to use it this year.


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## ForestWomble (May 2, 2013)

Your garden is beautiful 










This ^^^^^ is my favourite.


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## DirtyGertie (Mar 12, 2011)

Animallover26 said:


> Your garden is beautiful
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thank you . I moved all the lilies after they finished flowering last year, they were over the other side next to the hydrangea and I swapped position with the allium. Believe it or not, the tall ones at the back that aren't yet in flower are the dwarf Stargazer lilies, and the smaller ones at the front were originally tall ones, and the two-tone ones were some my neighbour gave me last year, she got them from Morrisons and they were originally plain pink! Not sure how all that happened, I really haven't got them mixed up! There's lots of tiny new ones too so they seem to be happy in their new home.

The tub on top of the fence is one of four that has some bedding geraniums I bought from the Co-op, absolutely the worst ones I've ever had, they're just not growing. Back to the man on the market next year I think, his have always been good and no dearer than the Co-op.


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## ForestWomble (May 2, 2013)

They are all lovely, I particularly like the two-tone ones - you don't know their name do you? I'll put it on my garden shopping list for next year  

As you have a dog I guess they wouldn't be, but are they dangerous for dogs if swollowed? It's just my neighbour has a plant eating dog so I'm very careful what I plant so I don't poison their dog.


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## DirtyGertie (Mar 12, 2011)

Animallover26 said:


> They are all lovely, I particularly like the two-tone ones - you don't know their name do you? I'll put it on my garden shopping list for next year
> 
> As you have a dog I guess they wouldn't be, but are they dangerous for dogs if swollowed? It's just my neighbour has a plant eating dog so I'm very careful what I plant so I don't poison their dog.


Sorry, I don't have a name for the two-tone ones. I'm sure that they were just in a pot from Morrisons with a label that said "Lily - Pink", it definitely wouldn't have been expensive and I have no idea how it's gone from plain pink to two-tone.

I'm very lucky that my dog, despite being a dustbin dog, doesn't bother with any plants at all (can't say the same about the bird seed that falls from the feeder though ). However, lilies can be harmful to dogs particularly if eaten in quantity. Is there somewhere the dog can't reach where you could plant them? Apparently they are very toxic to cats and again I'm fortunate that my cat doesn't bother with them.


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## ForestWomble (May 2, 2013)

DirtyGertie said:


> Sorry, I don't have a name for the two-tone ones. I'm sure that they were just in a pot from Morrisons with a label that said "Lily - Pink", it definitely wouldn't have been expensive and I have no idea how it's gone from plain pink to two-tone.
> 
> I'm very lucky that my dog, despite being a dustbin dog, doesn't bother with any plants at all (can't say the same about the bird seed that falls from the feeder though ). However, lilies can be harmful to dogs particularly if eaten in quantity. Is there somewhere the dog can't reach where you could plant them? Apparently they are very toxic to cats and again I'm fortunate that my cat doesn't bother with them.


Thank you for your answer. There is nowhere that is not within that dogs reach, even though my flower bed is a raised one all he does is jump onto the wall  also we seem to have a fair few cats in the neighbour hood, I have seen at least 4 different kitties using my raised bed as a sleeping place. :001_huh: (Maybe I should charge? )


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## Lurcherlad (Jan 5, 2013)

I love your garden - you have made some good changes over the years.

The new paving is a great improvement - gives the illusion of a much wider space 

I'm desperate to overhaul my cracked and tatty crazy paved terrace 

I am soooooo jealous of your wonderful Calla Lily - mine didn't flower at all last year and only one flower this year 

Mine lives in the pond - I think I need to move it to the damp soil next to the pond instead - it's obviously not happy where it is.

Lilies are a favourite of mine, alongside Clematis. 

You obviously get a lot of pleasure from your garden


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## DirtyGertie (Mar 12, 2011)

Lurcherlad said:


> I love your garden - you have made some good changes over the years.
> 
> The new paving is a great improvement - gives the illusion of a much wider space
> 
> ...


Thank you . Actually, I'm not a keen gardener at all. I don't enjoy the work involved but I do like to see other people's nice gardens. The thing I enjoy most workwise is pulling up weeds .

The hard landscaping is actually a real chore. As it's Indian stone you can't use just any old cleaner on it, you have to be careful, and you shouldn't power wash it either. We took the advice of the landscaper but I'm beginning to wish we'd had something a bit less needy maintenance-wise. It was quite mucky last year and I found some special cleaner which helped but it's not gone back to how it was originally. The stone chippings are a nightmare too. Because I'm so near the beach, and we get lots of strong winds over the winter, the garden can get lots of sand which builds up. This year you couldn't see any of the path or chippings and even the borders were all under an inch or so of sand. I had to shovel up the sand as best I could, shovel up all the chippings and riddle them to get rid of the sand, wash them off, thoroughly sweep the whole of the garden and then put the chippings back. Then I bought some bags of compost to add to the borders as it was impossible to remove the sand from those. I found it really hard work with very little help from my son, he seems to forget that I'm the age I am with breathing difficulties!

