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Post by mickthecactus on Jan 29, 2015 8:36:57 GMT
There's the obvious, Camellias, climbing roses, Wisteria, Honeysuckle etc. but I'd like something different. Haven't ruled out fruit btw.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2015 16:01:35 GMT
A couple of fruit trees would be nice. You could probably try something like figs on that West-facing wall. Or an olive.
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Post by mickthecactus on Jan 29, 2015 16:55:45 GMT
I like the fig idea.
Not far from me I can but a fully grown olive tree for just £5,000.......
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Post by onlyMark on Jan 29, 2015 18:29:33 GMT
Mick! Mick! I've got about eight olive trees, full grown. You can have any of them for free.
You'll have to get them from Spain though.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2015 23:37:47 GMT
My suggestion would be to espalier some fruit trees, whether they be fig, apple, pear, or whatever your climate is most conducive to. It would allow you to have a border in the front for annuals and perennials. It's a tricky technique and does not provide the immediate gratification many people desire when they have a blank canvas to play with. It also entails hyper-vigilance along with patience for it to have the proper result/appearance but, it is such an aesthetically pleasing method of growing fruit trees, and tres elegant.
Another idea is to create a "living wall". There are some cool examples of these in a thread on here and I've seen some really cool images of some other ones online. With your penchant for succulents I envision a wall jam packed with a variety of them showcasing the many textures and different hues so many of them have.
Oh, I could go crazy with ideas had I walls to work on...
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2015 23:42:20 GMT
Sorry, casi, I never knew that word was verboten... Perhaps one day you'll trust me enough to share the trauma. Sorry, it's just that while I was "out of commission", a twenty foot long flower bed where I have my sweet peas and nasturtiums planted, cleavers took over and I have been painstakingly trying to untangle them from my "babies". They do have a gazillion medicinal values btw. I just prefer they be elsewhere.
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Post by tod2 on Jan 31, 2015 6:03:40 GMT
Mick, I think if the wall was facing north you could start a small grape vine? Does it have to face north??
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Post by bjd on Jan 31, 2015 9:20:32 GMT
Tod -- you have your hemispheres mixed up! I think in England you would need a south-facing wall to grow (and ripen) grapes.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Jan 31, 2015 19:50:05 GMT
Yep..a chap on our road has a few vines on a south facing fence and he manages to make a passable white wine with the grapes he harvests, he is in a very sheltered spot tho. I stayed at a B&B in Norfolk that has vines with the roots in the ground outside and the main body of the plant trained across the roof of a large conservatory. www.bed-breakfast-uk.com/bb-uk-nk02.htm
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2015 21:37:55 GMT
Oh yes, there is quite a renaissance of grape growing in England. Definitely! I'm picking up my grape vine soon. Muscat table grapes. We still have some land to clear before we start the vineyard.
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Post by fumobici on Feb 1, 2015 1:26:27 GMT
I was given a vine what maybe 15 years ago. It found its way up a tree and I almost completely forgot about it for some years until I saw bunches of grapes hanging well up out of my reach. The birds love them, some years it puts out lots of grapes, some years a few, and some none I can see. I think the vine is a variety called 'Interlaken', so maybe Swiss? They aren't bad, but not super either.
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Post by fumobici on Feb 1, 2015 1:39:30 GMT
Speaking of eating wine varietals, I should add if I find myself in Tuscany in the fall I'm not past stealing a small bunch of sangiovese wine grapes from the vine as a snack while hiking. Again, not a choice eating grape but still a nice refreshing nibble if thirsty. I also know a cherry orchard near Anghiari where to collect a shirtful of sweet dark cherries in summer without even leaving the white road bordering it, the branches extend to right above the ditch.
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Post by tod2 on Feb 1, 2015 10:38:16 GMT
Aah! Bjd, you are quite right of course. I recalled something about a vineyard facing north in Paris and have looked it up once again, it is Clos Montmartre. Planted in 1933 by a group of artists who knew little or nothing about viticulture, they planted the vines facing north. Not only that but they picked the first year's crop for wine making instead of waiting the required 4 years. Well, they not the only ones who got it slightly wrong as a restaurant next to my hairdresser planted 3 or 4 vines around the outdoor section, and they face South like they should up your way - doing extremely well too!
