So my contract is ending next month and of course I'm assuming the worst. I'm planning to find solace in my unemployment by throwing myself into my garden and growing some vegetables and general "gardening".
I have quite a large garden that's almost divided into two. When I first bought the house,i was smitten by the garden but now I think it's the bane of my existence as its unruly and it's progressively getting worse (I also wish the actual house was bigger rather) . I also have bad allergies so every time I mow the lawn I end up barely being able to breathe and sneezing like a hedgehog.
I was hoping someone could help with my questions below:
- How do I differentiate between weeds and nice plants?
- Any ideas for what to do?
- Where would be a good place to grow some vegetables and herbs? (parsley, peas, beetroot, mint… And errr… What else is there?)
- What can I do about foxes and badgers? Something Is digging up things in my garden, will it eat/damage the flowers.
- Are there any flowers that I can grow that look nice?
- I had some raspberries somewhere at the back of the garden but it seems to have disappeared. Is that okay?
- How do people get nice green grass?
- I'm hoping picture 5 is a good location to plant my vegatables
Basically، how does one garden exactly? Is there a beginners guide? In my mind I can devote a couple hours a week to it (more I'm unemployed… Obviously that's not what we want..).
by Hot_Alternative_682
8 Comments
1. A weed is anything growing somewhere you don’t want it to grow. In general if you like the look of a plant/flower it’s fine to leave it.
2. Start on a small area first, if you try to do everything at once you probably won’t succeed and will just get discouraged. Get a composter/compost pile going as soon as you can.
3. You want somewhere with good sun for most of the day. You may want to build raised beds as this can be easier than improving the soil that’s already there and gives you more control. Another plant to consider is rhubarb which is fairly easy going and will last years with essentially no maintenance.
4. There’s not much you can do about mammals animals. Some will dig up freshly planted/disturbed soil but anything established will usually be okay.
5. I like English lavender personally, it needs good light and prefers dry non nutritious soil so is fairly easy to keep alive. Sunflowers are also pretty fun with how tall they can get.
6. If it was autumn raspberries they may still be alive, it’s a touch early for them to get going again. Summer raspberries should have leaves and be actively growing at this point.
7. Scarifying the grass and reseed, ensure it has good light, drainage and in the summer enough water. It’ll probably look a lot worse before it looks better. It’s also better to cut frequently taking only a little off the top rather than infrequent heavier cuts.
8. Looks like a fine spot, it will depend on how much sun it gets through which depends on which direction the sun is.
To “clean up” the garden you could add some borders using bricks or paves or wood to separate lawn from the bordering flowers and whatever. You can easily make some slightly raised garden beds in the fifth picture. Clean up the pond a bit. Regarding allergies, maybe sow clover instead of grass so you don’t need to cut it too much. Regarding things being dug up, try plant the flower bulbs a bit deeper, but you can do this later in the year once they’ve finished flowering. You’re asking how to garden. There’s no rules. Your first step is to clean up the garden. Then decide where you want to plant stuff, like you already have (pic 5). Ensure that pic 5 place gets a lot of sunlight. Regarding raspberries don’t worry, you can plant new raspberries, preferably in a good sized pot so it doesn’t grow out of control. I see you have a compost heap. You could tidy that up by adding walls/barriers or using a few barrels or something of the sort. A herb easy to grow in the garden is rosemary. Oh and mint. Also preferably in a pot as it will spread like crazy. You could plant some lavender as well. Just watch some YouTube videos or if you prefer reading them rhs website. Just do little by little changes and you’ll start to get the hang of it. Want some more info, reply and I’ll reply tomorrow.
A lovely big space with lots of nice trees around. The very first thing I would do to have an instant effect is get a lawn edger (about £15 from B&Q) and go round each edge of the lawn, cutting a clean edge with the beds. It will make it look surprisingly tidier. If you can afford it, replace broken fence panels and perhaps paint the rest all the same colour.
If you want to make a start on the beds, the best way to tell what is worth keeping is leave it to grow and take it out if you don’t like it. If you find something you like, but want it somewhere else, it’s fine to move it. Lightly rake or dig over bare soil to neaten. As for what to grow, the list is endless. Visit a nursery and see what is flowering in season. It is a long learning process. For instant effect, you could buy a packet of wild flower seeds from a supermarket and scatter them over patches of raked over, bare soil.
The last place is ideal for growing veg. Start small by maybe digging out a rectangle or two of grass about 3ft x 5ft. Dig over well and either buy small plants or sow seeds. Peas would need branchy sticks to grow up, but I am sure you can cut some off the bushes around. Beetroot, carrot, beans, parsley could all be sown directly. Read instructions on the packets to see when to sow. You also have space for potatoes, broad beans. Do not put mint in the ground. Keep it in a pot or you will have a garden full of mint very quickly that you can’t get rid off. It you have success, you can cut out more rectangular beds as you get better at it but I would start small. Eventually you can design a full on veg allotment in that space.
I would always recommend watching Gardeners World. They walk you through step by step on all aspects of growing and it show you what to do each season.
Apparently the secret to good grass is to mow lightly very, very regularly.
Good luck.
Maybe reducing the grass would be good for your allergies and the flora & fauna?? Grass is a bit khak for biodiversity.
Could you plant lawn alternatives to grass in some areas? Could be a great way to bring pollinators to your garden.
As for badgers and foxes -I’d love to see them coming in and doing their natural thing – I’d be setting up wildlife cameras!!!! Idk if foxes dig up lawns, Badgers maybe/probably.
Animals eating your plants depends what the plants/animals are.
Maybe some raised beds world help reduce this, you could use a frame to protect any vegetable bed, maybe raised would give more protection.
Easiest answer is always ponds.
Grab some sand and a liner, fill a hole, and let nature do it’s magic.
Non-fish ponds are easier to maintain and better for local wildlife, which will boost your garden when you decide what to do yourself. Fish ponds don’t require a lot, though.
Also, by gardener, do you mean you want pretty flowers, or food? Or a mix?
Do you want hedgehogs and foxes coming to say hi, or just birds singing?
Edit: I’m v tired. Sorry.
What I mean is, do you want to use the whole space for fruits and food, or just a greenhouse?
Foxes are lovely visitors, do you want them not to come, or just worried about them digging? Because they’re great for clearing out vermin if you don’t have cats.
If you wanted to go all-out food sustainable, I’d look at some easy to harvest medical plants. We do t grow a lot of them anymore, but they’re hardy, less effort and you get to have a whole new diet.
Hydroponics is an option if you go down the fish-pond route (you just pipe water up to the plants, let their roots sit in it without soil. Loads of youtube vids).
I think wildlife will be good for reducing some of the pests that gardeners dislike so much
Buy some seeds in and put them in the ground. I am not trying to be funny, blaise etc. But start with something slowly and be amazed. Gardens well, ever changing and taking lifetimes to grow or make if you are lucky to have one.
Get some introductory books from say, the RHS on a topic, or visit a charity shop and get a book. I grew some seeds from the fruit in my lunch, got an indoor plant. I am not an expert, don’t have a garden, but I have done a bit voluntary, and it’s very rewarding.
See that purple planter on the wall, make it colourful this year in it for summer, or something for your tea. Start small and you’ll find plenty to do after that.
all the best.
The advice given here is brilliant. I’m not an expert but started growing veg from seed a few years ago. I had/have no idea what I was doing but found this helpful site
https://gardenfocused.co.uk/calendar-veg-personalised.php
Just take your time with the garden, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed but just do one bit at a time.