I do love my Calla Lily, it's been so beautiful this year. Funnily enough it seems to thrive where it is but it's certainly not a damp place. My garden gets the sun from mid morning until sundown and there's only a bit of shade on the one side. I do make sure that I water it well during dry spells. There's some rhubarb next to it and that needs a fair bit of water too so I'm not likely to forget.

I haven't taken any other photos yet but I have quite a few geraniums (the pelargonium type, not the perennial ones), I love the double flowered ones. Some have survived the winters despite me not lifting them, they're really pretty. I'll see about taking some more pics maybe tomorrow.


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## MollySmith (May 7, 2012)

I too have green eyes looking at the lillies, what a great garden! Sorry to hear you have neighbours from hell


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## DirtyGertie (Mar 12, 2011)

MollySmith said:


> I too have green eyes looking at the lillies, what a great garden! Sorry to hear you have neighbours from hell


Thank you . Neighbour from hell has actually gone :thumbup:, he made himself extremely unpopular with neighbours and businesses alike, obviously not used to a small community and thought he could do what he liked without any thought for anyone else, but that's another story . New owners are lovely but it's mainly used as a holiday let and all the visitors up to now have been very nice .


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## MollySmith (May 7, 2012)

DirtyGertie said:


> Thank you . Neighbour from hell has actually gone :thumbup:, he made himself extremely unpopular with neighbours and businesses alike, obviously not used to a small community and thought he could do what he liked without any thought for anyone else, but that's another story . New owners are lovely but it's mainly used as a holiday let and all the visitors up to now have been very nice .


Oh that's good  We've been lucky where I live but no so in other places and it you just don't feel like going out at all.

We've got two sets of neighbours who live in fairyland where nettles are a cultivated plant and bindweed is a climber. They're both away this week and I've broken a promise to never use weedkiller as it's against my organic ethics but it has got that bad....


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## noushka05 (Mar 28, 2008)

You've done a great job with your garden, its lovely! I love your house aswell - & your dogs! lol


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## DoodlesRule (Jul 7, 2011)

DirtyGertie said:


> .
> 
> The hard landscaping is actually a real chore. As it's Indian stone you can't use just any old cleaner on it, you have to be careful, and you shouldn't power wash it either. We took the advice of the landscaper but I'm beginning to wish we'd had something a bit less needy maintenance-wise. It was quite mucky last year and I found some special cleaner which helped but it's not gone back to how it was originally.


Eek I didn't know that, I have just had new patios in indian stone! ~Why can't you power wash it?


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## DirtyGertie (Mar 12, 2011)

noushka05 said:


> You've done a great job with your garden, its lovely! I love your house aswell - & your dogs! lol


Thank you . Only one dog's mine, Poppy who is in the middle of the photo, the other two belong to my son and I was dog sitting for the day. I did try, and still do try, to steal the puppy though, she is absolutely lovely :001_wub:.



DoodlesRule said:


> Eek I didn't know that, I have just had new patios in indian stone! ~Why can't you power wash it?


Well, you could power wash but you'd need to be careful. In particular the joints are quite vulnerable. Here's some of sites I got information from when I was looking for advice on how to clean them.

PRISTINE PAVING - Indian Sandstone

Indian Sandstone Paving in the UK - Rob McGee & Son

Pavingexpert - Paving maintenance and cleaning

Paving Expert - AJ McCormack and Son - Maintenance and Repair - Power Washers (this one shows how the slabs can get badly marked)

and from a tiller's forum



> When you use water under pressure on stone the pressure needs applying equally across the surface.
> 
> As the water under pressure hits stone it cuts / fractures particles from the surface which could be compared to etching.
> 
> ...


I have used a domestic power washer on some old grey block paving in my yard. It turned out quite patchy (but that could have been me) but it seemed to do something to the surface of the blocks, like it was too harsh, and they got really dirty again very quickly.

This is what I eventually used on my Indian stone paving Lithofin MN Outdoor Cleaner, I found it quite hard work because it had got really dirty and I needed to use a deck scrubber, but someone more physically capable than me probably would find it easier.


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## DirtyGertie (Mar 12, 2011)

I've taken a few more pics seeing as some new stuff is out now.

I planted these three in a group as I thought they went together nicely. The tall pink one on the left is Stachys "Pinkie", the smaller pink one is Sidalcea "Little Princess" (Prairie Mallow) and the little purple one in front is Dwarf Veronica. The two pink ones have grown rather big now so I think I need to see how to go about dividing them. I planted some sweet peas to grow up my little wire fence and they've just come into flower the last few days.










A close up of the Sidalcea, I really like this plant, I think it's so pretty:










My lovely dwarf double hydrangea, I'm so pleased with how well it's done this year:










I bought two new tubs for on the steps a couple of months ago. I love geraniums and saw these at our local market so bought some Bacopia to go in the tubs with them.










