by Langdon gardener, Gail
Last year in one of my bored moments I decided it would be a great idea to create a Cut Flower Border. Needless to say this involved Brian constructing two raised beds in the midst of 101 others tasks he had to do!
Spring 2022 - New beds just made
The idea came because Sally was developing a beautiful walled produce garden and it just needed to be grounded into the bigger picture. Two raised beds at the entrance of the arch provide a link with the rest of the garden. It would also provide flowers for various events taking place at Langdon.
Last year the beds were filled quickly by dividing plants from my own garden and Langdon. It was actually very successful, providing colour, scent and a haven for bees for months on end. The rabbits particularly enjoyed burrowing under the two David Austin climbing roses! Despite this they are flourishing.
Cosmos and Zinnias grew really well
An experiment for 2023
This year there is time to review, organise and plan. I have decided to experiment to try and find the most growing-effective and cost-effective way of filling these beds. In one bed plug plants are being used. These are bought when there are really good offers in various gardening magazines. It takes the risk of 'will they or won’t they' out of the equation.......in theory.
Plug plants in this bed...
The rabbits have already had a feast on the Achillea (Yarrow) and removed any signs of their existence. The have also dug up some of the coreopsis and astrantia.
10/10 for effort!
The other bed is from seed including clarkia, cornflower, calendula, amni majus, candytuft and larkspur. It will be interesting to see how they compare.
...and from seed in this bed.