Saturday May 19 2012
Gardening Archive
TheVillage Gardening
Spot the difference!
Posted on May 17 2009 at 2:24:02 0 comments
As the trio of Marlbrook Gardens prepare to open once more, David Morgan explains the challenges of creating something new for visitors to see each year.
For anyone rubbish at DIY, like me, the garden is a great place to “have a go” – because if it doesn’t quite work out as you had meant, and doesn’t look like Tommy from Ground Force had done it, you can just say it has the “rustic” look!
Well, that’s what I keep telling myself every time I try something – and these days, with us opening under the National Garden Scheme, that’s more and more often. You see, at Marlbrook Gardens we like to make our gardens different every year, because it makes the hobby more interesting and challenging (especially with smaller gardens) and it gives our “regular” visitors something new to see.
This year we have “pinched” an extra 12 feet of garden. No, we are not creating a war with our neighbours – nor are we trying to steal it from the field at the back of our garden – but we’re stealing it from our dogs!
We created a run for them many years ago so they could race up and down without destroying everything in their path, and two years ago we realised that there was an old path inside their run and that by moving the fence by three feet we could gain a dry path up the garden and make the garden more interesting. So we moved the fence and the dogs didn’t seem to notice – well, they didn’t complain. So this year, wanting an area for a small greenhouse and some raised beds, we decided that we could shorten their run by 12 feet…and again they haven’t objected. They’re very obliging, our dogs.
But my lack of DIY skills (indeed I practice YDI – You Do It) meant that the greenhouse did need my brother’s “help” to erect (who am I kidding – he did it while I made the coffee!)
I did manage to build the raised beds, much to Beloved’s amazement – she had thought it would be easier to buy some pre-made ones for £120 (to be fair, she does know how bad I am at DIY). But I did it using reclaimed timber that was “lying around” and at a cost of £4.99 for a pack of screws. So if you see me looking rather pleased with myself you will know why.
We’ve also built two arches at the entrance that we’ll be growing climbers on for added interest. So being useless at DIY shouldn’t stop anyone “having a go”. But when it comes to the planting and the horticultural style of the garden, I leave that all to Beloved, who knows what she is doing and always does a great job – and our regular visitors will see quite a few changes in that area as well.
Our garden is one of three “Marlbrook Gardens” open at the same time and the other garden owners have been just as busy. My brother John and his wife Janet, whose garden at “Sarancris” is created in a challenging old quarry, have been trying to open up some of the tighter spots to help people move around more easily.
They have also become more adventurous with their planting and horticultural skills by removing a number of perennials from the largest bed and creating a “hot bed” using a mixture of cannas, dahlias, coleus and other summer bedding plants – although John admits that it could turn out to be “an absolute disaster”.
Another change at John and Janet’s garden that could have been a “disaster” was the decision to move a very large Chamaerops humilis (a “big thorny palm thingy!”) out of its very large pot into a new permanent bed. This also involved felling a mature conifer, removing the root system and then building a stone wall to retain it in its new position.
The near-“disaster” was that it took four men and an awful lot of effort just to get the big thorny palm thingy out of its pot and replanted, with at least one of us being extremely close to ending up in the fish pond. In the end, the only “disaster” was having to pick a few stray barbs from each another’s heads.
John and Janet have also been experimenting and trying to give the area around their koi carp pond a more Japanese feel using acers, azaleas, rhodos and hostas. Another experiment involved planting a bed with around 200 tulips chosen to flower in late spring for the first opening but, as this is written, with four weeks to go and such good spring weather, John fears the tulips will be over before we open. He is threatening to pin photographs up with a sign saying “you should have been here two weeks ago!”
Their really big change is a complete redesign of the front garden, and this will be ongoing right through the summer – so prepare to see “work in progress” on arrival. Strangely, the third couple in the Marlbrook Garden trio, Alan and Lynn Nokes, had the same idea and their front garden will also be a work in progress this year.
Their big back garden project was to re-landscape a shady area around one of the ponds. The clearing of the area went well until they had to remove an old bamboo. Roots were everywhere and whilst trying to get them out with the garden fork Alan managed to puncture the water pipe, creating an unplanned extra water feature.
After a few choice words, he set about replacing the pipe. Trouble is, Alan’s plumbing skills are as good as my DIY, and his first attempt had water spurting everywhere (yet another unplanned water feature) and his second attempt wasn’t much better.
But that wasn’t the end – they then discovered that the bamboo had grown through the liner on the stream, so they had to replace part of this as well. It’s amazing how a simple job can become so complex…
However, as the first opening approaches, Alan and Lynn have completed a bamboo screen (not live so no roots) to hide their shed and set off their planting, and John and Janet are putting finishing touches to their changes.
Meanwhile, back at our garden, while pushing the mower past a mini greenhouse I caught the corner with a wheel and the whole mini greenhouse disintegrated. So that means another change – and one we hadn’t planned on, so whether it will be complete in time remains to be seen.
One thing is certain: when you visit Marlbrook Gardens this year, even if you have been before, there will be lots of new things to see.
Marlbrook Gardens are open on Sundays July 5 and August 2 from 1.30–5.30pm, and then on Saturday September 5 from 6.30–10pm with the gardens illuminated from dusk and a glass of wine included in the price. For more details visit www.marlbrookgardens.com
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