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Post by andy on Jan 21, 2015 10:40:31 GMT
RF...the Euphorbia is E. wulfenii.....a tall plant up to 4 feet but a superb, all year round evergreen with lovely green/yellow flowers in early spring. It does however, seed everywhere !!!
The fatsias are the varigated one...they did flower this yea, yes but not as good as last year.
I've opened the garden up a lot, particularly the lower garden. There used to be large trees in the middle of areas that are now planted with lots of lovely herbaceous. I told my boss i was cutting them down and he looked at me in abstract horror !!!!
But down they came...a 25 foot Cercidiphyllum, a 20 foot Yew, a few huge Ilex....they all came down. As a result, you can now see the whole of the lower garden from anywhere you look....which is amaizing with all the bubs in flower with the summer herbaceous following on.
We already have 2 huge Cercidiphyllum in the garden and yews and ilex are 10 a penny. But I've just planted lots of new ornamental trees that will give both amaizing autumn colour and flowers/fruit
Up the top of the garden...i've planted
Acer rubrum Acer saccharum Robinia pseudoacacia 'Frisia'
All of those grow big and will give good autumn colour.
Down the bottom, i've planted...
Malus 'Red Sentinal' Malus 'John Downie' Liquidamber styraciflua Cercis canadernsis 'Forest Pansy' 3 x Prunus anamagowa Ceanothus arboreus 'Trewithin blue' Toona sinensis 'Flamingo' Albezia julibrissin
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Post by Rosefriend on Jan 21, 2015 13:28:58 GMT
The Acers will be marvellous and I rather like the look of Cercis canadernsis 'Forest Pansy' and Ceanothus arboreus 'Trewithin blue'.
I am also very interested to hear what happens to Albezia julibrissin - I love them and when we were in Hungary they are all over - really gorgeous. I brought one back with me - well I think it is the Albezia julibrissin - had it a few years now but it has never flowered and it is late to start in the spring..
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Post by andy on Jan 21, 2015 15:07:42 GMT
The Albezia is huge...around 15 foot tall. Unfortunately, the roots were in a bad way (it was bare rooted) and were severly hacked off to within about a foot of the trunk.
I don't personally think it'll survive. It's in a nice sheltered spot and it'll get lots of water when needed....but i just don't think the root system will be good enough.
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Post by Rosefriend on Jan 21, 2015 16:49:55 GMT
The Albezia is huge...around 15 foot tall. Unfortunately, the roots were in a bad way (it was bare rooted) and were severly hacked off to within about a foot of the trunk. I don't personally think it'll survive. It's in a nice sheltered spot and it'll get lots of water when needed....but i just don't think the root system will be good enough. How did the roots get in such a state - were there problems??
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Post by andy on Jan 21, 2015 19:29:16 GMT
That's how it came in from the tree company...whoever they are
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Post by Rosefriend on Jan 21, 2015 19:32:35 GMT
That's how it came in from the tree company...whoever they are andy - how on earth did that happen then...blimey Andy - I hope someone complained??
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Post by andy on Jan 22, 2015 5:56:21 GMT
Well i complained to the boss who has this awful attiude of "oh well, if it dies, we'll just get another one next year"
Don't get me wrong, my manager has been brilliant but this attitude drives me mad.....we often get plants in a terrible state thatt i know won't survive but it seems it's too much trouble to complain or send them back.
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Post by Rosefriend on Jan 22, 2015 7:24:51 GMT
Well i complained to the boss who has this awful attiude of "oh well, if it dies, we'll just get another one next year" Don't get me wrong, my manager has been brilliant but this attitude drives me mad.....we often get plants in a terrible state thatt i know won't survive but it seems it's too much trouble to complain or send them back. The trouble is , as you well know Andy, is that if no-one complains and takes some kind of action that firm will carry on sending inferior goods and, I assume charging top prices. Plus the Park is losing money that could go to other great projects... Must admit that I tend not to complain until I have been messed around with for a while, but I think after a fair warning that if the goods didn't come up to scratch in the future, then you would change firms - bet the Park leaves a lot of money in their hands. Sad for the wonderful plants and trees....
