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Gardening websites?

  • Thread starter Thread starter zig
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Z

zig

Member
Joined
4 Jul 2007
Messages
686
Location
Dublin Ireland
Could anybody recommend a good gardening website that they use? there's so much choice its hard to know where to start, I just need to some research for some plant choices for my garden. I have never really looked at gardening websites before so am not familiar to any of the good ones. UK based would be good, similar climate to over here etc. Thankyou.
 
There's some stuff on the RHS website. I've never used it though as I used to be a garden designer! So if that website can't help and you want a hand ask away!
 
Thanks guys 🙂

Ed I never even thought of the RHS, pretty obvious eh!

Matt the BBC site looks very good that's exactly the type of thing I'm looking for, thanks for that, I wouldn't have thought of looking there..

My main objective is to plant a small front garden which is normally in shade for most of the day. I just want low maintainence but decent looking at the same time. its covered in a gravel at the moment so I was going to leave that there and plant some sort of low growing shrubs going from low growing at the front (near the railings) to taller shrubs at the back (nearer the front windows) I'm also looking for small decorative type trees and plants suitable for containers for my back garden.

I really just need to gen myself up on a few common enough plants and come up with a plan, so when I hit the garden centres I'm not totally lost. I tend to buy stuff at random usually for the back garden and its not always suitable for what I want, so I just thought I would try and do it properly this time.

Suggestions welcome. I will have a look at those sites in the meantime, lots of sales on at the moment due to crap summer weather economic downturn etc. So I will start looking around for suitable plants. They are practically giving away garden furniture in the larger stores over here at the minute due to the bad weather, great bargains to be had, so might pick up a few of those as well. Thanks boys!!!
 
Probably best to have a look at some things you like then see if they're suitable. Personally I used to use lots of hardy gernaiums in designs as they are tough as anything and, if you get the right species, are compact floriferous and even evergreen. I'd recommend G.macrorrhizum or G.x cantabrigiense and some small G.x oxonianum cultivars. If you can't get these locally I may be able to post you some in the Autumn!

As shrubs then the ground cover Euonymous are very useful, but go for more spectacular ones if you can. I love Euonymous alatus and Hamamelis x intermedia as feature shrubs for shady spots.

Enjoy your searching for plants - it's half the fun!
 
Excellant thread - I too have a small shaded front garden covered in gravel so you've saved me asking the question. Unfortunately my last attempt at planting (berberis bushes, lavender and hebes ended in disaster when some numpty stole the newly planted plants and broke the lavenders when they couldn't pull them up).
 
ulster exile said:
Excellant thread - I too have a small shaded front garden covered in gravel so you've saved me asking the question. Unfortunately my last attempt at planting (berberis bushes, lavender and hebes ended in disaster when some numpty stole the newly planted plants and broke the lavenders when they couldn't pull them up).
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oh noes!!!!!

thats horrible! you know, sometimes I wonder about the human race...
 
I know - it's hard to know what's worse...having the plants stolen or having the gravel flung at our windows when they walk past the garden as the garden is about chest height to pedestrians so it's obviously too hard for a chav to resist!

That's why the berberis was planted in the first place! So are there any other small shady shrubs which are spikier than berberis bushes, preferrably poisonous ones (j/k)
 
Berberis is good, but for really evil thorns try Pyracantha!!! You could plant one and train it across at chest level so when they try and lean over to grab the gravel it cuts them to shreds...

You can also use stakes or big tent pegs driven through the rootball of the plants to secure them to help stop people pulling them up.
 
Ed, thanks for the ideas I will look those up and seek them out 😉 I will see what I can come up with during the week.

Ulster exile, sorry to hear about the chav problem, only takes a few!! old cliche but so true.
 
zig said:
Ed, thanks for the ideas I will look those up and seek them out 😉 I will see what I can come up with during the week.

Ulster exile, sorry to hear about the chav problem, only takes a few!! old cliche but so true.
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we need a thread about chav removal.... we have an infestation here too!
 
ahhh, i just read through the post.

i sorted a "chav" problem recently.

neighbours were jumping my fence and trashing my lawn. my answer was to but burglar paint and put it across the top of the fence! sorted. some might say im bad?...it stoped them. :evil: there prety scummy folk anyway, so no harm! we also had them chimey things knicked too...not a bad thing though...to bloody noisy!
 
Burglar paint is great! :lol:

An L96A1 to the head, followed by tea bagging the the intruder would be a better choice. If only it were possible 🙂



On a slightly different note, anyone got tips on how to keep cats out of the garden?
 
JAmesM said:
On a slightly different note, anyone got tips on how to keep cats out of the garden?
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black widow and ball bearings :lol:

james you think like me :lol: genius. we'll end up in the nick for public disorder! :lol:

everyone relax...im not realy like that!
 
saintly said:
JAmesM said:
On a slightly different note, anyone got tips on how to keep cats out of the garden?
Click to expand...

black widow and ball bearings :lol:

james you think like me :lol: genius. we'll end up in the nick for public disorder! :lol:

everyone relax...im not realy like that!
Click to expand...
:lol: I'll have to have a camp out one night, armed and ready. I wonder how many windows I'll hit after a few Jim Beams? Place your bets now! :lol:
 
I've got a super soaker that I use when I see them!!! That and an ultrasound scarer near the pond seem to keep most away or them scamper through quickly.

By the way that's to get rid of cats. For the Chavs I'd go with ball bearings or rubber bullets if they were legal...
 
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