Late Flowering Garden?

4 years ago

So bit of a weird question, but we have a south facing garden, however, the flowers always seem to come up later that everyone else, even the small flower beds out the front of the house that don't receive that much direct sunlight come up a good couple of weeks earlier, they also seem to grow more vigorously.

The house was a brownfield site (used for parking buses!), and converted to housing back in '91. We moved in winter of 16/17 and regularly dig in compost and spread 1kg of the slow release fertiliser over it every year. I checked with a pH meter and all seemed pretty neutral (although more clay in nature), although there was an acidic spot in the back left. Some parts, seem to do better than others, even a couple of the parts that receive more sunlight don't do as well as they could.

Image of the garden below, due south is directly ahead in the image, unfortunately the neighbours have some mature trees along the boundary, including a very wide holy bush (to the right), along with a silver birch and taller conifer (although that is 10m further back to the left of the bunch of trees).

Any suggestions on improving this? More fertiliser/ compost etc?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (2)

Ribena Drinker
4 years ago
I do wonder if it could be a question of not enough water? It may explain why, the fertiliser and compost haven't made much of a difference.

We had a flower bed which faced south and when we put in an irrigation systems it made such a difference, even to plants that I thought were doing well previously.

It may be worth investing in a watering system combined with some bark on top to help retain the moisture.
Sonia
4 years ago
I agree with Ribena. I think the trees and sunny aspect may be depleting the moisture out of the soil. Digging in compost is great but slow release fertiliser needs moisture to activate it. Although many plants love sunshine, such as Clematis, they need shade and water at the roots. I would give the whole bed a good watering to thoroughly soak the soil around the plants. Do this once a week and I’m sure you’ll see a difference. Remember a good thorough soak once a week is better that a light sprinkle every day. To help retain the moisture, you could add a layer of compost or bark after you have watered.
Related Discussions
Any ideas for final touches to this living/dinning room?
Q
Comments (51)
Just a quick note to thank you all for sharing your thought, ideas, experience and time. I especially want to thank Bluenan and decoenthusiaste for being with me through the all process for the last 6 months or so..., just wanted to post few photos of the results (https://www.houzz.com/discussions/any-ideas-for-final-touches-to-this-living-dinning-room-dsvw-vd~569586) as I feel it is not only me who created this space but it is your creations as much as mine. It may not be perfect or according to the the "Rules", but it is Me and my family. Each and every piece was chosen by me in different parts of the world and each one of them has a unique story behind. I am very pleased with my space. I love it! I am very blessed. .... and so I am off to my new project now... Back to school.... that's really going to be hard ;) Thank you all, once again.
...See More
Hi there , looking at house with north east facing garden, has anyone
Q
Comments (327)
How will you pose for your Miss Photogenic photo op? Will you go with the Carmen Miranda fruit bowl tiara? Or would the Easter egg thingamadooeys suffice? Decisions, decisions..... Maybe Grover could photo shop each one with your dress so we can decide? We wouldn't want to break any decorating rules because we do have our reputations to uphold. LOLOLOLOLOL
...See More
Curb appeal??!
Q
Comments (14)
Gosh, I've returned after a week travelling for work to loads more suggestions - thanks all! To respond specifically: - the house faces south so gets the lovely morning (and in the uk, sometimes the only) sun. - the husband has avoided putting plants in the planters due to maintenance and they're generally twee so comments here have confirmed to me that they will be coming out - love the idea of wooden boxes with the spiky plants and grasses - also like the concept of taking out the grass/bed/tree in front completely out and replacing with slabs - yes to lightening the windows - to the Barn company, I honestly don't mind the advice and I'd never seen sloping garage roofs. - nicking ideas from landscaping of new builds....great idea! - finally, Helen Scholes, I'm embarrassed about the spelling of kerb. Had no idea! Thanks again all.
...See More
RHS Flower Show Tatton Park July 2016_High Tide 2030 Garden_GOLD MEDAL
Q
Comments (2)
Hi Nina, please can you upload some photos to this thread so we can admire your design here on Houzz?
...See More

Late Flowering Garden?

Comments (2)

Ribena Drinker

Sonia

Related Discussions

COMPANY

EXPLORE HOUZZ

CONNECT WITH US