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Post by Ladygardener on Jan 22, 2015 7:36:19 GMT
Everything looks lovely with the light dusting of icing sugar.
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Post by andy on Feb 19, 2015 17:10:13 GMT
Right, a lot has been going on behind the scenes over the past few weeks. The boss and myself both agree that the entrances are very important in any garden. Last year we completed the southern entrance by removing tired old shrubberies and replanting with a wonderful winter garden and around 55,000 spring bulbs. Now we're turning our attention to the northern entrance. Here's a photo... Let's start with the left side as we look at the photo. It's full of herbaceous, delphs, penstemon, veronicas, chinese lanterns, aqualegia, phlox, poppies, verbascus. But there's no structure to it. As a result, the whole lot is being stripped out. I might be able to use a few things elsewhere but it's just too much of a mish mash for me. And, most of it has finished flowering by July....i need everything to flower through to frosts. We've also agreed to remove the grass....the semi circle on the left and plant it up as part of the bed. There will be a bench in the middle and then a vibrant range of stunning herbaceous will be planted. Large drifts of Orange, pink, red and white Phlox paniculata, Kniphofia red, yellow and orange, Echinacea orange, white and red, Actea brunette, Heliopsis, Helenium yellow, Salvia amistad and Geranium johnsons blue will be the main plants. These will be dotted with groups of highly scented lillies....different colours and different heights, approx 15 varieties, 50 bulbs per variety. Drifts of spring flowering Jonquilla (scented) daffs complete the planting. A bench will be placed in the centre so people can enjoy the scent. So me and the boss were chatting....when he said that if we were taking up the grass on the left, we might as well take up the two grass quandrants on the right (not the bit nearest us though...yet !!!!). The quadrant nearest us will have a centre of Stipa gigantea and an outer of Helenium Moreheim beauty (photo below). The rear quadrant will form part of a larger bed, already planted with foliage plants. 5 large cardoons will be planted for a bit of height followed by more colourful herbaceous such as agapanthus, Gaillardia, monarda cambridge scarlet, rudbeckia goldstrum. There's already a large drift of newly planted Erymurus (Fox tail lilly) at the back. Here's a photo There are some stumps on the left....they were Sambucus 'thundercloud' and, due to them reaching 4m in a year, they have been removed and replanted at the top of the garden. There's some Fuchsia genii there too which will be replanted. Again, Jonquilla daffs will be planted in autumn. Lastly, If you follow the path up to the steps, a 0.5m wide border will be cut into he grass, both below and above the steps. This will be lined with Rosa fragrant delight interplanted with lavender munstead (below the steps) and this border will continue in the grass above the steps with Rose princess of wales planted again with munstead. (photo below) So a hell of a lot going on. I took the day off today and designed the border and then had to trawl through hundreds of internet pages and catalogues in order to select 3 varieties of each plant....just incase they can't supply the one i want. It's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it. We'll be starting this very soon so photos will follow. Few more photos
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Post by Rosefriend on Feb 19, 2015 17:41:21 GMT
Great plans andy, and I bet it is fun!!!!! Amazing assortment of plants - hope the summer is good, can't wait to see it all in flower...keep us up to date Andy...
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Post by Jilly on Feb 19, 2015 18:09:46 GMT
Some great plans andy, love the idea of using loads of scented plants & having a bench in the middle, bet that will be popular.
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Post by Missredhead on Feb 19, 2015 20:15:25 GMT
Looking great andy, looking so pretty atm with the dusting of snow. beautiful......deserves a
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Post by andy on Feb 20, 2015 6:02:11 GMT
"I have a dream" (Said in a Martin Luther King stylee) That my garden will eventually become one of the finest herbaceous gardens in the UK outside of Wisley.
