Proposed New Boarder

[angieh]

Following on from Emma's new boarder yesterday .....

Has given me the dig (!) I needed to start to plan my new boarder. This is in the front of my bungalow below the window of an extension that was finished last summer. It is right by our new front door. It is east facing and gets the early morning sun. It is fairly sheltered and does not get much rain. The border that runs along under the window on the other (older side) gets little or no rain and lavender does very well there.

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc44/angieh_bucket/newboarder2.jpg

The side path that runs up on the left of the boarder is for wheelchair access to the side door, so don't want anything big to obstruct that corner. The only plant I definitely know I want is a rosemary shrub on the right corner, near to the front door.

Any ideas would be most welcome!

I'm really looking forward to hearing about your plans, Dandysmom!!!

:D :D :D

[Moofster]

What a great idea, that will certainly bring some colour and texture to the area :smt023
Did you have any thoughts yourself ?
Some spring bulbs would be great there, you could do alternatives bunches of daffodils then tulips all the way along. They would pop up inbetween any shrubs and give you a cheerful welcome :D
What about a climber on the side you need to keep fairly clear at ground level, you'd have to put a trellis up, but that would also be interesting. Honeysuckle would be lovely as you know it has a fab fragrance, just lovely !

Keep us posted on the progress !

[Kazz]

Hello How far you do you want to come out with the border?

And can I ask who is in the wheelchair - I was thinking maybe raise the bed.....depends on how much more room you have to come out into the garden...but your slabs look to be about 18" so you could either slab in the place that is now border and then leave a good turning corner for the wheelchair and have a raised bed away from the house about 3 slabs from the house....then build a raised bed about the height you could work it from a wheelchair...and then anything you plant would be at a height you could easily smell...and maybe a gravel garden....here's a link...http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0803/gravel_garden.asp

[Kazz]

Bumping this up

[angieh]

What a great idea, that will certainly bring some colour and texture to the area :smt023
Did you have any thoughts yourself ?
Some spring bulbs would be great there, you could do alternatives bunches of daffodils then tulips all the way along. They would pop up inbetween any shrubs and give you a cheerful welcome :D
What about a climber on the side you need to keep fairly clear at ground level, you'd have to put a trellis up, but that would also be interesting. Honeysuckle would be lovely as you know it has a fab fragrance, just lovely !

Keep us posted on the progress !

I'm afraid I have left it too late for spring bulbs this year, Moofster, but I do like your idea about a trellis and scented climber. That's on the list, with the rosemary!

Hello How far you do you want to come out with the border?

And can I ask who is in the wheelchair - I was thinking maybe raise the bed.....depends on how much more room you have to come out into the garden...but your slabs look to be about 18" so you could either slab in the place that is now border and then leave a good turning corner for the wheelchair and have a raised bed away from the house about 3 slabs from the house....then build a raised bed about the height you could work it from a wheelchair...and then anything you plant would be at a height you could easily smell...and maybe a gravel garden....here's a link...http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0803/gravel_garden.asp

The size of the boarder is already set, Kazz - it's only 2ft deep. Thanks for asking about the wheelchair user - it's my 86 year old mother in law, not currently wheelchair-bound, but we took this possibility into account when we planned the extension. She quite likes snipping things with her secateurs, but is not very active!

I like the gravel garden idea - that would definitely discourage weeds and, as it is quite dry would work really well I think. I have bookmarked the link you gave me for further investigation!

Thanks a lot gals! :D :D :D :cool:

[Moofster]

You know you could sneak some bulbs in now, thats if you can still buy them. When I loved in the UK I was always late planting them, but they came up OK :) :)

Keep us posted :)

[dandysmom]

You know you could sneak some bulbs in now, thats if you can still buy them. When I loved in the UK I was always late planting them, but they came up OK :) :)

Keep us posted :)

And you could plant Summer flowering bulbs there ...gladiolas, miniature dahlias, maybe some caladiums as they don't like too much sun and are very colorful; or some small hostas .....maybe some ferns .....