Reusable & Sustainable Garden Design with Box Honeysuckle

Looking to create a beautiful garden that’s kind to the planet?
Grow the right plants that are easy to propagate, less disease effected, grow quickly to give shelter and a living environment for all sorts of creatures as well as being tough, all that makes it cost effective and sustainable.
Grow Box Honeysuckle (Lonicera nitida), the best Buxus replacement, after my actual Buxus (Common Box) got blight and is dead now.

We planted a Hedge a few years ago which due to a new terrace needs to be moved to the back of the garden. We love having a zero waste garden

🔔 Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and turn on notifications for more home gardening tips.

#gardening #garden #gardendesign #buxus #loveyourgarden #sustainablegardening

Garden Stuff

Garden design for me is a fluid process. You know, just because something look good one day doesn’t mean that it’s going to be looking good in a few weeks, years or whatever. So then you just move it. And this is exactly what I’m going to be doing today. This used to be our terrace. So we’re going to be building a new terrace. And at the time we planted this Lona Nida hedge or box honeysuckle and it needs to go. So today we’re going to be moving this into the back part of the garden. But before we do that, I actually want to talk a little bit about the plant because it is again one of those amazing plants that is easy, fast growing. As far as I concerned, this is the best box replacement plant you can possibly possibly have. You can leave it like this all wild and Janice Joplin sort of thing or you can do it in a formal cut and you can pretty much cut it in any kind of shape you want. Unlike normal box, this is fast growing. It grows in sun. It grows in shade. It grows quickly. So you don’t have to wait for ages. And also it is box blight resistant. Well, it doesn’t have any because it comes from the honeysuckle family. I have a box in the back. And that one has blight. So let’s have a look how that thing looks. Now this is my actual box plant. How sexy is that? It looks like a gigantic turd. So it got blighted. So it’s dead. So it needs to come out. Another wonderful thing about this one is it’s so easy to propagate. So all you do, you have a look. This here is the new wood from this year. And down here, you can see is slightly different colored is the old wood from last year. So all you do, strip the leaves off. And then I like to put it into water because I really get a kick out of it when I can see the roots growing. But you can just shove it in the ground like that and it will root. It is so easy. And also, yes, you have to trim this a little bit more often than you would have the books. But this one doesn’t get light. This is definitely my choice. I will never have another actual box plant in my garden. And you can shape it into absolutely anything you want. I mean, for all I care, you can shape it into a fanny. Also, this can grow into pretty tall hedges, and they’re very dense. So, great privacy hedge, too. And again, growing very fast. It has little berries at some point during the year, but you know, obviously they’re poisonous, so you don’t eat them. And also, if you would, you would, if a dog would eat one or whatever, you would need to eat a shitload for it to actually do anything. And the only thing you’re doing, you just, you know, you start vomiting, get the shits, but that’s pretty much it. Don’t eat the berries. This hedge here now has to move to the back. Let me show you where it’s going. So, the hedge is going to go back here. Every single thing here is sort of unruly because we just let things happen back here. So, I thought I would like to have some sort of formal thing. I maybe shape it into a couple of tits or stuff. I don’t know yet. I’m going to shape it into something nice. I’m not allowed to shape it into a apparently. That’s the one restriction I got from Jane. But I think something formal here would be quite interesting considering how everything looks back here. So, it’s all rather informal. The preparation for this that was a bunch of fun. Have a look. This was like no fun whatsoever, but it’s sort of semi-prepared, which makes the job a lot easier. So, the terrace was elevated and here we can see that we built a little raised planter. So, I’m just going to, you know, tear the wood open and have a look what the root system is like and how many bloody plants we actually have. I mean, I’m aware that this is quite a brutal job, but at the end of the day, it needs to go. Either it’s going to get relocated or it’s going to go in the bin, but I like it. So, it’s going to get relocated. And the only thing left to do right now is just to go in there and start lifting out the first plant. If there is a way to make something complicated, trust me, I find it. And this clearly is not an easy exercise, but that the soil is bone dry doesn’t help either. But hey, anyway, let’s continue to dig. This is such a brutal job. Trust me, if they survive this, they survive nuclear war, which may be coming soon. Oh, A duck. This is rough. And this is only one. There’s so many more to come. Oh, and apparently you can do really good bonsai with these as well. So maybe I’m actually going to keep one of these and try a bonsai tree thing. Never done that before. Anyway, oh, and the berries I was talking about earlier on. Apparently, they grow this time of the year as well. So, here they are. That one there. Nice and purple. Pretty little ones, but don’t eat them because they’re poisonous. Fine. You’re not going to die from it. You’re just going to get the shits and vomit. So, unless you want to, you know, you have an event to go to and you need to shed some weight. H perhaps, you know, dissentry is a great weight loss option. Anyway, I’m going to take one more out and then the three of them I’m going to put in the back and then just wait and see how much more fun I’m going to have with this. These are getting bigger and bigger. Anyway, let’s plant those three. Usually Jane would help me with these sort of things, but she broke her wrist, so she can’t. Lucky her. So, we arrived to the final destination for these three. And let’s just as usual, place them, have a look how it looks, and then just dig them in. [Music] This is the kind of job that keeps on giving so much joy. But anyway, so this one here is actually one, so it shouldn’t be too bad, he says. So, three of them in. So, now the fourth one is going to go in and then I’m going to get the other one. This is how it looks so far. Six it is not. But you’ll get the idea once it then gets filled in with the other ones. So, they’re all in. Now, I had to stop taping because I got really, really pissy and I started cursing so much. Even for me, it was a little much. Anyway, so they’re all in. I’m going to let them settle into their new home and then eventually I will shape them into something obscene and vulgar. Of course, I would. These are great plants. These are great box alternatives. So, you don’t have to worry about blight or anything like that. So if you want to have anything like this, if you want to have an obscene part in the garden or if you just want to have a privacy hedge, plant box honeysuckle. They’re really are great plants. I am absolutely I really am. There will be an update, but that’s me for today and I shall talk to you guys later. Bye.