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Landscape Design Perennials

When a whole area looks dismal

last year

such as my gravel garden. This was the first space I planted on my allotment and is, in fact, a sort of microcosm of my entire garden strategy (ho ho). I generally sow or propagate most of my plants, which can take years. I may well have had a (vague)plan when I first decided to grow these plants, but by the time I have a bunch of stuff for planting, I have forgotten what it was. Plus, once a little plant is released into the wild, I have often had enough of them and have moved on to other things. A bit like teenagers. Anyway, even at the start, the gravel garden was a mish-mash and years later, it is honestly a mess of self-seeding thugs (acanthus, euphorbias, knautia), inappropriate or gigantic plants - an absolutely savage Scharlachglut rose which has also been colonised by honeysuckle on one side and a bloody massive cistus on the other, plus too many, badly placed salvias. Loads of other plants have come (and gone) but it is more like a sort of dreary shrubbery with weedy bits (although there are a couple of months when it looks OK).

I know I should take a picture but I am too mortified (plus, I have spent at least the last 4 years or so rushing past, head averted). Worse, I put a membrane down when I first planted it up and it is now a horrible shredded mess of unravelling plastic (it was that woven stuff) and is a nightmare to dig. I sort of know that carnage is re.quired but am going to have to lean on my fellow forum mates I was clueless when I planted it, 20 years ago and appear to be basically still clueless, 20 years on.

So yeah, photo promised. I am more or less just whining (although I do have a new 'dry garden' area which has potential). And much smaller, mannerly plants (so far)...so I am not invested in another gravel garden. However, it is now an unspeakable mess and I need help.

Comments (5)

Chris
last year
Hi. Hang in there. Attach photos.
ruth_mi
last year
I can relate, and I'm guessing there are many others on here who can. I don't have a gravel garden, but I have my own messes, and they seem overwhelming at times.

This is me for sure: "I was clueless when I planted it, 20 years ago and appear to be basically still clueless, 20 years on."
rosaprimula thanked ruth_mi
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Jay 6a Chicago
last year
last modified: last year
Rosa, Here are some photos of gravel gardens, maybe they might give you ideas which is probably not a good thing. It seems like mounding plants always look good in gravel gardens, especially when a few are grouped together, and they make a nice springboard for crazier, more extreme plants to explode from. I don't know if you can successfully do cacti and Agave in your area of the UK? There is this new trend of concrete slab gardening for plants that like to grow out of cracks in rocks. I had gravel and Sedum along the foundation of the house on 2 sides, about 3 feet wide and I've gotten away from the Sedum and I'm now experimenting with plants that prefer gravelly soil. I've added more soil and mixed it in with the gravel.

I could imagine you having something festive like this, judging by what you've done in the past. Perhaps doing puppet shows or some such things.🤣😂
rosaprimula thanked Jay 6a Chicago
FrozeBudd_z3/4
last year
Jay, those photos are fantastic, with proper plant selection, it all looks so cool and relaxing, love it!
rosaprimula
Original Author
last year
last modified: last year
O cheers for these thoughtful replies. Great pics, Jay. Somewhat amused at the idea of puppet shows though - I am shy, anti-social, chippy and sarcastic - I fear puppet shows would scare children and enrage parents.

Coward that I am, I have abandoned the idea of restoring the current gravel garden (beyond the pale) - I have a really rather nice sunny area which was once my dye garden but has quite a few plants lurking around which should do rather well in gravel - cistus (a smaller, daintier one), lychnis, catanache, santolina, agastache, sphaeralcea and, as a reward for digging out a ton of anthemis, I planted a coupla hundred tiny tulips (Little Beauty, Shogun, Fenna, hageri splendens, orphanidea and so on). I have a few succulents and agaves, plus a heap of stuff still in pots at home |(delosperma, lewisias, haworthia, smaller agapanthus. So I am all thrilled at the prospect of a new gravel garden...but still have to deal with the horrible mess of the old one. Anyway, I had work today so no time to do pics but I will try to upload some tomorrow so you can commiserate (or point and laugh) as the full horror is revealed.

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