The Bacopa's gone a bit mad actually, perhaps I should have put just one in instead of two:










This rose is Blue Moon, it has a really lovely fragrance, has dark pink buds which produce lilac flowers when fully open. My d-i-l bought it for my husband when he was diagnosed with his cancer, his ashes are scattered in the soil around the rose so he's always here with me. It's gone a bit of a funny shape, some serious pruning/shaping required next year I think. I've got bedding Begonias around it but want to find some nicer, white plants for next year.










My little wall of geraniums. Hubby was a geranium fan and these were bought four years ago. They've just been left in the wall and fortunately have come back each year. Unfortunately I can't remember the names of them. Down below, behind the wall, is the garden to the little cottage next door.










Another geranium, this one is Apple Blossom, I think hubby bought a collection of three, they're all in pots and again they've over-wintered outside successfully:










I used to have pots on all four of the columns at the ends of the walls but we get some seriously strong winds and two pots got blown off and smashed . They're quite heavy too so it's difficult for me to pick them up and remove them when it gets windy.

Now I've got interested in the garden again I can see that there's lots I want to do next year. Some stuff needs dividing, some plants are too crowded so I need to move a few things around, I also want to get some plants that were there before but I lost them.


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## Burrowzig (Feb 18, 2009)

It looks great. My favourite feature is the wooden fence - is it railway sleepers? Makes a great backdrop to all the plants.


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## kateh8888 (Aug 9, 2011)

All looks lovely to me, well done


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## DirtyGertie (Mar 12, 2011)

Burrowzig said:


> It looks great. My favourite feature is the wooden fence - *is it railway sleepers*? Makes a great backdrop to all the plants.


Yes indeed, old railway sleepers. Not everyone's cup of tea but I love them . The pair of semi-detached houses next to me used to belong to the railway many years ago, railway workers used to live in them and they had direct access through a gate in their garden to the line. The houses were sold off eventually.

My garden is very small and this is how close the trains come:




























The bit of garden with the beige painted wall is my neighbours, and the gate to the railway line is next to where it's painted blue (gate now secured for safety reasons, they have no access to the line).

The steam trains used to run as a summer attraction but unfortunately no longer run. Not everyone would like it but my hubby used to love them. Now we just get the normal two carriage diesel trains, one per hour, so once you get used to them they're not a problem.


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## rottiepointerhouse (Feb 9, 2014)

Looking lovely - I've got into gardening again this year and am taking much more interest in other peoples gardens as a result :thumbsup:


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## DirtyGertie (Mar 12, 2011)

rottiepointerhouse said:


> Looking lovely - I've got into gardening again this year and am taking much more interest in other peoples gardens as a result :thumbsup:


You'll have to put some photos up, I love looking at people's gardens. I'm really hopeless and it's nice to see plants I've not come across before and maybe if I like them enough try and find space for them. All we have where I live is a very tiny garden centre, rather expensive, attached to a small DIY shop and the man who comes to the market but although he is reasonably priced he doesn't have a wide variety and most of his stuff doesn't have labels so I don't know what a lot of it is :lol:.


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## rottiepointerhouse (Feb 9, 2014)

The ones of my funny little garden here in Dorset are towards the end of the first page on this thread

http://www.petforums.co.uk/gardening-advice/369109-post-your-gardening-pics.html

Our bungalow in Devon has a completely different type of garden but until we move there I'm not really doing anything to it - just getting the grass cut. It looks stunning in May when the Azaleas are in flower but once they go over its a bit dull.


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## DirtyGertie (Mar 12, 2011)

rottiepointerhouse said:


> The ones of my funny little garden here in Dorset are towards the end of the first page on this thread
> 
> http://www.petforums.co.uk/gardening-advice/369109-post-your-gardening-pics.html
> 
> Our bungalow in Devon has a completely different type of garden but until we move there I'm not really doing anything to it - just getting the grass cut. It looks stunning in May when the Azaleas are in flower but once they go over its a bit dull.


That's lovely! I really like Azaleas but their show is over far too quickly . I got a really tiny one off the market this year, cost me all of £1.69 . I put it in one of my borders, it has grown quite a bit and the leaves look very healthy so it will be interesting to see what it's like next year. My other one (a Mother's Day present) was in a pot, got too big so I got my son to help me try and move it into a bigger pot - oops , half killed it but it's recovering now so I'm looking forward to seeing how it's recovered next year. I might have to put it in a border, if I think it will survive another move, but may leave that a while until I've seen if it regains full health :lol:.

I pop over and look at your other garden on the other thread .


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## fabbrindle (Aug 3, 2014)

Thank you for sharing your pictures and story. I was feeling rather grumpy, and this certainly cheered me up. I'm a novice gardener, and I hope my plants will look even half as nice as yours.


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## Lurcherlad (Jan 5, 2013)

fabbrindle said:


> Thank you for sharing your pictures and story. I was feeling rather grumpy, and this certainly cheered me up. I'm a novice gardener, and I hope my plants will look even half as nice as yours.


Gardening is great for the soul! 

I talk to my plants ut: 

We all have to start somewhere - put some pics up when the garden gets going later in the year


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