Outdoor planting

Steve Cook

Flying Squad
Cheers for the new forum area Guv :thumbs:
Thought it might be a good idea for us outdoor types to show examples of the plants we've used in the garden so that others can make a call on whether they would suit their own garden lines (or planks :laugh: )

First type of plant i put in the garden was Lonicera Nitida, a shrub from the honeysuckle family. Bought from the local garden centre at 5 for ?20.

[attachment=3:368ugsw4]Lonicera Nitida planted.JPG[/attachment:368ugsw4]

They've been in for just under a year now, and currently look like this

[attachment=2:368ugsw4]Lonicera Nitida growth.JPG[/attachment:368ugsw4]

They've filled up the area under the line nicely and are currently fighting to see who can grow the quickest :thumbs: The only downside is that they seem to smell lightly of wee when trimmed, but the smell doesn't hang around for long :oops: Won't be long before I have to start trimming the plants in front of the line to create an embankment , I'm hoping to get some more height out of the plants behind the line.

In terms of trying create an embankment, I've also planted some Box. Its much slower growing, so will take longer to reach the trackbed, but will hopefully take less trimming when it gets there....

12 little plants go in
[attachment=1:368ugsw4]Box planted.JPG[/attachment:368ugsw4]

And 12 not so little plants after a year
[attachment=0:368ugsw4]Box growth.JPG[/attachment:368ugsw4]

Top right of the above picture shows some Sweet Pea plants, growing like nuts, but only last a year. We shall see if they were worth the ?2 :D
The honeysuckle in the top left of that picture isn't as dense as I would like, but does stay green throughout the year, masking some of the fence.
The only treatment any of the plants have had is a water with miracle grow every three weeks or so during spring and summer.

Steve

Oh, incidently, the rail height in the pictures is roughly 20" above the top of the soil for to give you some idea of the relative sizes.
 

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Phill Dyson

Western Thunderer
Hi Steve :wave:
Some good choices there :D , is Lonicera Nitida otherwise known as Beggars Gold ? , it looks very similar to my Beggars Gold which is the best plant I have come across for growing under raised sections :thumbs: , I'm a lot less enthusiastic about Box though I'm afraid, it takes for ever to grow & is quite expensive, I have some too & it looks quite nice now but has taken a very long time to get there :) .
I will take some pics of my plantings when the weather is nicer & add them to this thread :thumbs:

Cheers Phill :wave:
 

Steve Cook

Flying Squad
Hi Phill :wave:

Phill Dyson said:
Hi Steve :wave:
Some good choices there :D , is Lonicera Nitida otherwise known as Beggars Gold ? , it looks very similar to my Beggars Gold which is the best plant I have come across for growing under raised sections :thumbs:

I'm not sure to be honest Phill :scratch: I've tried Googling 'Beggars Gold', but haven't turned up anything plant like at all for comparison. Certainly seems to grow enthusiastically enough though :thumbs:

I'm a lot less enthusiastic about Box though I'm afraid, it takes for ever to grow & is quite expensive, I have some too & it looks quite nice now but has taken a very long time to get there :) .

I'm agreement with you there Phill :D Thought it was worth a try, but wouldn't use it again (unless I was going to have the line for a very long time!).

I will take some pics of my plantings when the weather is nicer & add them to this thread :thumbs:
Top man :thumbs: There are some corkers in your garden which I'd like to use :lol:

Steve
 

Steve Cook

Flying Squad
Steve Cook said:
Hi Phill :wave:

[quote=""Phill Dyson"":2eknbmmm]Hi Steve :wave:
Some good choices there :D , is Lonicera Nitida otherwise known as Beggars Gold ? , it looks very similar to my Beggars Gold which is the best plant I have come across for growing under raised sections :thumbs:

I'm not sure to be honest Phill :scratch: I've tried Googling 'Beggars Gold', but haven't turned up anything plant like at all for comparison. Certainly seems to grow enthusiastically enough though :thumbs: [/quote:2eknbmmm]

Phill - you couldn't have meant Baggensen's Gold could you? If so, they are one and the same :thumbs:

