Village Gardens continued from previous page
same style or a mixture of different sizes and shapes. Easily adaptable to smaller gardens for use as a screen or simply stood up against a plain wall or fence. A good autumn project! Long, thin gardens can sometimes
create wasted space at the bottom end. Two generations ago, this would have been a valuable area to grow the family’s vegetables and cutting flowers. But sadly, without the neces- sity to grow vegetables nowadays, “the bit at the bottom” is sometimes neglected, left to grow wild, fenced off or used to house a shed. Not the place to be growing decorative veg- etables or delicate delphiniums – or is
it? In an area such as this, if you want to take on a bigger project, then rail- way sleepers could be the answer. We had one such area at the bot-
tom of our garden – solid clay, un- even, full of roots and generally an eyesore. So my husband Mike and I came up with a plan to reclaim it. Armed with a few railway sleepers, a drill and some long bolts, Mike set about making some raised planters. The sleepers were simply laid on the ground and bolted together through their ends, then between us we lev- elled them off, propping them up at one end with broken bricks and then digging the earth away at the other. We didn’t need to worry about the
poor soil or the roots just below the surface, or the ground between them being uneven. The roots would be covered with weed suppressant and the gaps between the planters would be filled with gravel, taking care of any dips. Once built, we squared them up, lined them and then filled with a mixture of topsoil purchased from a garden centre; a few bags of well-rotted manure; a small amount of finely chopped clay and finally soil from an old vegetable plot belonging to a friend. Once finished, I looked upon them proudly – all that beauti- ful loamy soil! There are so many growing choices
Planters, one year on
for large planters such as these. They don’t have to be too high – a shallow planter painted black looks neat. Fill it with ornamental vegetables and you have a very contemporary look for a modern garden. A two-sleeper high planter would work well as a cutting garden: every square inch could be used and the flowers deadheaded, tied up and cut without bending down too far. A rose garden would be the choice for some with blooms at eye level and easy pruning. A nursery bed would do well, especially if you like rescuing “poorly” plants from gar- den centres or you like to grow from plugs. Maybe a wild flower patch to fill the space easily and quickly
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