IT was like a nuclear wasteland.
Well maybe not that bad.
I hated the overgrown borders outside our
back door, the slug infested hosta plants and selection of broken plant pots littering the floor.
It was time to branch out from saving
orchids and do a mini makeover.
I had already acquired three nearly dead supermarket
mini sunflowers at the bargain price of 35p.
I arranged them in plant holders on the
trellis and began faithfully watering them, allowing the water to drain out.
They were doing well until I decided to
save time by using a larger watering can. The water landed on the flowers
causing them to curl up and die.
Heading off eagerly to the garden centre I had stopped at the traffic lights when a distracted mum cannoned into the back of my little Ford Ka.
After exchanging details I faced a dilemma.
Should I carry on to the garden centre to pick up the plants I wanted or take
the sensible option and go home?
I drove to the garden centre where I picked
up begonias, chrysanthemums, coleus, creepers and alpines.
As I left there was a slight problem when I
realized that the boot would no longer lock. I spent a hair-raising journey
home praying we didn’t go over any speed humps.
There followed a backbreaking afternoon of humping sacks of compost around, ripping out nasty looking foliage and replacing with colourful plants.
I planted out some containers remembering
to place bits of broken polystyrene at the bottom to stop the holes from
getting clogged with compost.
I even created my own hanging basket with
creepers and snapdragons after slashing the plastic lining again to allow
drainage before adding compost.
And the sunflowers are making a come-back with new yellow flowers starting to peep through the thick green leaves.
And the sunflowers are making a come-back with new yellow flowers starting to peep through the thick green leaves.
Although the result is beautiful I can’t
help feeling that I can do things more cheaply next time.
Several gardening magazines are offering
packets of free seeds which might be the way to go for a carer on a limited
budget.
Today? I’m off to the doctor with whiplash
injuries.
Hi Gardening Girl: I was impressed by the colourful display in your photographs, especially as my garden might be slightly overgrown at present: there are several as yet undiscovered species of insect and small mammal out there! My landlord in his wisdom has hidden the soil under plastic sheeting and then covered that with ballast, but that doesn't stop the weeds proliferating. My question is - if I clear the weeds, is there anything I can plant at this time of year, or is it too late in the season?
ReplyDeleteThank you Ian. I just planted coleus, snapdragons, begonias, viola, pansies and chrysanthemums in my tubs and hanging baskets. Gerberras flower until October apparently. I think some alpines I bought can survive low temperatures. I just got some free seeds called Nigella Miss Jekyll (Love-in-a-mist) which can be planted in September apparently. So yes there probably are lots of plants you can still plant out.
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