Rocky corner flowering plants

[Mike Batho]

Hi.

We have a long, wide border outside of our flat which is ours to plant up, which we do every year and it always looks very nice.

At the far end, in between some small shrubs and a large conifer there's a space of about 1m, which always looks a little untidy.

I put an ad on Gumtree and a very kind local chap donated some nice stones from his rockery, and it's my aim to make my own mini one to fill that space, but I've no idea about plants.

Ideally we're after plants that will offer colour and spread like crazy - totally happy for the plants there to take over. They'll be going into generic garden centre compost.

I was thinking of popping in a few Lobelia, which are a failsafe of ours, but any other suggestions would be very welcome.

We replant the entire bed each spring, so annuals would be fine, but happy to leave any perennials in that would survive winter.

All need to be non-toxic to pets.

Thanks.

 

[alp]

Aubretia,

alyssum,
vinca minor atropurpurea

 

[Mike Batho]

Great suggestions, thanks

 

[Mike Batho]

Also.... bit of an add-on question. I think this little container is brilliant. Can someone please tell me the plants? Thanks.

 

[alp]

The green one Dianthus Green Trick and the little white ones Erigeron karvinskianus

 

[Mike Batho]

Hmm. Looks like I'm going to have to buy the Dianthus online. Wyevale keep the Erigeron but it's in 1L tubs. Is there any way of dividing one tub into two or three clusters? The container I'm aiming to fill isn't large enough to go around the rim with 1L plants, and plus there's the cost....

 

[alp]

Sarah Raven also does a delightful Euphorbia Diamond Frost which will go nicely with these. But she is frightfully expensive. You can get a £5 voucher if you get their catalogue.

Wyevale had a delightful Brachycombe which I was trying to raise from seeds. They turned out to the a spiky weed, Weed with spiky bit at the fringe of the leaves. I thought the first one was an accident, so I removed it, then another one wanted to say hello to me.


This one! I am so annoyed.

 

[Mike Batho]

Hi everyone.

Well I have to say, my little 1m square rockery (maybe ever smaller) has been a total success. I'm still meaning to post a pic at some point, it might not look like much but it's really tidied up that end of the bed.

Less successful have been many of the main bedding plants. We've had a real slug problem which I've been trying to hammer with beer traps and now Nematodes, but the marigolds? Forget it. Most of the violas have bitten the dust as well.

The in-laws thankfully brought us a load more plants to put out, so I've potted them and just set them on the gravel in the spots where former plants have died, but we still have a few spaces to fill. (our raised bed has weed issues so we put down a membrane on top of the earth, cut holes and planted through, and gravelled between the plants.)

So what we're looking for now - if you'd like to make some suggestions:

Pet (cat) friendly, so non toxic plants that will give us a lot of summer colour as late as possible, hardy and happy in pots - colour wise, orange - apricot & yellow only (we're a bit snowed under with blues pinks & purples)

Any ideas? We'll be looking at 23cm terracotta bowl planters.

Cheers.

 

[Mike Batho]

Wee rockery. Easily the healthiest bit of our little garden. Can't even see the rocks now

 

[Mike Batho]

Brand new question.

Deadheading. We have a couple of Senetti plants, the bright purple ones, and a similar yellow plant ( possibly not Senetti though) and all of the blooms have died off already.

Also, our beloved Erysimum wallflowers, two out of four have also lost their flowers. They're large specimens, covered in seed pods - but the blooms have vanished. They don't die on the plant like other flowers, they just seem to vanish.

I've deadheaded the Senetti.... thinking about cutting back the wallflowers.

At this point is deadheading just maintenance or is there a chance that cutting back and dead heading might result in a further bloom this summer?

It feels very early i the year to be giving up on these plants blooming....

Thanks.