I know what I would like but I think I may need some help.

[Kat&Neil]

At the bottom of our garden we are getting three 100ft plus popular trees cut down, the first one is down and last one should be down by June. This is all depending on us clearing the wood and brash from having the trees down. When it is all cleared, we are getting a digger in to level the ground off and installing a new fence. The total length will be approx 70ft, which I feel this will be to much fencing to look at from the top of garden and I want to try and break the view up. I will have about 50-60ft by 6ft to play with after we have put the gate and path in.

As our garden is a bit on the big side (100ft down by 70ft wide, but it's tiered). I was thinking of a cottage garden style down there. I can't take too much off the depth of the garden as our children want us to grass most of it. But I would really like to take your eyes away from the fencing. I have searched and searched and been reading for weeks and now I have come to the stage where I really don't know what to do. I really need to start planning on what is going in there so I can save my pennies as I don't think this is going to be a cheap project! I think the soil will be good as in the 10 years we have been here I have never removed any of the leaves that have fallen down and the nettles grow well But with the trees there taking all the water nothing I have planted has grown.

My original idea was to plant clematis to grow on the fence, some tall grasses and bamboo along with various cottage garden style plants to give us colour all year round, but the more I think about the more I think it will look wrong or end up with lots of work each year to keep it looking good. Which with the size of the garden I don't have that much time to spend weeding and pruning. I have a thing for Lilies, Allium's, Peony's, Dog Daisy's, Camellia's, hosta's and Acer's. But I think having 8 Acer's in the garden already may be enough lol. Can you guys please help me out with suggesting plants for this project so I can start planning and saving.

Sorry for the long post, but as you can see I know what I would like but don't know how to put it all together and get it looking good.

Kat

[alldigging]

Are the people cutting it down not taking it away? You can give it away on freecycle!

[Kat&Neil]

The wood isn't being taken away, as it's mates rates and we have two log burners in the house. Friends and family said they wanted some free wood. But when we mentioned it is cut into rings and they would have to split it, we got thanks but no thanks. But I spent all day Saturday splitting and it is really easy to split at the moment.

We were thinking of offering a load free to collector, but I don't want to give to much away and end up having to buy wood in for next winter. The brash is being put through the chipper to use around the garden once all the snow and rain has gone. Can't do it before hand as the chipper is electric.

Here is a pic with some of the wood from tree number one.

[Two_Sheds]

depending on us clearing the wood

Put it on eBay or Freegle

l this will be to much fencing to look at

Yeah, but its a great vertical space. You don't say what type of fencing you're having, so I guess wooden panels? Attach clematis netting to this and you're away

I don't think this is going to be a cheap project!

It won't be if you try to do it all at once, and if you want a mature look straight away.
I planted my (small suburban) garden entirely from seed and cuttings, and small cheap (under £5) plants

clematis to grow on the fence, some tall grasses and bamboo along with various cottage garden style plants... I don't have that much time to spend weeding and pruning

Clems, grass, bamboo (which is a grass too) just need a prune once a year, no time at all.
Cottage garden plants: a bit more work. You need to sow/plant them, then they need deadheading to keep them flowering. Some will self-seed, which is nice, but you may end up with gaps that need filling.

You haven't mentioned bulbs: they're brilliant, just plant them once, then forget them. They will give you colour from Feb to frosts.

If I were you, I'd get a good basic ground-cover from the grasses & bulbs, then do your "pretties" in pots that you can move around to fill gaps

I have a thing for Lilies

martyrs to lily beetle, it's a constant battle picking them off

Camellia's

Good choice. Very easy, if you're soil is right

hosta's

Martyrs to slugs: they are really impossible to grow if you have slugs & snails. And if you grow hostas, you WILL have slugs and snails

Acer's.

Really do need a wind-free spot. They hate wind.
I reluctantly planted one in our garden, and it's pitiful. Small, weak & tatty

[Two_Sheds]

I know what I would like but don't know how to put it all together and get it looking good.

Get some garden design books out of the library; look through Amazon for a wish-list, and order them from your library. Get as many as you can, and then photocopy the plans that you like.