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Post by bjd on Feb 1, 2015 11:59:44 GMT
Tod, vineyards where I live don't have to face south, but in England (or Paris) they certainly should. I imagine too that your climate is generally warmer than that in England or northern France.
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Post by tod2 on Feb 1, 2015 12:49:41 GMT
Talking of vines, this past holiday I was able to indulge my taste buds after waiting 14 years, to the grapes from The Great Vine at Hampton Court Palace. I cannot describe in words how wonderful these grapes tasted but now know why. The process of producing them is very scientific and carefully planned. I feel even more privilege to have eaten them than ever before! www.hrp.org.uk/HamptonCourtPalace/stories/palacehighlights/TheGreatVine
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Post by tod2 on Feb 2, 2015 13:22:22 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2015 14:40:56 GMT
How nice that you have a gardener who can do the work for you, tod. My husband and I shoveled, sifted graded and placed about two tons of soil this weekend. We are sore.
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Post by tod2 on Feb 2, 2015 16:22:59 GMT
Yes Lizzy, we are very fortunate not only to have a gardener but to have THE BEST gardener around! He is a Rastafarian (of sorts) and does not have a lazy bone in his body. He never stops working. I inherited him from my father who in turn inherited him from my cousin who immigrated to New Zealand. My dad said to me at the time "Don't let this one get away...he is very good" He also cuts my son's grass, and helps out with my daughter-in-law's garden next door.
I am sorry you are in pain. Don't be - you need an anti-inflam to sort it. At our age there is no way in hell we could garden except plant a row of pansies maybe....
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Post by mickthecactus on Feb 3, 2015 13:21:07 GMT
Mick! Mick! I've got about eight olive trees, full grown. You can have any of them for free. You'll have to get them from Spain though. Could be tricky with Ryanair though. Can I get them in the hand luggage?
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Post by mickthecactus on Feb 3, 2015 13:23:08 GMT
Before:- After! The wall is about 45' long by 15'high at it's highest point. I also have another West facing wall - the front of the house. Not as long though but still a decent length as house sited lengthways -
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Post by mickthecactus on Feb 3, 2015 13:29:32 GMT
Excellent ideas, thanks Casimira.
I intend to use the front wall for veggies in containers. I know you can grow superb tomatoes here.
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Post by onlyMark on Feb 3, 2015 14:16:30 GMT
Probably easier if I just keep them and send you the oil.
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Post by tod2 on Feb 4, 2015 5:45:11 GMT
That's one heck of a wall Mick! I am looking forward to seeing how you improve it further.
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Post by mickthecactus on Feb 4, 2015 8:48:33 GMT
Don't expect anything too soon........
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Post by mickthecactus on Feb 4, 2015 12:31:39 GMT
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Post by tod2 on Feb 4, 2015 13:40:27 GMT
Oh that does look nice - but maybe a lot of work? And another thing...can you graft plums, apples, peaches, pears and apricots onto it Mick, what a novelty you could create with grafting!
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Feb 4, 2015 21:04:11 GMT
And so it begins.... My sister and I went to a garden centre today where I spent some of the vouchers that I've accumulated recently....I bought module seed trays, sowing compost, vermiculite (helps drainage) and seeds (beef tomato, mini cucumbers, sweetcorn, summer savoury) seed potatoes, shallot sets and 3 double begonia corms ( a lovely deep orange). It's too early for sowing here but I can start the shallots off in trays of compost and start chitting the potatoes. oh yeah....
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2015 21:05:54 GMT
I'm envious! Could you start the tomatoes and cucumbers as well?
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Feb 4, 2015 21:37:33 GMT
It's too early here Lizzy...even with a heated propagator. The problem here is day length more than anything, in my experience early to mid March is the best time for sowing indoors in the east midlands.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2015 22:16:31 GMT
Aha. I've never done my own tomatoes (a few years off from that, I always buy the starts).
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