I am not quite sure what label to give this garden and in a moment you may be able to share my dilemma.
This garden really is a huge rectangle. Not too narrow and probably several hundred feet long. It has recently been split in half by installing a half height fence around the front half; the owners have added a puppy to their family and pup was forever trying to escape.
The fenced in part has already had a few roses added last winter and some planting happened this Spring. The bulk will happen later this week when my autumn plant order arrives. Pictures to follow when the job is done.
Beyond the fence, this is the view that greets me:
The canopy of many trees and shrubs would make this into a woodland type garden. I have to overlook the badly pruned shrubs as this can be rectified in good time.
In my mind I can picture this as an enchanted fairyland, insects dancing in the dappled light and fairies playing hide and seek between large specimen shrubs. The ground would encourage the visitor to walk on, so leafmould will play a part, maybe chippings, too. There will be fragrance from the shrubs, so this should be a little hideaway for inquisitive children or romantic parents.
Am I being optimistic? Too romantic? I'm afraid, I may be because on closer inspection and casting my eyes down rather than up and ahead I saw this:
Not only do I find brambles along the sides and stinging nettles in patches, groundelder makes an "excellent" groundcover and look at all these seedheads! There'll be plenty more next year.
Some time ago I came across an American gardenforum that extolled the virtues of groundelder and it seems to have some serious fans across the pond. Each to their own, I think. It is an invasive weed to most of us in the UK and whilst not unattractive in itself its smothering ways make sure that nothing else can flourish.
Apparently the client has sprayed it several times before but obviously not thoroughly enough and not repeated enough. I have had the doubtful pleasure of meeting groundelder is several gardens and have had most success with digging it up, digging a second and sometimes a third time before I can declare a site safe to replant.
For this garden with the seed pods already ripe and splitting, I think it will be a case of digging now, then digging again when new plantlets appear and then revisiting in April when the seeds have germinated to repeat. Planting earliest next autumn, avoiding dry soil conditions in summer.
I'll be interested to see what you make of this project and also what label I should give to it. If you have experience of groundelder and would like to share, I am happy to hear from you, too.
Edited to say that this is now the mystery garden.
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