Narrow your choice down, so you have 2 or 3 designs that are achievable.

Then copy them

[Kat&Neil]

Fencing will be post & rail. Just been quoted £350 for all the post's, rails and feather edge board to do the whole span from our local sawmill. I will speak to hubby tonight and see if we can get at least half of the wood taken away via a post on our local Free Cycle and the free pages that are local to us on facebook.


My wish list on my Van Meuwen account I have lots of daff, tulips, snow drops, blue bells, Anemone and Allium bulbs. Which I will be waiting for them to come on offer. I need to speak to our 14yr old son to find out if he will be thinking of brushing against any of these plants that will be planted there as he comes up in a rash from some plants.

I can't afford to do it in one hit, even though I wish I could. I will be speaking to my in laws and getting any free plants they are removing from there garden. People always buy me plants to say thank you or happy birthday etc. I also enjoy going to the sick bays in the garden centers and bringing them back to life. And also keep looking in the likes of Aldi, lidl, poundland, home bargins etc to try and save a few quid.

We have some seeds here ready to plant, just planted some sweet peas, sun flowers, aqueliga & a few others I can't remember without looking. The sweet peas are to grown on the stump which has now been made into a chair for the kids and to cover the fence on the other side of our house. I have some poppy seeds and some wild flower seeds that I picked up from Morrison's yesterday as they were 4 packs for £2.

Thanks for the idea of the library, and I will see what Amazon have on the prime section that you can borrow books between prime account holders for a limited time for free. Also my hubby is going to speak to the gardener at Bangor uni to see if we can have some cuttings from there grounds.

In a ideal situation I would like to get a nice collection together during this year and plant what we can ready to see what we have spring next year. I don't mind dead heading etc or weeding, Neil can trim the bamboo as he likes gardening with power tools. But as you can imagine it takes me a whole week to weed the garden from top to bottom. As it wasn't touched for many years prior to us buying the house and I seem to get rid of one weed and another decides to take it place in force. Currently I have won the battle of the nettles, bind weed and now have a battle with creeping butter cups, which are now only in the part where the fruit trees are and a few on the lawn, so I will dig them up and put them on the bonfire as soon as I can.

[RedThorn]

Peonies are great and you can keep splitting them to get more over the years....

[Kat&Neil]

I split a few red Peonies recently. As we had one in the top border that decided to cover the whole length and drop all its petals in the pond below lol. I did have some tree Peonies plated last year but I think the snow has crushed them .
Some of the wood is going this weekend to friends of ours. Once I have had the ok from Neil I will be posting another free to collector post on the freebie pages on facebook for people to take some this weekend. If I can get rid of half of what is there I can put the rest in the tin shed or on the redundant veg plot as I am not going to be able to use it this year as everything will get trampled on when we clear the hedge to put up the fence between us and our neighbour who doesn't do gardens,

[taff]

don't go completely crazy with bulbs, buy some of each, then each year, when they die back, dig some up and transplant. You could paint the fence in different colours along the length, some stripy lengthways etc, put a seat or pergola or something like that in front of it.

Don't try and get everything at once. Also, go visit some gardens and see what they've done, and as TS says, copy it if you like it

[RedThorn]

oooh why no do a peony swapsies on freecycle next winter for other colours, I used to have a lovely pink with cream centre ...sadly not anymore

[VirginVegGrower]

I would keep the rounds and hire an electric log splitter if you have a log burner.

[Two_Sheds]

. I need to speak to our 14yr old son ... he comes up in a rash from some plants.

I'd definitely recommend this book, it's very informative on all common plants, with some surprises (parsnips are skin-irritant to some people).

I refer to it constantly, as I garden in the school

[RedThorn]

Ooh thanks for that TS will keep an eye out at the library for it

[VirginVegGrower]

oooh why no do a peony swapsies on freecycle next winter for other colours, I used to have a lovely pink with cream centre ...sadly not anymore

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That's bowl of beauty! Isn't it?

[RedThorn]

I wish I knew VVG inherited it with the garden all I know is they were truly lovely