The root of the problem

I have one border in the garden that I would like to become a 'hot' bed. Not one of sin, but one of colour! I want strong oranges and reds, with some blue for contrast, and lots of green.  At the weekend I bought a few packets of seeds (hybrid sunflowers, marigolds and a meadow mixture) to sow in this bed. The different heights will give it some structure and the colours will be wonderful!  The bed already has a large Buddleja and an Escallonia, also a fern which I thought I had lost over the winter but it has recovered again.  On Monday I also decided to put the Cordyline in the ground as it hasn't been a success in the pot.  Besides, it has such a tropical look and feel to it I think it will work really well in the 'hot' bed. 

I eventually got the Cordyline in the ground (it looks good next to the fern) but getting the spade into the ground was hard work.  This was due to a large network of roots lying just under the surface of the soil which are growing horizontally along the ground, as I discovered when I tried to pull one root out.  As the bed is against a perimeter fence, I suspect these roots are coming from the garden next door.  The house has been empty for nearly a year and the last owner never really was much of a gardener so the garden had become a bit overgrown.   I moved further along the bed and stuck the spade in the ground - it would hardly go in at all!  Just under the surface there was a fine mesh-like tangle of roots growing all through the soil.  I took me ages to clear just one small area. I'm not sure if these roots will cause any problems.  Certainly my Buddleja and Escallonia aren't affected by them.  In the end I decided to give the seeds a go and see what happens.  I've planted some of the marigold seeds in a pot filled with compost to see if there is a difference in how they grow compared to the ones in the soil.   We've had a little rain overnight, more rain this morning, so all of the garden looks so much fresher.  The whole month has been so dry that the ground is looking very parched.  I've been watering some of the plants in the other beds and also my Apple Scrumptious.  Sadly there has been no blossom this year despite the tree looking very healthy.  The Apple Discovery blossomed earlier this month so at least we will have one tree providing us with fruit this year.