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During the winter of 2006/7 we have created a new walled garden in our existing garden. Theses pictures show the final stages of construction in early spring 2007 just before we started to plant the garden up. See some more pictures in our online gallery

With a steel frame and 20 laburnum planted each side the plan is to create a early spring feature when the laburnum flowers.
The side shoots from the laburnum should be tied down to the frame this will have the effect of encouraging the laburnum plants to produce more flowering spurs along each branch.
To add additional interest planting a jackmanii type of clematis against the base of every other laburnum plant with have the effect of adding to the interest as these clematis will flower later in the year creeping through the laburnum plants. In addition to this creating 5 small buxus boxes on each side with the end ones being shaped into balls on squares with the interplanting of 4 Santolina chamaecyparis will help provide a winter structure for the feature. These buxus squares are best produced by planting 4 buxus plants close together and creating a cutting template out of a quarter sheet of plywood so each one becomes the same shape after two seasons cutting or trimming.
Finally to add additional summer interest and planting Salvia x sylvestris ‘East Friesland’ along the base in between the buxus and Santolina will provide this interest. Remember not to plant them to close to the the edge to allow for the planting of some spring bulbs later in the year. 200mm away from the edge should be fine. To download a pdf plan click here or you can click on the small thumbnail above.

Red thread is fungal disease caused by Laetisaria fuciformis, which attacks grass. It appears as irregular patches of bleached grass which have a reddish hue. On closer inspection a small red spike, which may be forked, can be seen protruding from the tip of the affected leaves. The roots are not affected so the grass usually recovers well. Infection usually occurs in the late summer or autumn with the finer bent or fescue grasses, during periods of high humidity, where there is compaction of the soil and a shortage of nitrogen.
Scarifying and aerating in the autumn to improve the growing conditions plus the application of a suitable fertilizer in the spring are the best means of prevention. Lift grass clippings asthe dried red threads can survive to carry the disease for a later infectionto occur.
The systemic fungicide Carbendazim should treat the problem. Rake out the dead grass and sprinkle a topdressing containing some seed over the area.

We often find in new and neglected gardens the slug population builds up and needs to be controlled before the new planting can be carried out. In most cases the most effective treatment or control measure is to use biological control methods such as Nemaslug which is a small short lived nematode that eats slugs.
Nemaslug controls all common species of small to medium sized slugs (up to 8cm - 2.5-3 inches). Start your control regime early and you will be able to target the young slugs growing under the ground feeding on humus.
Nemaslug uses the nematode Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita, which was discovered by scientists at the government research institute at Bristol, England.
One application of Nemaslug provides 300,000 nematodes for every square metre of soil, giving at least six weeks control of slugs. This is generally enough time for seedlings and bedding plants to get well established.
The majority of the slugs will die underground, so don’t expect to see dead slugs lying around.
Apply Nemaslug to moist soil. The soil temperature should be 5ºC (40ºF) or over (this is when plants start to grow). Nematodes are capable of surviving the odd frost; so don’t worry if the temperature falls after you have applied Nemaslug. Metaldehyde based slug pellets are reported not to be effective below 7ºC.
Potatoes are susceptible to slug attack later in the season than most other plants.  So you can delay applying Nemaslug till 6-7 weeks before harvest, when the tubers are most likely to be eaten by slugs.
Unlike some controls, Nemaslug continues to work well during wet weather - exactly when you need protection against slugs!
Nemaslug might affect water snails. To avoid harming them keep the treatment 15 cm (6″) away from ponds.
If you have a heavy clay area, ensure you apply Nemaslug to well worked soil. Nemaslug is less effective on cloggy clay soil, which has not been worked and/or has become waterlogged.
Nemaslug comes in pack sizes to treat 40 sq.m (50 sq.yds) and 100 sq.m (125 sq.yds).

one of the most difficult garden weeds is horse or mares tail. It has a very simple cell structure and is able to withstand and recover from most forms of control. The only way to control it is by repeated use of glyphosate weed killer ( RoundUp) in high concentrates. For small areas its ideal to have some glyphosate weed killer mixed in a hand spray and then every time you see some shoots you can spray it directly onto the new stems. Were the horse or mares tail is growing in and through existing plants we often mix the glyphosate with some wall paper paste and use a small paint brush to coat the stems and in this way avoid touching the plants you wish to keep. For further information and a downloadable guide click here

The laburnum trees, 25 are died and will need replacing in the autumn. The supplier should be able to do this as they are less than 12 months old and because of the large numbers involved. When they are replaced the clematis will need to be cut back.

Conifer Wind break - most of these conifers will recover with some additional care however because the site is wet they might not achieve the original intended effect of providing a screen. To solve this planting an additional row of Alnus glutinosa in the winter would be a cheap and easy way to solve the problem as these plants would to able to thrive in the wet conditions add structure to the soil which in turn would help the conifers to establish themselves. Alnus glutinosa is a fast growing tree able to withstand both wet and dry conditions.

Wires for climbers 3 mm stainless steel at £0.73 per metre would be the most cost effective way to tie the climbers and fruit trees.

plant overview - as most of the plant are now flowering in the garden over the next two months its a good time to consider further planting for the winter months for next summers colour.

wildflower meadow - need to use a selective weed killer such as round up on the mares tail in the corner near the summer house. The meadow now needs to be stone picked of all the stones over 30mm As the seedlings grow they need to be checked and any invasive plants/weeds such as nettles and docks need to be controlled.

Central bed in walled garden - the bed that floods when the irrigation is on needs the addition of 500kg of sharp or silver sand ( normally used for plastering or rendering ) to be dug into a depth of 40mm

Crocosmia around pond has not been attacked by the ducks so planting more would help to create marginal planting areas.

Cherry fruit has split. This is because of the weather conditions to much water related to the amount of rain and the humid conditions.

The camellia in the far bed, near the wall needs to be fed with some epsom salts & probably some tomato food or some acid plant loving food,

Its a good time to take cutting from the plants in the walled garden such as the penstemon etc. Using semi ripe stem cuttings the plants will root quickly and if potted up will be available to plant out into the final positions in the spring.