Styles: Courtyards and small terraces, English cottage
Soil types: Clay
Soil drainage: Moisture-retentive
Soil pH: Neutral
Light: Partial Shade
Aspect: South, East
Exposure: Sheltered
Hardiness: Hardy (H4)
My garden is long and narrow, about four times as long as wide. It is in a heavily built-up area on the edge of the inner city, so is very sheltered. It is divided into four areas along its length: a seating area next to my house, a very small lawn surrounded by borders; a more shaded area with paving, and a utility area screened by trellis at the far end, which contains the compost bins, bins for tools, fertiliser , bird food etc, a mini-greenhouse and pot plants having an off season. It is on heavy clay, but after 18 years of deluging it with compost and other organic material, is now mostly manageable. I grow a wide range of shrubs , climbers, bulbs and herbaceous perennials, and a selection of tender/borderline hardy plants in pots around the seating area, I have recently had a 60 foot eucalyptus cut down, and having more moisture and light have been replanting large areas.Faces SSEThere is not a published plan for this garden yet.
There are no plants in the wish list for this garden.
About me
I would describe myself as an obsessional gardener. I have gardened since I was a child and have had six gardens of my own. For about fifteen years I designed and maintained other people's gardens, in addition to my full-time job, with the help of a non gardener assistant. I am an RHS member.
Gardening expertise
Very Keen
Biggest gardening accomplishments
Creating a garden on what used to be a gravel pit, where water drained straight through, and winning a garden competition with it
Biggest gardening frustrations
Gardening on Clay. Four of my six gardens have been on clay which had not been worked for years, and it has taken years to get it into reasonable condition.
Never having enough room to grow all the thousands of varieties of plants I would like
The gardening project I am currently working on
I had a 60 foot eucalyptus [ ill advisedly planted by me 16 years ago] cut down this summer, opening up the garen to light and moisture. I have been replanting much of it and have almost finished.
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