2.3.21

This is the back garden..Please give me advice!

Hi friends. It is that time of the year. The soil is ready to get tended and bear new life. And I am at a loss.. So much information in my head. I want plants that are drought tolerant, I want them to have some sort of symmetry. And yet everything I plant seem to grow in a different way than that I intended... 

Let me show you what I am working with. This is the back garden the biggest of the two. It used to be a jungle before since it was abandoned for almost a decade.. Now it is a complete mess since we changed the roof and there are still roof tiles to be thrown out, we are fixing the fence and there are pieces of wood everywhere. 
We have installed wooden deck where it was a broken mosaic. In the garden all around there were lilies that I unearthed and replanted them around the edge of the deck...
They were growing beautifully but there was a weird snowstorm in Athens that took its toll on them so I had to cut them down a bit to allow them to flower again.
I have made a path made of stones. And I had planted lavender plants at the sides. But the snow killed a few since the plants were not used to these weather conditions and right before the snow we had an almost Summery weather so they were starting to flower. So I have to replace them.
There is a big orange tree right in front of the garden and right across my witch shed where I work..

On the side of my shed there is a huge night blooming jasmine tree that we build an arch for it to grow on. I did not have a chance to paint it white yet like the shed. Here you see my trampoline and an old air condition unit that are to be stored away. The place is a mess.. You also see the lamp under the arch because I still have not decided where its new place should be...
Right behind the night blooming jasmine is the garden water faucet(that can't be the right word,lol) and a huge Angelica tree that hangs over my shed. Also this is Spell one of the many cats that decided they live with us now.
I have tied together a few branches of a bergamot and a lemon tree here. Which would look much better if I pruned the rest of the trees to match the height.
At the edge of the garden I have installed a small goldfish pond which  weirdly enough the cats drink from but do not bother the fish.  Around the pond I have put a bunch of big stones that I picked from the park(and pulled my back doing so). But I still dont know how to hide the plastic edge of the pond.You can see the lattice fence that we have begun to install  all around. It will reach the bare wall that we have cleaned as much as possible from the really old ivy that I loved, but burried inside it were metal rods and garbage. It will grow back eventually, hopefully.

Here on the far left I have planted a few more tropical shade loving plants like ferns, and a bunch of other plants I can not name for the life of me.
And basically I am trying to make a creeping thyme ground cover. 
I am basically trying to find drought resistant (to both survive the greek Summer and be environmentally sound choices) plants that hopefully repel mosquitos, because we have a huge problem here most of the year.
With that in mind I have planted lavender, rosemary, a eucalyptus tree, melissa plant, and more..
As light features we have 5 big lamps as are seen in the picture about and we have 20 lanterns to be installed around the fence as we built it.
Please give me ideas. I  am about to order 50  more creeping thyme plants, but I would love to add color and bring the plants together in a coherent way. Also, if you know any chemical free solution for mosquitos that actually work. I have tried a solution of mouthwash, beer and epsom salts but it did not do anything..
You can not tell since I do not have in my phone the before pictures and there is a mess due to the restoration process but I have put a lot of work in the garden. Maybe I need professional help.. Lol besides therapy I mean...





















12 comments:

Debra She Who Seeks said...

I really like your deck and your stone pathway and the way you make an arch out of those two trees! But alas, I know nothing about plants, so cannot give any advice. I like seeing the cats!

greekwitch said...

Aww thank you! The cats are taking over.. They are everywhere you look!

Leanna said...

Every Witch should have a respectable night-blooming garden. You need Night Blooming Jasmine, Evening Primrose, Moonflower, Four O'Clocks, Night Phlox. You can find out about this kind of garden on the internet. The trick is finding fragrant night bloomers like gardenia and jasmine. Oh, and the flowering plants have to have white or light yellow flowers. Epsom salts are great for plants but do nothing about mosquitoes. Plant rosemary, marigolds, basil, lemongrass, lemon thyme, lemon balm, oregano, any mint herb will work, sage, catnip, nasturtiums, petunias, lantanas. This will help, I hope. I have a huge rosemary bush that I just cut back and I may have to get another plant because it died in the hard freeze that we had. Many of my vines and flowers died because of the freeze.

JustGail said...

I'm not much use on plants for your area, I'm afraid. What about oregano? It's not much on color but being a Mediterranean region herb, it should do well. I guess I'd do an internet search for "plants for hot dry shade" or what ever conditions you are dealing with.

I'd think those roof tiles could be used as edging or making low-ish raised beds. Or paint on them and stick them into the beds to add color or use as plant markers. Use them as little sun or wind breaks to shelter new plants until they are established. Stack them artistically for a sort of sculpture. If nothing else, offer them to other gardeners before they go landfill.

Last summer I started trying to regain control of a vegetable garden and a couple of flower beds I neglected for a few years. I have an idea of how much work it was to clean up your gardens after 10 years of neglect. I look forward to seeing how yours progress.

greekwitch said...

Ohh! Thank you. Such wonderful ideas!!

Magic Love Crow said...

I think you're doing wonderful!
I would suggest Russian Sage! You don't have to do anything with it, except trim it, if you want to. It gets really large over the years and it is drought resistant! I have tones of it!!! It grows anywhere! And, it smells wonderful!!! Hope everything is well! Big Hugs!

Magic Love Crow said...

Big Hugs to the cats!

greekwitch said...

Hi sweety! I am off googling it!!

greekwitch said...

Lol. Thanks!

angela said...

Pyrethrum plants are good for mosquitoes
Rosemary is a wonderful plant and is drought tolerant
It all takes time so don’t over do. You have the bones of a wonderful garden
Enjoy it

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry, I have no advice, your garden looks absolutely beautiful to me!

greekwitch said...

Oh thank you... I have worked a lot with it lately... I will come with follow up pics soon..