I argue with my boss about this every week. He seems to think that it's ok to divide the existing herbaceous that we already have in the garden and other areas in Brighton, where as i don't want anything repeated....i want new varieties. Luckily, he's seen my vision and has backed it.
My boss retires next year and budget cuts means there's going to be very little in the way of spare cash for large projects like this in future so it's good to be getting in now.
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Post by Rosefriend on Feb 20, 2015 10:25:40 GMT
"I have a dream" (Said in a Martin Luther King stylee) That my garden will eventually become one of the finest herbaceous gardens in the UK outside of Wisley. I argue with my boss about this every week. He seems to think that it's ok to divide the existing herbaceous that we already have in the garden and other areas in Brighton, where as i don't want anything repeated....i want new varieties. Luckily, he's seen my vision and has backed it. My boss retires next year and budget cuts means there's going to be very little in the way of spare cash for large projects like this in future so it's good to be getting in now. I am looking forward to seeing the work in progress Andy - hope there is enough money for new stuff when the budget has been cut - at least the beds will have been changed etc before then. How old is this old/new boss?? They say that human bodies make excellent fertilizer, after a while that is - hahaha!!
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Post by andy on Feb 20, 2015 11:25:06 GMT
Well after this project, i have one more area to develop which is quite a problem area as it's in deep shade under 2 huge 150 year old beech trees. Im thinking helibores, Sweet Rocket, Cyclamen, Bluebells, snowdrops, early daffs, pulmonaria etc and turn it into a fine woodland area. Here's a photo Boss is a very fit 59 and intends retiring at 60...next feb, so we're trying to get as much done as possible before he retires.
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Post by Rosefriend on Feb 20, 2015 11:28:43 GMT
I meant the boss that is coming back andy,, not the one that you have now.... Couldn't you have some particular ferns in that areas as well??
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Post by andy on Feb 20, 2015 13:08:56 GMT
Ahhh....yeah boss coming back is 55 and has 40 years service. He has no need to work as he lives on his parents farm and is loaded.
Yep, ferns would be good too, i have lots of Polypodium vulgare so they don't mind dry shade.
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Post by andy on Mar 7, 2015 15:21:09 GMT
So....plans are all in place, plant lists drawn up, dug up and relocated old plants, started removing turf and im so happy that i told our local "Friends of" group what's going on and they've put it in a newsletter....fantastic.
However, we have a particularly vicious member of public and his wife who, for some reason, has taken a great dislike to both me and the Rockery and he intends to bring us down. They're an old couple, typical busy-bodies who seem to know their rights and will use them at the slightest instant.
They took exception to the pond being renovated 2 years ago and went to the local press after getting all the cost breakdown via the freedom of information act. I get complaints from him on a weekly basis.
So imagine my utter horror on friday when the boss phoned up and said we're going to have to cancel my existing plans as this bloke has complained about the cost of it at a time when our budget is being cut. He will again, go to he press, who hate the council and another **** storm will hit the fan.
Im allowed to divide existing plans but that wasn't the plan, i need new varieties so i can have a fanastic diverse mix of colours.
To say i'm gutted is a massive understatement. Can't remember the last time i felt this deflated.
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Post by Rosefriend on Mar 7, 2015 18:38:00 GMT
Well that's a Bugga - isn't there anything can be done andy,?? Surely they can't get away with changing all your plans - or, - normally Jo-public don't stand a chance!!??
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Post by Jilly on Mar 8, 2015 11:12:01 GMT
How's he getting away with it andy, (has he got a friend on the council) I'm not sure how one person could make such a difference Especially when we all know that this council seems to delight in wasting money, I would have thought that investing in plants (which will last for years) would have been a good idea, surely much cheaper to grow perennials than spending on annuals for bedding displays twice a year.
