Friday, August 01, 2008

The Inelegant Garden

The blog is so-named for a very good reason. I'm not a very tidy gardener. And SomeBeans has claimed in the past that I have the poise and elegance of a troll. I'm not sure what the neighbours make of the front garden, as most of them have a rather more traditional lawn & bedding combo.
The front garden was overgrown with old and badly pruned shrubs when we arrived nearly four years ago, as well as the sort of gravel that looks like the stuff they put on Victorian graves. They went. The shrubby plants are still young. It must make the postman a bit damp as he brushes against the wet foliage - but I quite enjoy the feeling of being slapped in the face with wet Buddleia when entering and leaving the house, and I do prune it brutally.

Our next-door neighbour recently commented on the weeds coming up in her gravel. SomeBeans pointed out that those weeds (Verbena bonariensis) would cost her a fiver or more in a garden centre - she was a bit happier after being told that.

13 comments:

chaiselongue said...

It looks great! A lovely natural mix of plants. Who wants a Victorian grave in front of the house anyway???

Lavender and Vanilla Friends of the Gardens said...

Your front garden looks lovely. There is nothing wrong with it. It is a natural looking garden. I can't stand regimented grown plants.

Anonymous said...

I agree, your front garden is very attractive. Lucky neighbour - I must be the only gardener who can't grow Verbena bonariensis. I've lost half a dozen plants and not a seedling to be seen!

HappyMouffetard said...

Thank you :)
Easygardener - I've just grubbed up about 200 seedlings!

I can't grow Acanthus (Bear's Breeches). They keel over, despite tring in 3 gardens of 3 different soil types. I have one in the current front garden, just about hanging in there, but no flower spike.

Threadspider said...

Now that's what I call a front garden. I'm fed up with manicured and if it weren't for the rampant beech hedge I think I'd convert my lawn to vegetables.
Thanks for stopping by-I will come and visit you again for a proper read tomorrow.

Frances, said...

Hi Happy, your front garden is glorious. I love it. The seedlings seem to do better in our gravel than in the garden beds. Maybe it keeps the moisture in and the roots cooler during our hot dry summers. Maybe your neighbor will notice the abundance of butterflies around the verbena bonariensis and be even happier.

VP said...

I love your front garden - it's nice and relaxed and easy living :)

Now to the not so nice part - can you please email me about an issue with my blog that I hope's not affecting you too (see today's post for some of the detail). I don't want to put a long comment about it all in here, but I need to give you some further details AND you may be able to help me a bit with it too.

My email's vegplotting at gmail dot com

Thanks!

Arabella Sock said...

I love your front garden too. I have verbena boniarensis self seeded absolutely everywhere too I've just spent half an hour digging it out from in between the patio stones.

HappyMouffetard said...

Frances - yes, my seedlings also come up through gravel & paving best of all;

Threadspider - Thank you. I did have veg mixed in before I got the allotment. It wasn't a success, with red cabbages the size of sprouts. I do have 3 'super-column' apple trees in there, which are doing well.

VP - thanks for your comment & I have emailed you, as requested.

Arabella - Thanks for your comment. I'm thinking of setting up a nursery selling just Verbena, Alchemilla mollis, and Aquilegia. There must be plenty of new gardeners who don't know that these buggers self seed like crazy and will be willing to pay a fiver a plant!

Arabella Sock said...

By coincidence I just came back to this minutes after digging a load of alchemilla mollis out of the paving cracks.

I have got quite a few self-seeded geranium 'pink spice' (? the one with cadbury's drinking chocolate colour leaves and pink flowers)between the patio stones but I'm leaving most of those in as they are quite pretty. You could add some of those to the nursery list though Happymouffetard - I'm sure I paid £8.00 for the original plant!

Lucy Corrander said...

I've just done a 'catch up' on your posts.

Clearly, I've been relying too heavily on my Blotanical Favourites list. 'The Inelegant Gardener' doesn't show up on it. I hadn't realised. (Feedburner?)

I'll go back to using my Reader more!

Lucy
PICTURES JUST PICTURES

Anonymous said...

Thanks very much for your blog (sorry for my english) but you have a beautiful garden with beautiful flowers !...
And it is very important to have three generations of gardeners !

spookydragonfly said...

Love your front garden!...it looks like it belongs to a warm, comfortable kind of person ...I don't care much for gardens that are too so-so.