Garden? Flowers or fruit? - The Common Room

CircusMaximus Male

11 days ago

Decorative or practical?

G-O-W

11 days ago

I have a mix, and lots that are both.
Calendula, yarrow, nigella, thyme (lots of that), parsley, sage, all the usual herbs - I use a lot + garlic chives.
I have lots of plants that were gifted and remind me of the giver - and one from mum, plus one I got after she died.
Gooseberry and blackcurrant bushes - they mostly get eaten by the birds.
Crab apple trees. The pigeons eat the flowers and the fermenting fruit. Lots of bees and other insects visit.
Several lavender plants that attract insects.
I don't use chemicals other than tomato feed and it's allowed to be wild in areas.

Andromeda Female

11 days ago

I've never been interested in gardening. The front is driveway and parking. The rear is patio and paving with a decorative border and enough grass in the centre for Bertie to have a wander about and a poo.

Samx

11 days ago

I have no say, what grows in our communal garden. It looks like, we soon have to turn to a great agriculture rather than aesthetics in order to feed ourselves. It might be a good idea to start as early as this year………

wonderoushen Female

11 days ago

Top post!

Both, fruit, veg, herbs, trees, ornamentals, trying to make everything wildlife friendly. I treat my garden like a big restaurant, if everybody has something to eat, everything stays in balance and keeps feeding everyone. I also try and provide as many hideyholes and safe routes as possible. My latest project is a dead hedge, all the twiggy and woody bits of plants, like budleia that are cut back every autumn, are stacked up and squashed down a bit, next to a wall and between two handy concrete fencing posts. This provides cover for creatures moving from one part of the garden to another and homes for over wintering insects, hedgehogs and toads etc.

Pixiefluff Female

11 days ago

I start early every year, we have bug houses and things like that, flowers at the front and fruit and veg at the back.. usually do quite well on food, last year not so good with the climate, and the mole.. I didn't count on having a mole.

Colonel_Blink Male

11 days ago

I let my next door neighbour use the bottom half of my garden as an allotment and in return he mows my lawn and cuts the hedge.

G-O-W

11 days ago

That sounds like a good compromise Colonel.
There used to be a veg patch behind the cottages.
One by one the neighbours all gave up.
I came home from work one day to find it had all been turned into hard standing for cars and tractors.
It was my neighbour who has 4 cars, a tractor and a kobuta trike between 2 of them.
:-(

wonderoushen Female

11 days ago

Sounds a good deal CB.

Pity GoW, you must of been gutted.

G-O-W

11 days ago

I was, for lots of reasons.
They didn't talk to me about it - 'You'll be glad of it when they all learn to drive' - all but one had left home!
Also, there was a tayberry of my late husband's just outside my gate. I could've moved it!

Greencare Female

11 days ago

I haven't bothered much with the garden in the past but might do more this year.

HotOrWot Male

10 days ago

I tinker with cars. Most of my garden is a car park.

G-O-W

10 days ago

My brother-in-law was like that HOW.
They had to move from a modern housing estate - the neighbours were not amused!

tsunamiwarrior Male

9 days ago

Car parking will be even more important as every motorist tries to park close to an electric point on or close to their house.

Neros1954 Male

5 days ago

Mine is a bit of both. The front is colourful with hedges and bushes. The back garden is a good size and has a lawn where the grandchildren play and also my small allotment and the bottom half I have left to grow wild with old cans, rotten stumps and anything to encourage the bugs and wildlife.

Andromeda Female

5 days ago

My garden is a bit too pristine and I would like to let it get overgrown in parts.

wonderoushen Female

5 days ago

Easy enough to do Andremeda, just don't mow it all, allow some nettles to grow, if you've only got containers then sow some wild flower seeds, the best thing about wild flowers is they don't like a rich soil, so you can use old compost and they'll be quite happy.

Andromeda Female

5 days ago

Yes I could do that but I was thinking of neighbours too as the gardens are very open plan. The upside of this is that we have no messy gardens in our road.

Colonel_Blink Male

4 days ago

yes we should consider our neighbours too.

Andromeda Female

4 days ago

Especially when you have brilliant neighbours

wonderoushen Female

4 days ago

A garden with space for wildlife dosen't have to be messy, barriers can be errected and they can be hard or soft, walls or open fencing and plants such as clematis, a pond will provide a haven for nature.

Andromeda Female

3 days ago

You're right wonderoushen. I wanted an overgrown garden where I would have to use a machete to gain access but I'm actually planning a bigger are with a low picket fence which I'll keep down to the height of the fence.

wonderoushen Female

3 days ago

Hacking your way through the garden with a machette can be fun, make you feel like Lara Croft or someone, intrepid, brave and about to discover some ancient secret!

NoSaint Female

3 days ago

Now that does sound more exciting than a few roses over the porch lol.

MrQuiet Male

10 hours ago

These days gardens should be functional.

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