New to this group, but not to newsgroups or gardening, though very much
an amateur gardener.

My "set-up" is mainly3 tiny south-facing beds and a short narrow border
facing east in a communal garden which is basically just lawn (the name
glorifies it) and a neglected border. Also several pots, including a
family pear and family apple on my patio. Plus a north-facing bed
containing mainly ferns by my front door.

The three small beds are 1) a variety of tiny conifers, 2) a variety of
grasses and 3) a selection of heucheras. The border has a gooseberry, a
blackcurrant, a jostaberry and 2 rhubarb plants.

This group looks like a friendly, helpful bunch and I am looking forward
to participating.
--
Jenny M Benson
Wrexham, UK

On 18/07/18 16:45, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Wed, 18 Jul 2018 15:11:37 +0100, Jenny M Benson
wrote:

New to this group, but not to newsgroups or gardening, though very much
an amateur gardener.

My "set-up" is mainly3 tiny south-facing beds and a short narrow border
facing east in a communal garden which is basically just lawn (the name
glorifies it) and a neglected border. Also several pots, including a
family pear and family apple on my patio. Plus a north-facing bed
containing mainly ferns by my front door.

The three small beds are 1) a variety of tiny conifers, 2) a variety of
grasses and 3) a selection of heucheras. The border has a gooseberry, a
blackcurrant, a jostaberry and 2 rhubarb plants.

This group looks like a friendly, helpful bunch and I am looking forward
to participating.

Welcome. A little more information might be useful to those responding
to any questions you might have. In particular, roughly where are you
so that we can get an idea as to how cold or wet it might get in
winter, i.e. how hardy the plants need to be to survive in your area,

The sig says Wrexham, so maybe a bit wet and a bit cold. Or am I being
unkind to that part of the country?

and do you know what sort of soil you're planting into, such as heavy
clay or light and sandy, acid or alkaline.

All good points. To that I'd add whether or not there are any large
trees around, which either cast shade or extract a lot of water, and
maybe nutrients, from the soil (unfortunately I am speaking from current
experience!).

--

Jeff

Thanks for the welcome!

The sig says Wrexham, so maybe a bit wet and a bit cold. Or am I being
unkind to that part of the country?

Yes, just outside Wrexham and the garden here is very sheltered, in
particular my little corner of it, so extreme cold is rarely a problem.
This summer the drought has been a particular problem because any
watering has to be done from cans carried out from the bathroom and I
was only able to be here to waterabout every 3rd day for about 3 weeks.
I lost a lot of plants in the ground, but everything in pots has survived.

and do you know what sort of soil you're planting into, such as heavy
clay or light and sandy, acid or alkaline.
All good points. To that I'd add whether or not there are any large
trees around, which either cast shade or extract a lot of water, and
maybe nutrients, from the soil (unfortunately I am speaking from current
experience!).

I live on what was the site of a brickworks, so as you might guess there
is a lot of underlying clay but a reasonable amount of quite decent soil
over it. Not sure about the pH. I rely on feeding plants by using
liquid fertilisers because I don't have the facilities for making my own
compost and it's not possible for me to bring manure in so the garden
soil is not brilliant. Shade is almost non-existent.

I do have a question, but I'll start another thread.

--
Jenny M Benson
Wrexham, UK