We talk about how to start from scratch, garden privacy, where to place a shade tree and more.
* To see Jane Beedle’s garden (she refers to it in the Q&A): https://youtu.be/p8cjOk2USWo
* For video on garden privacy: https://youtu.be/LwW5zF5phmQ
* For US Complete Guide to Garden Privacy: https://www.amazon.com/dp/191636361X
* The UK Complete Guide to Garden Privacy book (print or Kindle): https://amzn.to/3D8pSTJ
* The Complete Guide to Garden Privacy book as a pdf:https://www.themiddlesizedgarden.co.uk/product/the-complete-guide-to-garden-privacy/
* Middlesized Garden blog post on how to increase your garden privacy: https://www.themiddlesizedgarden.co.uk/how-increase-garden-privacy/
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25 Comments
Enjoyed the chat – lots of great advice – thank-you!
Good afternoon…I am from Panama..I almost came here to listen to the conversation…
Absolutely agree, a big border is daunting but it does fill up fast and once established is much less work that a lawn.
Epimediums work very well in dry shade in my garden under trees , or Mahonia for example….
Hi Alexandra, Tracy here from Adirondack NY
How can I view Jane beadles garden
Great work, ladies. Thank you.
Greetings from rural Tennessee.
I adore Acuba Japonica too. They are soooo easy to propagate in water indoors from cuttings. We have about a dozen as house plants.
Very interesting video session, I cut back a hellebore, Penny's pink, as it was out growing its' space and aprawling over other plants, but sadly I killed it. I was told that you can't cut the leaves from evergreen varieties of hellebores- wish i knew that before i chopped it. It was such a beauty.
Very interesting thank you for this video
If you want a quick hedge, plant an annual vine. You can still plant the slower-growing hedge shrubs in front of it, and the vines will fill the space while the shrubs grow. Agree that mowing grass is much more work than a border with lots of shrubs.
Lots of good ideas. The chat format worked nicely. Because of the sun here, our tomato plants grow very tall. I have raised beds that are fairly deep (36 inches), so they don't need to be watered as often. I bought four 7 ft curved metal trellises and bolted two at the north end of each raised bed. I tie up the tomatoes so they can take full advantage of the sun. None of the 'tomato cages' I've seen were ever tall enough, and are kind of ugly. Another plus: the tomato plants on the trellises screen my garden from the adjacent property. I've also rigged up an "umbrella trellis" using a double shepherd's crook with an inverted wire basket to tie up my tomatillo plants, which get leggy with the heavy fruit at the top. This keeps the fruit from laying on the soil, and was over $100 cheaper than fancy 'tuteur' trellises I found online. Combining flowers with herbs and vegetables in plantings is very popular here in CA. I like the variety you provide on your channel, Alexandra. 🙂
We've had a ton of rain over here in western North Carolina as well. I'm thankful for it though…the last couple of years have been unusually dry. We typically get a lot of rain where I am.
Thank you so much. You are both so knowledgeable (as well as fun) and it has been a pleasure to watch. I watched your last Q & A live and loved it, but sadly I didn't know about this one until it had already ended. I am now signed up for your weekly emails, Alexandra, and so hope I won't miss the next one. Love all you do!!
Thank you both for a great Q&A session 👍
"Our batteries might not last" I knew they were robots!
Good video. Alexandra, I like the way you stay up on new horticulture/garden info and bring it to the viewers.
Thank you ladies. Can l just say for inspiration on a new garden, take a cup of tea/coffee and a garden chair onto your land and sit for thinking time in different places, try to imagine where you would walk, would it be ideal for a pathway. If you wanted an all green area or all very colourful area. I rebuilt my garden from scratch, had to spend a long time cutting up an old tree and it gave me lots of time to look and imagine. My best ideas came when l was sat in my empty garden. Drawings can only take you so far. Take string and sticks to outline a path or flower bed and see if you like it. Clean up the earth of builders rubble etc. My vegetable patch l cleaned it out and then spread plenty manure , but did not plant for several months. So my advice for a new gardener is preparation of the land and observation, the design will come to you being in your garden space. Another one would be be to visit your local garden centre or nursery every 2/3/4weeks.
You can look at what's in flower week by week and month by month, check the colour and habit of plants you may be interested in.
Thank you again ladies always glad of your advice.
From time to time I wish I had the money to pay for professional advice as to what I could improve in my urban wildlife-friendly garden. On the other hand, if I did decide to spend money in such a way and followed the designer's advice later, it might not be my garden any more. Mine is an inherited garden; the former owner seems to still own it, up to a point at least because we live in the same house, so there are various features in the garden which I cannot change and I have to garden around them, sort of. I think a professional designer would not put up with that 😉
I was trying to remember where I had seen your guest, and then it hit me! Loved you on Great British Baking Show, too! Thank you for sharing your experiences with us!
Great information for garden planning and design. It has taken me years and years to develop my gardens and converted my veg garden to flowers a year ago, planted hundreds of bulbs, and my garden was stunning. Grew gourds for privacy as their vines are lovely. Planted veggies in grow bags, which can be easily moved around the gardens.
Epimediums do superbly understand our spruce trees.
"Oh, I've killed thousands of plants". 😆.
Wow, I feel SOOOO much better!
Another nice one on a fence is honeysuckle. The leaves are evergreen, the scent is wonderful, and so are the flowers. I just bought a pupurea japonica that said it even had purple colored leaves in the winter. Am looking forward to seeing it. And they're good for most all planting zones.
This was so useful! You are two clever ladies. More please! 🌿 I love box balls and topiary too for year round interest ❤️