Please ignore - posted in the wrong category and now cannot delete!
cashiernumbernine
Posts: 6
Hello everyone,
*** I am editing this because I have only just realised this post should perhaps be in 'Garden Design' - very sorry - this is my first time using the forum and as I understand it I now can't delete this/repost.
I am new to gardening and because my back garden is entirely covered in slabs I thought I would remove some to create some sort of a border and plant flowers:
I have lifted the slabs to find lots of roots (I believe ) that are quite strong. How can I control/ get rid of these? They seem to run throughout the whole garden:
There are also lots of stones and sand from where the slabs were put down.
I am not sure what type of soil is underneath. There seems to be a lot of sand mixed in from where the slabs were laid, and quite a lot of small stones.
This was quite impulsive and now I feel rather lost! Any advice on what I need to do to fix up this area to start planting? What would I need to lay down and how?
*** I am editing this because I have only just realised this post should perhaps be in 'Garden Design' - very sorry - this is my first time using the forum and as I understand it I now can't delete this/repost.
I am new to gardening and because my back garden is entirely covered in slabs I thought I would remove some to create some sort of a border and plant flowers:
I have lifted the slabs to find lots of roots (I believe ) that are quite strong. How can I control/ get rid of these? They seem to run throughout the whole garden:
There are also lots of stones and sand from where the slabs were put down.
I am not sure what type of soil is underneath. There seems to be a lot of sand mixed in from where the slabs were laid, and quite a lot of small stones.
This was quite impulsive and now I feel rather lost! Any advice on what I need to do to fix up this area to start planting? What would I need to lay down and how?
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Posts
Nice that you are returning some of the hard landscaping to green space. You may find the beds a little narrow but that will largely depend on what you intend to plant. The soil doesn’t look too bad but I would get some organic matter or compost mixed in there to improve the quality. You could put down a landscape fabric and plant through that which would (hopefully) stop any unwanted growth from your root network.
I agree with @Ladybird4 bird about not planting anything precious till any of those roots that are left produce some foliage to confirm their ID. I also agree with @Dave Humby about narrow borders being harder for plants and design.
Great that the slabs are coming up. The soil thus exposed will benefit greatly from having some well-rotted manure worked in to improve texture, fertility and increase micro-organisms and worm life which will benefit plants.
Yes @Ladybird4 I think you're right because someone has identified these as bindweed ('a plague' apparently) and now I'm terrified of how I'm going to stop the growth! They may be correct as my neighbour in the next house but one has a garden full of bindweed. Nightmare! But yes, as you and @Obelixx have suggested I will wait for some growth to see what I'm dealing with before doing anything.
I know there are a lot of concerns about glyphosate (some countries have banned its use by amateur gardeners and I believe some have banned it totally) ... in fact I am so concerned about it that we make all our own bread from organic flour as some non-organic farmers routinely spray their fields with glyphosate to hasten the ripening of the grain.
However my personal opinion is that there are a few instances where careful and targeted use of glyphosate has a place and the sort of practice I describe in my first paragraph, I believe is one of them. I would stress that the chemical should be applied to the leaves only and not sprayed around the plants and on the ground.