A pleasant change

[rary]

I started reducing my flower garden last year, to make life a bit easier, and when viewing it now I am happy with the change, though the one down side of it is that it was my OHs suggestion that I did this


and what it looked like at the turn of the year

[Earthgirl Jen]

It's gorgeous Rary give your other half a peck on the cheek from me for suggesting it. !

[veggiechicken]

Hang on, hang on...........if anyone is giving pecks out, its me.

It does look good, rary. Obviously wasn't your idea.

[ESBkevin]

Nice work.
I love how easy (?) it is to create lots of colour in the flower bed. A few minuets or hours work and then let nature do the next 20 weeks to be rewarded with lovely blooms, textures and heights.
Really successful job there young man.

[veggiechicken]

Really successful job there young man.

That's two fibs in one day, Kevin. There's nothing young about rary.

[rary]

Now, now VC compared to you and possibly Kevin I am a young man

[veggiechicken]

I have never been a "young man" so you should not compare yourself with me...................Kevin, however. Hmmm, you may be right.

[Cadalot]

Jumping on your thread Rary as you have some lovely looking flowers there and have already attracted flower Gurus, I want a couple of beds of flowers on the allotment for the bees and for the colour but mainly so that I can bring them back for my little Triffid for the house. I'm a if you cant eat it don't grow it kind of guy and I know the difference between a Daff and a Bluebell but that's about it.

So the question is what to grow that will come back year after year and be relatively low maintenance and will please my little Triffid

[rary]

If I was planting out for cut flowers with minimum of work I would go for Asiatic lilies which generally bloom in May/June followed by Oriental lilies that bloom three or four weeks later and provide a strong perfume, along with perennial lupins, though they only last about four years then need replaced, and dahlias, which if you plant about six to eight inches deep should be able to survive over winter in the ground in your area of the country, you could let them flower as they grow or if you want larger flower heads cut them back to three flowering stems and remove the two outside buds at the top of the stem. No doubt other Grapes will have their own selection of flowers, but the above would be my choice

[Snoop Puss]

Lovely looking flowers, Rary. If I remember rightly, you've put a lot of effort into getting your raised beds sorted. It's really paid off.

Cadalot, I like all Rary's suggestions. A rose always goes down well too. Not necessarily red, which is almost a bit corny. Maybe your wife's favourite colour or a really nicely scented one.

[rary]

Thanks for that Snoop, and believe it or not there are very few weeds in the beds as the original ground was covered with several layers of cardboard and anything coming through are quite easy to pull out, and it was by reading about using cardboard as a weed suppressant on the Vine that I decided to do that

[bramble]

Looking great Racy. You should be very proud of all the hard work you put in.
Your garden is so full of colour.
If you're thinking of roses I have a lovely one called Just Joey.
Peachy colour with nice bronze foliage.
Without a doubt, dahlias are the way to go for giving a colourful display year on year.

[Nicos]

Wow!...that looks fantastic rary!
Hats off to you mate!
Very much worth all the hard work you've clearly put in.