Steve
 

Phill Dyson

Western Thunderer
Steve Cook said:
Phill - you couldn't have meant Baggensen's Gold could you? If so, they are one and the same :thumbs:

Steve
Yes I must have got the name wrong :oops: , If you dip some of your clippings in water & then dip them in rooting powder & plant them straight into the garden , you should end up with a few more plants for free :thumbs: . There is also a darker green version of this plant which would be worth trying too.......I'm afraid I don't know the proper name of that one either :oops: :laugh:

Phill :wave:
 

Steve Cook

Flying Squad
Phill Dyson said:
Yes I must have got the name wrong :oops: , If you dip some of your clippings in water & then dip them in rooting powder & plant them straight into the garden , you should end up with a few more plants for free :thumbs: . There is also a darker green version of this plant which would be worth trying too.......I'm afraid I don't know the proper name of that one either :oops: :laugh:

Phill :wave:

Cheers Phill :thumbs: Thats a great idea and something I knew nothing about, will certainly help to save some pennies :D The question is, am I brave enough to face a garden centre on a Bank Holiday Monday :lol:

Steve
 

Phill Dyson

Western Thunderer
Steve Cook said:
The question is, am I brave enough to face a garden centre on a Bank Holiday Monday :lol:

Steve
:lol: I went yesterday & got eight dwarf conifers & some Thyme for a bit of woodland approaching the tunnel on my line :D

Phill :wave:
 

Phill Dyson

Western Thunderer
Steve Cook said:
[quote=""Phill Dyson"":1q30mi2m] If you dip some of your clippings in water & then dip them in rooting powder & plant them straight into the garden , you should end up with a few more plants for free :thumbs:
Phill :wave:

Cheers Phill :thumbs: Thats a great idea and something I knew nothing about, will certainly help to save some pennies :D

Steve[/quote:1q30mi2m]
No problem Steve :D . I pick the leaves off about the couple of inches of the clipping, I then dip the end in water & then the rooting powder, I then poke a hole in the soil & plant them in it. I have no idea if this is the correct technique :laugh: , but I seem to get about 50% to 75% success rate with them, so it's well worth the effort when the clippings would otherwise go in the recycle bin :thumbs:

Phill :wave:
 

Steve Cook

Flying Squad
Phill Dyson said:
[quote=""Steve Cook"":2b2dg8aj] The question is, am I brave enough to face a garden centre on a Bank Holiday Monday :lol:

Steve
:lol: I went yesterday & got eight dwarf conifers & some Thyme for a bit of woodland approaching the tunnel on my line :D

Phill :wave:[/quote:2b2dg8aj]
Cool :D I've toying with the idea of conifers too, but I'm a bit concerned about the amount of sunlight they will get...parts of my garden don't actually get any direct sunlight for 8 months of the year :headbang:

Pictures? ;)

Steve
 

Steve Cook

Flying Squad
Phill Dyson said:
No problem Steve :D . I pick the leaves off about the couple of inches of the clipping, I then dip the end in water & then the rooting powder, I then poke a hole in the soil & plant them in it. I have no idea if this is the correct technique :laugh: , but I seem to get about 50% to 75% success rate with them, so it's well worth the effort when the clippings would otherwise go in the recycle bin :thumbs:

Phill :wave:
Ta Phill :thumbs: Weather forecast is for rain here at lunchtime, so might have to venture out to get some powder and have a go at being a 'proper gardener' :lol:

Steve
 

Phill Dyson

Western Thunderer
Steve Cook said:
Cool :D I've toying with the idea of conifers too, but I'm a bit concerned about the amount of sunlight they will get...parts of my garden don't actually get any direct sunlight for 8 months of the year :headbang:

Pictures? ;)

Steve
Hi Steve,
this is the area near the tunnel where I want to create a woodland feel, they will grow a quite a bit bigger hence the spacing & distance from the track ;) , but they will be kept pruned to about 1 foot high to hopefully look like mature 7 mm trees :D , the Thyme(can just be seen in the L/H side of the pic ) should give some nice ground cover & contrast with the two types of New Zealand Burr already providing ground cover in other areas of the pics (I do hate to see bare soil on my line ;) ).

