Does anyone know anything about gardening?

But someone has to pay for overnight stays.....

You can camp in the garden for free

That one you did looks great

Oooooh, you tempter.

And thanks!

Hi All,

Has anyone ever used WoodBlocX for raised beds? Have you any views of them compared to railway sleepers or brick?

From google searches, they'll probably work out a bit more than sleepers from a timber yard but I think that - given an amateur installation - they'll be more sturdy. Small trees will be planted in the beds. From a search, brick raised beds are the strongest but I'd need to hire a bricklayer.

Any thoughts would be welcome, including "They look a bit naff".

Andrew

Not a bad harvest this week. All in the freezer now.

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My box hedge in my front garden is utterly fucked after two years of caterpillar infestation so is Ilex crenata (Japanese Holly) my best option or is there something better? It's Bagshot Sand and next to the block paved drive so quite hostile.

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Feckin critters are eating our celery and celeriac from below. Every morning the last week one has disappeared down a hole in the ground.

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Am I right in thinking it's about 3m long? If so, my first thought would be to dig out the soil 60cm wide and 30cm deep and replace it with a topsoil/compost mix, easily obtained from a topsoil supplier, costing approx £80 for the ton bag you would need. That way you could grow whatever you like. The existing poor soil is probably quite depleted of nutrients.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpine_marmot
Maybe?

The holes are too small and we’re not quite alpine enough for marmots in the garden. I think probably voles.

Monty Don had a similar problem and replaced his with yew I think

@ColinTheBald Thanks, good plan. @KatBalou'sPhone Yew've given me something to consider.

As the soil beneath will be free-draining, have you considered lavender (Hidcote is a good variety)?

I had that idea but using rosemary. So I've got some decisions to make.

I think they look fine and longevity is probably going to depend on what type of sleepers you're comparing them to.

I don't think being an amateur is where their advantages are. From what I can see the big pros are:

1. You don't have anyone to help with moving sleepers
   
2. You can't access cutting tools and you need them for your desired layout
   
3. You have a layout with multiple curves which renders sleepers impractical.
   
   

For reference the cheapest quote we've had for a ~2m x 2m wall plus some digging was £1,2k ( LDN / Herts boarder).

Thanks Hugo, that's very useful. I think that I'm going to go with them.

I'm not doing anything special but their "Free Design Service" looks neat.

Andrew

Interested in how you find them, if you do end up installing then.

the conceptual garden design quote is... higher than I was expecting. I've asked whether the company are able to buy their plants exclusive of VAT - a 20% discount on planting could influence whether we proceed with the service (i.e. would rather pay that money on design services than VAT). if they do pay VAT, would be good to understand what trade/bulk discounts they have access to

Is that going to make a difference?

Either they're VAT registered, can reclaim the VAT on the plants but will have to charge you VAT or they're not VAT registered, can't reclaim the VAT but won't charge you VAT.

yeah you're right; I had a brainfart. perhaps their trade discounts are juicy... iunno. am leaning towards just figuring out the planting scheme myself - have already got half an idea tbf

As a general rule of thumb, commercial nurseries charge us about 50% of garden centre prices. I am less than surprised that the conceptual (what the flying fuck?) design wasn't inexpensive, the addition of a meaningless word generally means some poor bugger is paying for it. Normal honest(ish) landscapers would sell plants at an approximate mid point between wholesale and retail, a win/win situation for supplier and client.

I would tell them to go forth and multiply, I would expect them to continue to be reliably expensive, yet with wafty bits.

Two and a half hours of digging, raking and sifting out the purple slate and I'm left with this. I'll add some compost and a few water retaining granules in the and mix it all up. I'm going to stagger the line of planting so that it may end up a bit wider. My first thought was just rosemary but I may alternate with lavender. I've got to leave it until Sunday now.

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Get a good lot of manure or border booster in there - will make a big difference.

Think rosemary and lavender being medditeranean herbs prefer poor soil?

They don't prefer poor soil, but tolerate it remarkably well. Neither would object to a good dose of nutrients until properly established.

At the very least I'll work in a bag or two of peat free composty stuff as what's there is just sand and any nutrients in it are long gone. I can't do anything to it until Sunday now and I have to get at least 6 more plants. I've taken some cuttings from my well established back garden bush to see if they'll take. That way they can be the stand-ins if my originals don't make it.