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Post by andy on Mar 8, 2015 12:00:28 GMT
The problem is Jilly, he will go straight to the Argus, who just love a story like this especially when Cityparks are losing 10 members of staff. They will then rake up lots of old stories blah blah, the local councillors will hate any bad publicity etc so it's a lot easier to just pull the plug.
I can't speak to this bloke and neither can my boss....we'd both kill him within minutes, and that's probably no exageration.
My only glimmer of light is via the chair of friends of preston park....who i know very well and get on with. He's popping in tomorrow and i might ask him to speak to this bloke and ask him to back off. If this bloke doesn't back off, i'll end up giving up....i just don't have the fight in me where this sort of stuff is concerned.
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Post by Chuckles on Mar 8, 2015 18:47:21 GMT
Really feel for you Andy, this is wrong on so many levels
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Post by Dutchy on Mar 18, 2015 8:50:48 GMT
Take a deep breath Andy. This is the way public space works. I was member of the art in public spaces committee. The utter sh....t we had to put up with, ah well water under the bridge. But taking a step back rethinking and scheming for later years did get us good public art in the end. Maybe you can live with the idea of doing your plan stretched out over say 5 years. Piecemeal always seems cheeper and gets you there as well.
I understand you want to get rid of the grass as it gets loads of shade but I do like the almost Celtic cross this design forms. You will loose that effect when you plant up.
Hang in there and maybe rethink on how to get the garden where you want it to be in 10 years time. Some one leaving today should not thwart plans for the future. It is a tight rope one walks in public space.
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Post by andy on Mar 18, 2015 17:59:00 GMT
Ok, bit of an update on this. i was a bit disappointed that my boss rolled over so easily on this. One of his sayings is "do any job, regardless of your job description, to make your project work".....and i pointed this out to him.
I had a meeting with the chairman of Friends of preston park and he agreed that the project should go ahead. had a meeting with the boss and he agreed, we'd go for it.
So as i'm a damn nice geezer, i suggested we do have existing divided herbaceous, half new stuff.
This week, the grass has been stripped and today, i rotorvated the bed and made a start planting. Of the existing stuff, i've already put in 8 Cardoons....taken as offsets from big plants, Rudbeckia Goldstrum, Monarda Cambridge scarlet and sedum autumn joy. Got some Helenium, some bronze fennel, some Geraniums, some agapanthus and grasses to move tomorrow.
This is the new plant list...ive given 3 varieties of each plant to go on.....should be good.
Photos to follow 25 Kniphofia. Any orange flowered max 1m Bees sunset, mango popsicle, drummore apricot 25 Phlox paniculata. Any tall, red or magenta/cerise Red ridinghood, Red flame, starfire 25 Actea Simplex 'Brunette' 25 Echinacea. Any red up to 1m Hot summer, Eccentric, Hot papaya 25 Kniphofia. Any yellow up to 1m Bees Lemon, Lemon popsicle, Sunningdale yellow 25 Echinacea. Any white to 1m White swan, Virgin, coconut lime 25 Phlox paniculata. Any orange to 1m Orange perfection, Rijinstroom, Tequilla sunrise 25 Kniphofia. Any pure red to 1m Red rocket, Hot popsicle, Fireglow 25 Phlox paniculata. Any pink to 1m Bareleven, Eva Cullum, Bright eyes 25 Phlox paniculata any blue/purple to 1m Blue paradise, purple kiss, Harliquin 25 Phlox paniculata. Any white to 1m David, Graf zeplin, Peacock white 25 Echinacea Any orange to 1m Tikki torch, marmalade, Arts pride
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Post by Jilly on Mar 18, 2015 18:10:40 GMT
It's great that you're going ahead andy, that's the great thing with perennials, even if you don't get exactly the numbers you want in the first year, you should be able to divide some of the new ones next Spring. I'm keeping my fingers cross but if all goes to plan I've got an appointment at the cancer centre just down the road from you in a couple of weeks, so if the lady I'm meeting feels up to it, I'm hoping to pop along for a tour of inspection afterwards.
