front gardens
Last post 22-03-2009 3:28 PM by James Gardner. 24 replies.
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10/01/2009 12:44 PM
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- russian
- Hants
- 25 Nov 2008
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27
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What could I do with a strip of rough grass (6 foot wide by 20 foot long ) running down th side of my driveway? It joins the neighbours' strip which has a 6" high box hedge in the middle of the border but otherwise is planted informally on their side. ( and looks a bit bare and bleak at the moment and weedy in the summer ).
Formal is not my personal style but I feel the front area needs to be tidy and welcoming. I really am struggling about this area and any ideas would be appreciated. A meadow would look too scraggly, more box or hebe/euonymus a bit rigid so I'm stuck on deciding what style to follow.
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10/01/2009 12:52 PM
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- miranda
- Oxfordshire
- 17 Nov 2004
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2,976
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Hello Russian, good to hear that you want to plant your front garden, rather than putting down tarmac! What you plant depends on how much light the area gets, but you could go for small growing, easy shrubby plants. Friends of ours have planted a similar strip of front garden with different lavenders and it's lovely, simple but beautiful. There are masses of scented flowers in summer (good for the bees) and structure in winter. All it needs is a quick hair cut in autumn to keep it tidy. You could do the same with other herbs - rosemary or sage, for example.
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10/01/2009 01:23 PM
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- Susiq
- Northumberland
- 16 Feb 2008
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1,104
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Nice suggestions Miranda. I've alternated some lavenders and different types of grasses in a row that I didn't know what else to with. Low maintenance, nice colours and as you say, good for the bees
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10/01/2009 01:47 PM
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First decide what not to plant. My garden says no crocosmia, no fuschias, no forsythia, no ivy no ferns no annuals.
The neighbours box hedge I presume is about a foot high and that is your planting level.
To look neat after the frosts we`ve had I would have to grub up everything but the hardy geraniums and saxifrage London pride. Campanula (the rockery sort) is still looking good, the lavenders I trimmed back look worse than the ones I didn`t, but stachys (lambs ears) has not been affected and is that sort of colour..
You describe it as rough grass, is it level enough to make a lawn?
I wish you luck. I joined for the question and answer session due the week after next and had one question about hardy sweet peas, do they all have swollen roots like club root? as it died off I think something might be wrong. I did try turnips in that patch a few years ago so no brassicas survive.
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10/01/2009 02:18 PM
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- miranda
- Oxfordshire
- 17 Nov 2004
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2,976
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That sounds nice, Susiq. I like grasses and so do the wildlife - the Stipa tenuissima 'Pony Tails' I planted was completely ripped to pieces by a gang of sparrows who took it for their nests. All they left was what looked like little green hedgehogs, bless them. I didn't really mind - it grew again and there are other grasses they don't go for. 'no crocosmia, no fuschias, no forsythia, no ivy no ferns no annuals' Oh you hard, hard person, decide on one! I have a great fondness for both crocosmia (though not that really invasive one) and ferns, but each to their own. Hope you get the right answer to your question!
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10/01/2009 02:49 PM
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I`m not a neat gardener, they are there. What I`m trying to say is `to look neat` as opposed to bare and/or straggly they would have to come out. I have no intention of removing mine. Most winters aquilegia keeps a mound of leaves as well, but not this year.
Going up a planting level from london pride, I would like to know of a non spurge plant to fill the gaps when I take out the spurge. Its a no sun situation, but I dont like having the spurge just by my door although it`s one step better than bare earth. Heaven knows what variety it is but its about a foot high.
They are all from neighbours cuttings, and just my luck, all the cuttings took at the same time, that`s what I call overload, they`ve all spread. So something as vigorous in a no sun situation is required I dont like bare earth in winter.
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10/01/2009 04:18 PM
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- Phot's-Moll
- The sunny South coast.
- 06 Jan 2007
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3,347
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I agree that deciding what not to have might be a good idea. Avoid anytthing that only lookes good for a short time (unless it dissapears the rest of the year) and avoid anything where you need to leave untidy foliage in place for weeks (daffodils for example) unless it can be hidden by new growth - difficult in a narrow border. Hardy geraniums are great and easy to keep neat by cutting to ground level when scraggly. The herbs would look good too. A simple design often looks neatest, so a row of all the same, or two things alternating might be very good.
Whether you think you can do a thing, or think you cannot, you are right.
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10/01/2009 05:13 PM
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- miranda
- Oxfordshire
- 17 Nov 2004
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2,976
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'A simple design often looks neatest, so a row of all the same, or two things alternating might be very good' So tempting to mess it up, though - maybe interplant it with bulbs that will stand above the other foliage?
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11/01/2009 10:14 PM
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- Phot's-Moll
- The sunny South coast.
- 06 Jan 2007
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3,347
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Yeah, that's what I'd do.
Whether you think you can do a thing, or think you cannot, you are right.
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11/01/2009 10:14 PM
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- Phot's-Moll
- The sunny South coast.
- 06 Jan 2007
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3,347
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Whether you think you can do a thing, or think you cannot, you are right.
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11/01/2009 10:15 PM
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- Phot's-Moll
- The sunny South coast.
- 06 Jan 2007
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3,347
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Maybe a ribbon of something low along the front, too?
Whether you think you can do a thing, or think you cannot, you are right.
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12/01/2009 02:26 AM
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"Welcoming," you say? That is open to opinion, as you can see. My picture of the site is that there is a clump of box diiviiding the property line in the middle, and you can see around this clump to know it is weedy in the summer and bare in winter. Do you want to share views?? If not, you would want a screen to block out what you see over there. Some tall screening shrubs like wax myrtles, Mahonia, Russian Olive Ligustrum, Harry Lauder Walking Stick, etc., would add interest on your side and shut out the other side. I probably would plant some spring blooming shrubs in between, like forsythia, and small bushy acers on the ends for Fall colour. Birds like Mahonia and myrtles. You may have to hose the driveway on occasion if the birdies do take up residence. You could also put trellises at either end of the box hedge and grow vines up them to block out the other side's view, and plant the rest of the area with evergreen shrubs of compact size that flower in spring or summer, like rhododendroms and azaleas.
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12/01/2009 02:46 PM
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- carolyna
- Newton-le-Willows
- 02 Apr 2008
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43
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Miranda / Susiq
What grasses work well with lavender and rosemary? Other than stipa tenuissima and pennisetum I'm not sure what is good for a sunny well drained front garden
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12/01/2009 03:27 PM
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- Susiq
- Northumberland
- 16 Feb 2008
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1,104
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The one I've used is Stipa Tenuissima and it works really, really well, but I think Calamagrastis x acutiflora overdam would look good, but am not sure if the conditions are right for your garden - you'd need to look that up, sorry! I love Festuca 'elijah blue' but it might clash, depending on what lavender you have!
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12/01/2009 04:29 PM
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- miranda
- Oxfordshire
- 17 Nov 2004
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2,976
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Carex buchananii might do it, it's as tough as old boots. It does tend to self seed, which is a bit of a nuisance but it's easy enough to pull up. I grew that Calamagrostis x acutiflora but found that it had a tendency to collapse in our windy garden - the spring and summer foliage is lovely, mind.
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