[attachment=1:17stgfuf]XL803928.JPG[/attachment:17stgfuf]

[attachment=0:17stgfuf]XL803930.JPG[/attachment:17stgfuf]

BTW this is in the shady area, but I think they will do OK :)

Cheers Phill :wave:
 

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Phill Dyson

Western Thunderer
Here's a few more pics showing more mature plants, I have used Dwarf Hebe's to suggest clumps of trees & Dwarf Connifers to suggest individual mature trees & all the ground cover is New Zealand Burr. The temporary fence is there to stop the kids taking short cuts from the bridge straight across the plants :rolleyes: :lol:

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Cheers Phill :thumbs:
 

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Phill Dyson

Western Thunderer
...........& finally here is a pic of the raised section which uses Box & Baggensens Gold :thumbs:

[attachment=0:5cojx77f]XL803933.JPG[/attachment:5cojx77f]

Phill :wave:
 

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Steve Cook

Flying Squad
Thanks for posting up some pics Phill :thumbs:

Your line looks fantastic with all of the mature shrubs and bushes around - how long has it taken to become that well embedded if you don't me asking?

I'm pleased you mentioned New Zealand Burr though, I really like the look of that and fancy trying some out around my line having seen yours :D

I'll keep my fingers crossed for the conifers in the shady bit ;) :D

Steve
 

Simon

Flying Squad
Yes, thank you very much from me too, that is both inspiring and informative :thumbs:

Your railway looks very well and skillfully integrated into nature and your lovely garden - hopefully you will inspire me to keep going with mine, at the moment the currently raw and "builders yard" nature of my project is testing my nerve somewhat :|

Your Withercombe Line has to be one of the most striking and best garden layouts that I have come across Phill, easily on a par with Alan Brakenborough's in my opinion :bowdown: :bowdown:
 

Phill Dyson

Western Thunderer
Thanks for the kind comments Steve & Simon :D , I look at my line & it's shortcomings :oops: :) .......... I have arrived at the plants I use after many experiments/mistakes :laugh: . It took about 2 years for the plants to really get established, although it didn't look too bad at the end of the first summer as New Zealand Burr doesn't need too much encouragement to spread(just water it every day until established), the lighter green NZB in the pic below hugs the ground much closer but is a little slower to spread than the darker coloured NZB in the second pic, but the darker coloured NZB tends to grow about 2 or 3 inches tall, but I just trim it down with the garden strimmer to keep it lower, I also use the strimmer to keep the plants off the permanent way ( it only takes 5-10 mins to do both on the whole line) :D

[attachment=1:39nv9u9r]XL803930.JPG[/attachment:39nv9u9r]

[attachment=0:39nv9u9r]XL803939.JPG[/attachment:39nv9u9r]

Cheers Phill :wave:
 

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40126

Western Thunderer
Hi Phill,

So if you want a good outside railway, You have to be into gardening aswell ??.  ;D
From your pics, looks like youve took alot of time in the garden to get the look right. I'm so looking forward to seeing it with my own eyes  :wave:

Steve  :thumbs:
 

Phill Dyson

Western Thunderer
40126 said:
Hi Phill,

So if you want a good outside railway, You have to be into gardening aswell ??.  ;D
From your pics, looks like youve took alot of time in the garden to get the look right

Steve  :thumbs:

I'm not really a gardener as such  Steve, but I did want my railway as much as possible to run in a scale landscape. I do like designing the garden & landscaping it though as I wanted the railway to be an integral part of a family garden & not just plonked there  :scratch:

Phill  :wave:
 

40126

Western Thunderer
Phill Dyson said:
I'm not really a gardener as such  Steve, but I did want my railway as much as possible to run in a scale landscape. I do like designing the garden & landscaping it though as I wanted the railway to be an integral part of a family garden & not just plonked there  :scratch:

Phill  :wave:

Thats what i want mine to be like. But my present garden is too small. I'm gonna start off in the garage (already had permission off the boss  :thumbs: :thumbs:), then maybe if we move house in the future, it has to have a railway friendly garden !!  :))

Steve  :thumbs:
 
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