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Post by Rosefriend on Mar 18, 2015 18:36:07 GMT
Ok, bit of an update on this. i was a bit disappointed that my boss rolled over so easily on this. One of his sayings is "do any job, regardless of your job description, to make your project work".....and i pointed this out to him. I had a meeting with the chairman of Friends of preston park and he agreed that the project should go ahead. had a meeting with the boss and he agreed, we'd go for it. So as i'm a damn nice geezer, i suggested we do have existing divided herbaceous, half new stuff. This week, the grass has been stripped and today, i rotorvated the bed and made a start planting. Of the existing stuff, i've already put in 8 Cardoons....taken as offsets from big plants, Rudbeckia Goldstrum, Monarda Cambridge scarlet and sedum autumn joy. Got some Helenium, some bronze fennel, some Geraniums, some agapanthus and grasses to move tomorrow. This is the new plant list...ive given 3 varieties of each plant to go on.....should be good. Photos to follow 25 Kniphofia. Any orange flowered max 1m Bees sunset, mango popsicle, drummore apricot 25 Phlox paniculata. Any tall, red or magenta/cerise Red ridinghood, Red flame, starfire 25 Actea Simplex 'Brunette' 25 Echinacea. Any red up to 1m Hot summer, Eccentric, Hot papaya 25 Kniphofia. Any yellow up to 1m Bees Lemon, Lemon popsicle, Sunningdale yellow 25 Echinacea. Any white to 1m White swan, Virgin, coconut lime 25 Phlox paniculata. Any orange to 1m Orange perfection, Rijinstroom, Tequilla sunrise 25 Kniphofia. Any pure red to 1m Red rocket, Hot popsicle, Fireglow 25 Phlox paniculata. Any pink to 1m Bareleven, Eva Cullum, Bright eyes 25 Phlox paniculata any blue/purple to 1m Blue paradise, purple kiss, Harliquin 25 Phlox paniculata. Any white to 1m David, Graf zeplin, Peacock white 25 Echinacea Any orange to 1m Tikki torch, marmalade, Arts pride So pleased that at least things are going ahead - even if not in the range that you wanted originally...do let us know what of the progress andy..
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Post by andy on Mar 28, 2015 11:51:22 GMT
Bit of an update. Firstly, all above plants are ordered. Not sure what i'm getting from each variety but that's part of the fun. The long north border on the left has been rotorvated and planting has started. So far, i've divided Monarda 'Cambridge Scarlet' Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm', Sedum spectabalie, bronze fennel, Cardoons and 20 evergreen Agapanthus (not shown) The little bed below has been planted up with Persicaria 'Firetail', Geranium 'splish splash', Fuchsia Genii, Helenium 'Moreheim Beauty'. Rudbecia 'Goldsturm', Mixed Delphiniums, Veronica, Asters and Cardoons. Plants are doing well but people just walk over the bed as a short cut so had to rope it off temporarily Meanwhile, here's a few more photos This is the newly installed winter garden showing 25,000 daffs. The 25,000 snowdrops have finished flowering and now the daffs (12,500 February Gold and 12,500 Jonquilla 'Sugar Bush' ) are starting to flower
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Post by Rosefriend on Mar 31, 2015 8:22:01 GMT
I am pleased there is some progress andy, - do keep us up to date, won't you !! Can you take a pic of the winter garden when all the daffs are flowering - bet it will look gorgeous!! I love this daff - I know that I should know the name but as usual I have forgotten?? My favourite Euphorbia, the Wulfenii is, as usual, lovely - wish I had a garden big enough for it...
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Post by Ladygardener on Mar 31, 2015 8:52:43 GMT
I love this Euphorbia as well but don't have room for it. You've done great work Andy, do let us see a pic of all the daffs in bloom. Rosefriend is it Rip Van Winkle, that daff that you like?
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