Hi- it looks like I will shortly have my first garden- I'm doing a council
flat exchange and gaining a city garden in the process. Its small (roughly
30" x 20") and with nothing much actually growing there- it hasn't been
tended for a long time. Gets a fair bit of sun though. Someone has hacked the
weed jungle back to ground level recently, revealing some rather nice moss in
large patches. Its a smallish lawn (rough) surrounded by the vestigial
remains of what was once a rectangular flower bed around it on three sides.

I do know a bit about gardening but my experience was long ago-now I'm middle
aged and with enough of a disability to not be able to do anything remotely
like normal garden maintenance.

I know of the concept of the low maintenance garden and if I can get someone
to dig it all for me and maybe plant some shrubs and ground cover plants, it
can be very low maintenance. My plan is to buy one of those calor-gas-fired
weed burning appliances that you can use to burn weeds at ground level
without bending and just zap what shouldn't be there maybe once a week or so
and let the things that should be there grow. its crude but it may do the
trick.

I have the idea that I can try to incorporate some of my favourite plants;
old-type (in appearance anyway) roses with a scent, phlox and stuff like
that. Its similar to a cottage garden idea but with some deliberate ground
cover planting. I think I can stake a few plants when needed- maybe even
divide the occasional clump of perennials- what i can't do is potter around
doing a few hours maintenance per week. A few minutes per week is more like
it.

There is a lawn, sort of. Not healthy but its there. The problem is- do I
keep a grass lawn and then somehow mow it regularly in summer (maybe I could
actually use a hover-type mower myself if it is relatively effortless) or is
there another plant that can be a real lawn substitute? I've heard about
chamomile lawns but heard they are a real hassle in practice. And then
there's wild thyme that apparently can make a lawn. A lawn that is fragrant
and does not actually need mowing or much in the way of maintenance could be
a very good thing.

Another complication is I need some shrubs that reach 6ft to grow at the rear
and sides so that there is some visual screening. Something that does not go
totally bare in winter would be handy, but I don't want a row of boring
pointy conifers!

So I thought I'd ask for any suggestions for plants, and for getting the
further info I need to do this. Gardening books that focus on small, city,
semi-natural, cottage or low-maintenance gardens or plant characteristics
would be helpful. There are a lot of books out there and my guess is that as
with other areas, only a few of these books will really stand out. If you
know of any books that you think are really good that would be useful for my
situation, do please let me know!

If you know of any good web sites or mail order suppliers that would be
useful (I know about Crocus already) then please let me know!

Ditto if you know of any shrubs for visual screening or any other plants that
you think are a really good idea. Many thanks for any suggestions.

--
VX (remove alcohol for email)

"VX" wrote in message
s.com...
Hi- it looks like I will shortly have my first garden- I'm doing a council
flat exchange and gaining a city garden in the process. Its small (roughly
30" x 20") and with nothing much actually growing there- it hasn't been
tended for a long time. Gets a fair bit of sun though. Someone has hacked the
weed jungle back to ground level recently, revealing some rather nice moss in
large patches. Its a smallish lawn (rough) surrounded by the vestigial
remains of what was once a rectangular flower bed around it on three sides.

I do know a bit about gardening but my experience was long ago-now I'm middle
aged and with enough of a disability to not be able to do anything remotely
like normal garden maintenance.

I know of the concept of the low maintenance garden and if I can get someone
to dig it all for me and maybe plant some shrubs and ground cover plants, it
can be very low maintenance. My plan is to buy one of those calor-gas-fired
weed burning appliances that you can use to burn weeds at ground level
without bending and just zap what shouldn't be there maybe once a week or so
and let the things that should be there grow. its crude but it may do the
trick.

I have the idea that I can try to incorporate some of my favourite plants;
old-type (in appearance anyway) roses with a scent, phlox and stuff like
that. Its similar to a cottage garden idea but with some deliberate ground
cover planting. I think I can stake a few plants when needed- maybe even
divide the occasional clump of perennials- what i can't do is potter around
doing a few hours maintenance per week. A few minutes per week is more like
it.

