The garden from scratch

List of plants I already have. Again I’ll update as and when I remember thing or when I acquire from the list above.

Climbers
Honeysuckle
Everlasting sweet pea 
Climbing rose
Black eyed Susan 
Clematis

Shrubs
Hydrangea
Holly
Buddleia ( purple/ dark purple/ orange / white) 
Red & Black currant 
Azalea (red, early)
Fuchsia
Black elderberry (Sambucus nigra) 
Camellia 
Physocarpus
Forsythia 

Bulbs / tubers 
Daffodils 
Grape hyacinth 
Tulips
Gladioli 
Snowdrops
Snakes head fertility
Polianthes tuberosa The Pearl
Peony 
Day lily 
Alliums 

Herbs
Sage
Rosemary 
Chives
Garlic chives 
Mint (9 varieties)
Thyme (4 varieties)
Oregano (2 varieties)
Marjoram 
Hyssop 



Trees
Pink rowan 
Willow 
Chilean lantern tree

Everything else 
Red hot poker
Iris
Lupin
Hardy geranium 
Wild bergamot 
Meadow sweet
Scabious (Devil’s bit, white, Macedonian) 
Lavender 
Golden spirea
Veronica gentianoides
Dicentra Stuart boothman
Autumn joy sedum
Rudbeckia
Sea holly
Bugle
Verbena bonariensis
Achillea
Orange hawkbit
Enchinacea
Crazy daisy chrysanthemum
Aquilegia
Musk mallow
Honesty
Delphinium 
Sedum
Aubrietia
Salvia nemorosa
Moss rose purslane
Rose campion
Dierama (Angeles fishing rod)
Penstemon apple blossom
Dahlia honka 
Agastache (orange salvia )
Cardoon 

Lots of annuals (in seed packets)
Lots of cuttings from things. Don’t know what. (I’ll be getting your help to ID them later in the year)

Water supply is coming from the burn up the hill a bit . It will run through a pipe eventually. All we’ve put in place so far is the flow through filter tank. The blue line is a ditch we dug, trying to help dry out the bottom of the plot. We’re getting it dug deeper & wider as it definitely seems to help and has constant running water. It runs into the burn that runs down the side of the plot.  I was thinking flag iris . We’ve got lots growing here. I’ll collect seeds from them this year.

Flags spread like the devil once they get established and will quickly clog up a pond or ditch. I would steer clear of them. Especially if the ditch empties into the burn. You don't want to add invasive plants to the local waterway.

Ideas for the layout of my polytunnels. None of them are to scale. No real need to tell you that. It’s screamingly obvious when you see my drawings.

First tunnel. I’m thinking like this .

   

The raised beds will be like the photo in post #29 (page 3 ). Probably 3 high ( photo is 2 high) . I’m not sure if I’m going to keep the bench full length or half it and have more space for pots & fish boxes. I was thinking if I have a couple of solid covers/lids made for the raised beds. That would make up for the loss of bench space. I only really need that much bench space at sowing time , when the beds aren’t in use. 

Little tunnel I’m thinking. Like this.

   

Depending where the tunnel actually sits on the plot and how wet the ground is the raise bed might be straight into the ground. At the moment this is an unknown. However it gets built it’ll be for my asparagus. So it can go up tight against the tunnel because it’ll never get dug over and have compost getting stuck between tunnel & bed ( an infuriating issue I presently have) . The bath will be used as it is now, for either carrots or courgette bed. Bench again as now, for random stuff I wasn’t planning on growing or spare stuff that you just can’t compost. Width of the shelving will be reduced from what it is now. But it will still be home to my carrot buckets. 

Big tunnel. Complete remodelling ! I’m thinking at the moment.

   

Instead of getting a new cover when it moves, get a net cover and just have 3 raised beds for brassica & maybe fruit.
Main reasons for this is 1, wanted the ability to cover some of the brassica for ages. 2, a net cover would be less of a draw on the eye?

Next time you lot have a job you want to avoid or the weather is horrible so you can’t go and play out   . 
Would you mind going through my lists of wanted and already have plants please. Let me know if I’ve missed anything that should really be included or if any areas are lacking. 
Do I have a good enough range in height difference? Do I have enough gap fillers? Do I have a good range of colours? Do I have enough things flowering in all seasons? 

I’m still waiting to see if a few things have survived the winter before I add them to my list.

Plants I like that may not be on your lists are:-
Sweet Rocket - Hesperis matronalis
Verbena Bonariensis
Big tall daisies - white and yellow ones.
Foxglove
Poppies - all sorts
Primroses/Cowslips
Sea thrift/Armeria

Sweet Rocket - Hesperis matronalis  need to look that up
Verbena Bonariensis got seedlings coming on in the tunnel 
Big tall daisies - white and yellow ones. Thank you I forgot to add oxeye & crazy daisies to my wanted list 
Foxglove seedlings coming on 
Poppies - all sorts lots of seeds waiting in the wings
Primroses/Cowslips another one I forgot to mention & I need cowslip 
Sea thrift/Armeria I’ll collect seeds off the ones growing around the loch .


Thank you veggie 

I find Doronicum give a bright yellow flash at this time of year.

Plants that I find are work horses:

Verbena rigida - this flowers for so long. Easy to take cuttings from and you can overwinter the cutting ready to plant out the following year. I find this makes good use of my greenhouse over winter.

Same as nepeta. I took maybe 20 cuttings last year - planted out about a dozen and dropped off a few to my neighbour already.

For late summer/early autumn colour I really like heleniums, sedum spectabile and perennial rudbeckia. In summer: echiums, fennel, sea holly, anise hyssop, scabious and salvias. Flowering now I like aubrieta, snake's head fritillary and alyssum saxatilis.

I had to google some of them. Some of them are going on my wanted list. Helenium are beautiful.