At this point, we can skip straight to the fun bit where the garden starts to take shape almost straightaway as we were starting from a blank canvas (cleared ground). You may recall we engaged a local landscaper to do the really hard work of clearing all the unwanted plants and weeds, leaving just a trimmed back red robin (photinia). For a re-cap you can read the original blog here.
Our first job was to dig a trench, about 6 inches wide and as long as we wanted our box hedge (buxus sempervirens) to be. To keep the trench straight it's best to plant a stake at either end and tie string between them so you can keep a guide. Another tip is to dig the trench and then leave it a week or so - that way any perennial weeds missed in the initial clearing will have sufficient time to come back and you can remove them, roots and all, then.
Once we knew where our land borders were and dug the trench we then laid out the weed membrane that was going down over the bare ground. In our case we were having stone chippings everywhere, using the buxus as a border between the garden and next door/the pavement.
With the membrane laid out we then had to lay out the buxus plants. When laying out the membrane be sure to cover the entirety of the area to be covered in stone/chippings, even if you intend to have plants "popping up" through the stones - I'll explain how to install these plants later. For our plot, this includes the space taken up by the newly dug trench.
We opted for small plantings as the cost of these for the length of hedge we wanted was cheaper than the large or even the medium-sized plantings so keep costs down we opted to play the long game, although this does mean it will take longer to achieve a recognisable "hedge".
Small buxus plants need to be spaced about 6 inches apart - it's best to do this before planting them so you know how many you have and have time to pop out and grab some more if you're a few short. Move the sticks and string so the string now passes above roughly the middle of the trench. Hopefully the hedge will spread out evenly so a slightly misaligned base won't much be noticed, but it's best to start as even as possible.
Adding a layer of peat-free compost to the bottom of the trench, you can then start planting! Add each plant to the trench, adding in more peat-free compost and top soil and firming in arounf the roots so the soil comes up to the bottom branch of the plant. Once all plants are in, water well. You'll need to continue watering well for a couple of weeks while the roots establish themselves in the soil. After this rain water will be sufficient.
Now the plants in it time to pull the weed membrane into position. Obviously it would no longer come all the way the pavement as there is a small hedgerow inconveniently in the way. Cut the membrane from the edge towards the plant stem but no further. Doing this all the way along should allow you to pull the membrane down and up to the pavement.
Now the membrane is in place you can start laying the stones. Don't be delicate about this - just empty the bags over the membrane and drag the stones into position with your hands (wear gloves!). If you've bought a builders bag of stones, just slice the bottom open with a knife and let them pour out - decanting a big bag of stones with a shovel will be like digging into slightly loose concrete! Once the stones are down cut away the excess membrane along the edges. Yes weeds may come up here but they're likely to come up anywhere there's a membrane overlap and you can easily deal with these as they come through.
Now, say you want to plant something in the middle of the membrane? This is actually relatively simple considering the effect it can have. Clear the stones away from the area you want your plant to "pop out" of. Then, cut a cross in the membrane that is about as wide as the plant pot which your plant is currently in. Dig out a hole that is a little deeper then line with some peat-free compost or top soil or whatever soil the plant likes and pop the plant in. Fold the membrane back to the plant stem and replace the stones and voila! Your statement plant is popping up through a hard stone bed!
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