There is a lawn, sort of. Not healthy but its there. The problem is- do I
keep a grass lawn and then somehow mow it regularly in summer (maybe I could
actually use a hover-type mower myself if it is relatively effortless) or is
there another plant that can be a real lawn substitute? I've heard about
chamomile lawns but heard they are a real hassle in practice. And then
there's wild thyme that apparently can make a lawn. A lawn that is fragrant
and does not actually need mowing or much in the way of maintenance could be
a very good thing.

Another complication is I need some shrubs that reach 6ft to grow at the rear
and sides so that there is some visual screening. Something that does not go
totally bare in winter would be handy, but I don't want a row of boring
pointy conifers!

So I thought I'd ask for any suggestions for plants, and for getting the
further info I need to do this. Gardening books that focus on small, city,
semi-natural, cottage or low-maintenance gardens or plant characteristics
would be helpful. There are a lot of books out there and my guess is that as
with other areas, only a few of these books will really stand out. If you
know of any books that you think are really good that would be useful for my
situation, do please let me know!

If you know of any good web sites or mail order suppliers that would be
useful (I know about Crocus already) then please let me know!

Ditto if you know of any shrubs for visual screening or any other plants that
you think are a really good idea. Many thanks for any suggestions.
VX (remove alcohol for email)

Interesting project :~))

If your disability involves not being able to bend much, then raised beds are a
solution. You'd have to get someone to make them for you.

Why have grass? Why not paving, gravel or even decking? Much easier to maintain
:~)

I've lots of links for roof gardens on my homepage www.up.to/tiberias.nl
Lots of the things there apply to small gardens too.

As for screening. You could go for ivy over some trellis or wires. Makes a good
evergreen screen and can be pruned to keep it in check.

Bamboo or grasses are also an option:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plant..._grasses.shtml

I'm sure other URGlers will have even more suggestion for you :~)
Jenny

On Sat, 15 Jan 2005 16:00:44 +0000, JennyC wrote
(in message ):

Interesting project :~))

If your disability involves not being able to bend much, then raised beds
are a
solution. You'd have to get someone to make them for you.

Thanks for the idea. I'm not sure how well that would fit into the existing
space but its worth thinking about.

Why have grass? Why not paving, gravel or even decking? Much easier to
maintain

Ah yes. And I really like paving...

I've lots of links for roof gardens on my homepage www.up.to/tiberias.nl
Lots of the things there apply to small gardens too.

Ok, thanks.

As for screening. You could go for ivy over some trellis or wires. Makes a
good
evergreen screen and can be pruned to keep it in check.

Bamboo or grasses are also an option:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plant..._grasses.shtml

I'm sure other URGlers will have even more suggestion for you :~)
Jenny

Thanks for the ideas!


--
VX (remove alcohol for email)

On Sat, 15 Jan 2005 19:35:22 +0000, Janet Baraclough wrote
(in message ):

. My plan is to buy one of those calor-gas-fired
weed burning appliances that you can use to burn weeds at ground level
without bending and just zap what shouldn't be there maybe once a week
or so
and let the things that should be there grow. its crude but it may do the
trick.

Save your money. They really aren't good for maintenance between
plants you want to save, unless it's field rows. The gas-canisters don't
last long enough either. If you can't bend, you'd do better to use some
kind of contact weed-wand.

Ok. That's certainly worth knowing! I've never heard of contact weed-wands-
are there any specific models, makes or web sites you can think of that i
could look for?

I recommend Geoff Hamilton's book "Paradise Gardens". He was a great
gardener, a great teacher, and it focuses on a smallish garden he
created as a "sampler". Full of reliable, easy to understand practical
advice, plant suggestions, great pictures etc. It's available 2nd hand,
or good libraries would probably have access to a copy.

