Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Spent the weekend removing the weeds and moss from the grouting on our patio.


Now looking to make it look less concrete-y. One side of the garden is always in shade but the other gets the sun pretty much all day - any tips or links on making a patio garden interesting? Any cool flowers or planters? Will build up a herb garden as well....

Link to comment
https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/148753-patio-garden/
Share on other sites

Ok, pots and containers it is then. The problem with any plants in pots and containers is that they dry out a lot quicker than if they were in the ground and will require regular watering. Also pots will stunt the growth of some shrubs/plants, so check with a garden centre about a suitable size...the bigger the container the better usually.

The garden centre next to North Dulwich station has a great selection of pots and containers. I'd avoid the really cheap plastic lookalike pots. I've seen old ceramic Belfast sinks used as a container. Whatever takes your fancy really.


Toms in grow bags is a good one as WoD suggests.

You can also get raised bed kits which you assemble yourself, and therefore can take with you when you leave. They would be good for your herbs and some veg/fruit too.


Ferns and Hostas thrive in shade and look good in pots. The garden centre in West Dulwich has a good selection of shade loving plants. An Acer (Japanese Maple) looks striking but will require a certain type of compost, again check with a garden centre.


A lot of plants that flower do so only at certain times of the year, so the key is to have a selection of plants that will provide continuous colour throughout the spring and summer. Most garden centres sell plants just as they are about to come into flower, so make regular visits and build up a collection.

Summer bedding plants like Geraniums and Lobelia will provide flowers all through the growing season, but they die off with the first frosts and need to be replaced each year.


Try and get some plants that are evergreen to provide all year round greenery, again ferns are good for this. A lot of plants will die back in the autumn and winter, but you can fill the empty-looking pots with winter flowering plants such as Cyclamen and Pansies whilst the main plant lies dormant until the spring.


This is a good book... https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Gardening_Through_the_Year.html?id=D-A-PwAACAAJ&source=kp_cover&redir_esc=y&hl=en

Alyssum is fast growing and has a great scent, Californian poppies, foxgloves, cornflowers and nasturtiums (the latter are great for climbing from a pot/container up a wall trellis - as are honeysuckle and jasmine - and are fast growing, colourful with lots of good green leafy coverage but really prone to blackfly; the nasty little b*stards cluster unseen under the leaves) - all these will self-seed and come back year after year with very little maintenance.

red devil Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

>

> Try and get some plants that are evergreen to

> provide all year round greenery, again ferns are

> good for this.



Not all ferns are evergreen, so make sure you get ones which are (and suit your conditions) if you want them to be green through the winter!


Climbers are lovely to give you height and to clothe fences etc and many are suitable for containers. Don't plant anything too vigorous near the house though!


Many climbers are scented.


If you plant perennials in pots they will mostly be dormant in winter, but be aware they are hopefully still living beneath the compost, so don't excavate huge holes to plant other things on top :)

Ive got a small patio with lots of pots, a large phormium, a bamboo and others, I've divided the patio off from the small garden with an argos wooden arbour, better half built a wooden cupboard under the arbour and put slabs on top. The hose and other handy things are kept in the cupboard. I grow various plants in pots on the slabs, a small clematis and sweet peas grow over it in summer. It makes a cosy private corner. The raised pots don't suffer slugs as much.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • But is it the Village councillors who are maintaining the board, or someone else? When the boards in East Dulwich were installed, it wasn't the councillors who kept the information up to date, it was Monica from Health Matters, who was greatly involved in various  community matters (eg the building of the community garden at what was then Dulwich Hospital). I can't remember if it was her who initiated the installation of the boards in the first place. She no longer lives in East Dulwich, and nobody else appears to be willing to liaise with the councillors and community related organisations  to take this on for the various East Dulwich boards.  It would hardly take much effort. Basic information doesn't frequently change (and no, I'm not volunteering. I am overstretched as it is). It's all very well to  get a physical  community notice board spruced up, but not much use if it then isn't being used for its intended purpose. And I can't see that it is part of a councillor's job to update notice boards which they didn't initiate in the first place. I'm sure they have more than enough to do.  The notice boards serve (or did do) a useful service, but all the information which could be put on them is surely available elsewhere. (Unless it is bringing to people's attention things which are of use/interest to them and they weren't aware they needed/would like, or didn't know how else to find the information). ETA: Oh. I've just read the beginning of this thread. I'd forgotten how it started. It's gone well off topic, hasn't it. Probably just as well, reading the OP.
    • The board in the Village (just near the pub) is in pristine condition, full of council-related information (though someone had stuck a flyer on the glass, now removed). Maybe the councillors there actually CBA to make use of a facility that took time, effort and taxpayers’ money to instal?  
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...