Friday 12 September 2008

Veg explosion

This was how my very neglected veg beds looked in July. Everything had gone to seed, the borage had self-seeded everywhere and the paths were overgrown and very weedy. The area just wasn't working so needed some rethinking.
I started by lifting the gravel paths and clearing the area. I decided to keep the pretty variegated sage, the golden oregano and the parsley (which was grown from seed and has been one of the few things that have been great this year),
After lots of mulling, I came up with a design and started to lay it out with canes.
And this is how things look now, not quite finished. I ditched the golden oregano in the end - spreads too much and I never use it in cooking. Felt a bit ruthless. I recycled the tiles from our shed (now dry with a nice-looking green roof) to create the beds (the sticks are cat-proofing), put membrane down over the new paths and used the old gravel to start covering them (need a bit more). I'm pleased so far and looking forward to planting.

I'm planning to sow some autumn broad beans and then have spring bulbs in the circular bed followed by annual flowers in the summer. I've up-ended some tiles against the fence to stop the grass invading (a constant battle) but am planning a small hedge all along this area. It might be a living willow screen or guilder roses. I haven't quite decided yet - my next autumn project.

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