Ok. I've ordered a used copy from Amazon. Plus I've also ordered both vols 1
and 2 of How to be a Gardener by Titchmarsh, used. That lot should get me
started!

Don't assume that hover mowers are easier to shove around than other
sorts..the exact opposite is true imho. If you were doing it yourself it
would take much longer than your few minutes a week, and you'd need to
be able to get down and scrape clean the underneath after nearly every
use.

Hmmm. Aaaarrrgggh!

In your situation I'd have areas of slip-resist paving laid instead of
lawn....doesn't commit you to a central rectangle or mowable shape! You
can leave gaps for beds wherever you like.No maintenance, can be walked
on all year round, a safe firm base for seats or table or mobility aids
and makes a great foil to plants. Although it's initially more expensive
than having a lawn laid, you'd be saving the (high) longterm expense of
paying someone to mow grass year after year.

Now that is a good idea. I've always liked paved gardens (preferably walled
also, but never mind). I can certainly use the paving idea.

You could also invest in some tallish containers to place here and there
on the paving, in which, with a few minutes per week available, you can
grow some herbs or seasonal interest annuals/bulbs, within easier reach.
(Stewart Plastics now do some large urns, very convincing terracotta
lookalikes which are easy to move while empty, and not expensive). Or
fill one with water as a mini-pond. In the rest of the ground-level
planting spaces left , I'd grow the kind of strong, hardy, shapely
weed-smothering plants which look good all year round and need only
minimal maintenance, perhaps once a year. Examples are, rugosa roses
(double-flower forms for scent; will reach 5 to 6 ft ) hebes, phormium,
tall clumping grasses, fatsia japonica, lavenders, rosemary, dianthus.
For a fast-growing 6 to 8 ft once-a year-maintenance screen at
boundaries, you can't beat buddliea davidii. If your soil is not limey,
japanese azaleas and camellias make an attractive evergreen shape with
beautiful flowers. While the plants are filling out, have some bark
mulch spread on the soil to keep weeds down.

This kind of garden, once it was set up, could be easily managed by
having a friend in (or paying someone) one or two days a year for
prune-and-tidy maintenance, plus some pleasurable easy short-spell
pottering by yourself.

Also, think of installing birdfeeders or a bird table..they'll give
you endless hours of pleasure even from inside the house. Find out if
there's a local garden club to join..they always welcome beginners and
are an unbeatable source of information, help, and free plants suited to
the area.

Janet.

Brilliant. Thanks!


--
VX (remove alcohol for email)

"VX" wrote in message
s.com...
On Sat, 15 Jan 2005 19:35:22 +0000, Janet Baraclough wrote
(in message ):

In your situation I'd have areas of slip-resist paving laid instead of
lawn....

Now that is a good idea. I've always liked paved gardens (preferably walled
also, but never mind). I can certainly use the paving idea.

snipped

ALL you will ever nee dto know about paving (from our own URGler........)
http://www.pavingexpert.com/index.htm

Jenny :~))

"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...
The message m
from VX contains these words:

If you can't bend, you'd do better to use some
kind of contact weed-wand.

Ok. That's certainly worth knowing! I've never heard of contact weed-wands-
are there any specific models, makes or web sites you can think of that i
could look for?

Short-reach ones are sold in garden centres for spot weed killing in
lawns; dunno about long ones. I'd probably improvise with one of those
sponge-head washing up brushed tied to a walking stick :-)

You might find it useful to look into the range of tools and aids
manufactured for special needs gardeners, and I think there's also an
advisory group with a website about gardening with various
disabilities.I remember seeing their stand at a gardening show. (Waits
for Jenny to come up with the url...)
Janet.

Found several Janet :~))
http://www.gardeningfordisabledtrust.org.uk/
http://www.fredshed.co.uk/gdt.htm
http://arthritis.about.com/od/gardening/
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...867071-8281625
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...867071-8281625
http://www.equalfuture.co.uk/ecommer...sure/Gardening

HTH Jenny