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Mysteryduck's front yard make over

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  • #1

    Mysteryduck's front yard make over

    Recently, we bought a house. With a garden! It's so exciting! In the front, we have a nice patch of moss, seven spots of grass, three giant hydrangeas, and a number of mystery plants (more to follow). Desperate, I turned to the vine, hoping to save the lawn.. but instead, I was showered with advice and inspiration for a complete garden makeover!

    For the record, this is my first garden, and I'm a complete gardening novice. So I thought it might be fun to record my progress here. In the hopes of gleaming advice from interested bystanders. Providing amusement by my hopelessness. And perhaps inspiring others to dig giant holes in their front yards! So without further ado. In it's untouched state.

    The view from the bedroom:
    Click image for larger version Name: IMG_5840_small.jpg Views: 2 Size: 210.1 KB ID: 2405742

    .. from the living room (where did the moss go?):
    Click image for larger version Name: IMG_0269_small.jpg Views: 1 Size: 174.6 KB ID: 2405743

    .. and from my car:
    Click image for larger version Name: IMG_2755_small.jpg Views: 1 Size: 186.0 KB ID: 2405744

    Edit:
    I forgot to explain the plan! It's a bit of a work in progress, but the current idea (developed on the other thread) is to have a few raised beds, a couple at the front and one at the back. Flowers in the front ones and veg in the back. With a sort of wispy "modesty screen" behind the front wall, so folks don't see my veg too clearly if it all goes wrong! Will maybe keep the borders, rescue some mystery plants, put a hardy ground covering plant -- maybe heath pearlwort, anyone used it? -- between the raised beds, with some pots here and there. Happy for more suggestions though!
    Last edited by mysteryduck; 15-04-2018, 08:27 PM.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Can't identify much extra on the plant front, apart from the heather - the top of a rose bush perhaps on the right.

    Never know, you might have a few keepers in there that can be transplanted to their new quarters, but will need some close-up photos to see what else there is.

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    • #3
      First things first.. identification of the mystery plants. I'll post them in threes so it doesn't get confusing. Starting with the most interesting one..

      A plant-based sculpture of a hedgehog that was attacked by spear wielding pigmies:

      Click image for larger version Name: IMG_6167_hedgehog.jpg Views: 1 Size: 271.3 KB ID: 2377269

      .. a purple-flowered plant that would fit my colour scheme nicely, but somehow has more grass than the "lawn":

      Click image for larger version Name: IMG_1342_purple_flower.jpg Views: 1 Size: 260.2 KB ID: 2377268

      .. and some twigs that look as if they've had it (this one might be a challenge):

      Click image for larger version Name: IMG_8054_twigs.jpg Views: 1 Size: 207.2 KB ID: 2377270

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      • #4
        Do you have a back garden too?
        Our England is a garden, and such gardens are not made
        By singing-'Oh how beautiful!" and sitting in the shade,
        While better men than we go out and start their working lives
        At grubbing weeds from gravel paths with broken dinner-knives. ~ Rudyard Kipling

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        • #5
          Photo 1 would look a lot better without the moss. May be able to identify it in a couple of weeks.

          2. is Lungwort. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulmonaria_officinalis

          3. may grow from the base but you have small dock leaves nearby that you need to remove.

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          • #6
            That's a nice little patch. And no real reason not to grow fruit and veg in a front garden if that's where you have space. People worry about road pollution, but it's not like that doesn't also make its way to the back garden too!

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            • #7
              agree with VC ( as usual) about 2
              1) is obviously a perennial just re-growing - I'll take a punt on it being "bouncing betty" (Saponaria officinalis) easy enough to be sure in a few weeks
              3) looks like a dead Pelargonium ( aka geranium as was)
              Last edited by nickdub; 15-04-2018, 08:00 PM.

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              • #8
                What a lovely front garden! I'd throw about a few grass seeds on the lawn if you want to keep it a lawn, and give it a really good feed. Moss doesn't like that, and you'd be able to rake a lot of that out before you throw down the grass seeds.
                As for the plants in there, I'd not make any massive changes in the first year, if you want to find out what's there already. It's much easier to identify them when they're growing
                https://nodigadventures.blogspot.com/

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by mrbadexample View Post
                  Do you have a back garden too?
                  I do indeed! This is where I plan to grow my veg! It's about the same size as the front, split into 4 quadrants: a patio/gravel zone, a decrepit decking zone, a flagstone shed base zone, a patch of squidgy yellow grass, and a low wall separating the grass and the patio/gravel. It's currently a holding zone for random plants I find in garden centres.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by veggiechicken View Post
                    Photo 1 would look a lot better without the moss. May be able to identify it in a couple of weeks.
                    I thought that was part of the plant

                    Originally posted by veggiechicken View Post
                    2. is Lungwort. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulmonaria_officinalis
                    Nice! Will keep this one

                    Originally posted by veggiechicken View Post
                    3. may grow from the base but you have small dock leaves nearby that you need to remove.
                    Googled dock weed. Oh dear! Thanks for the warning. Will hunt for more.

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                    • #11
                      Dock are the small leaves beside the "dead" stems. When they're small, like these, they're relatively easy to dig out (long tap root). As they grow, so does the root and it forks like an octopus and becomes a monster. It sends up a flowering shoot which produces a seed head and the seeds scatter everywhere.
                      Perhaps you can tell that I have a lot of dock monsters in my garden.

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by self-contained View Post
                        That's a nice little patch. And no real reason not to grow fruit and veg in a front garden if that's where you have space. People worry about road pollution, but it's not like that doesn't also make its way to the back garden too!
                        Our road is very quiet, so I might pop a few pretty ones in!

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by SarrissUK View Post
                          What a lovely front garden! I'd throw about a few grass seeds on the lawn if you want to keep it a lawn, and give it a really good feed. Moss doesn't like that, and you'd be able to rake a lot of that out before you throw down the grass seeds.
                          As for the plants in there, I'd not make any massive changes in the first year, if you want to find out what's there already. It's much easier to identify them when they're growing
                          Why thank you! And thank you also for reminding me that I didn't post the plan! Will go and edit the original post accordingly.. and yes, with a little time and a little help, I'd love to find out what's growing there. So mysterious!

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                          • #14
                            The first photo is a hosta. Mine are looking like that at the moment.

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by veggiechicken View Post
                              Dock are the small leaves beside the "dead" stems. When they're small, like these, they're relatively easy to dig out (long tap root). As they grow, so does the root and it forks like an octopus and becomes a monster. It sends up a flowering shoot which produces a seed head and the seeds scatter everywhere.
                              Perhaps you can tell that I have a lot of dock monsters in my garden.
                              Oh dear thanks for the warning!

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