my first garden!

langerdan79

moving into my first house in a few weeks so will have my own garden to look after for the first time, can't wait!! its nothing huge, maybe 20 feet to the end and about 12 feet across. so i'm basically looking for ideas, thinking maybe about trellises for sweet peas and stuff but know nothing about them! also does anyone grow their own herbs or is this practical?? and what would be easy to grow flower-wise, i would like to plant stuff straight away but am not sure if there are only certain things i can plant now!!
any advice would be gratefully received!

Ellechim

Hi Langerdan.

Is the garden entirely new or are there established plants there already? they say that if you move into an existing garden don't cut anything out for a year - this way you see all the seasons and know what looks good when and then you can decide what you like or not. Before investing a lot in plants you should also see which parts of the garden are sunny and at what times (some plants like morning sun for instance and others don't) even if you know which general direction the garden is pointing other things will cast shadows. Also, its an idea to find out what kind of soil you have - you can get a testing kit in the garden centre however if you have a look at what grows well in the garden, or your neighbours gardens it will give you a clue. For instance, carnations like alkaline soil; pieris, azaleas, camellias, magnolias, heathers, like acid soil. Agapanthus, iris, lily prefer poor soil and sunshine......

Re herbs: Yes, you can grow parsley, thyme, rosemary, chives all year round - you can get them at a garden centre or even the ones in the supermarket will grow fine. If you want to grow mint do so in a pot as it will spread like wildfire. You could plant lettuce and other salad leaves from seed now (rocket, coriander, etc), even in pots (but watch out for the slugs) and within a few weeks have fresh salad from your garden.......but it is late to plant most veg.

It is a bit late to plant sweetpea - you might find some in a garden centre but mostly at this stage they are in flower so I would expect they will be hard to find. However, certainly will be lovely for next year - make sure to plant scented ones.

It might be an idea to get some other climbers for your trellis that will give you year round interest. eg, evergreen honeysuckle or clematis or jasmine. If you have a west facing trellis you could even grow some grapes.

I find the following sites good for finding out what plants will grow where. www.crocus.co.uk (great site, doesn't deliver to Ireland though); www.bbc.co.uk/gardening (tons of info and garden design tool) and www.bakker-irl.com (will deliver to Ireland, vast plant range).

The thing about gardening is that a lot of it is trial and error, finding out what types of plants like your garden and what plants you like.

I would say, in a small garden, it is a good idea to go for plants that have long seasons of interest - you can't really afford to have something that only flowers for a fortnight, you don't have room. Things like dahlias, fuschias, asters, some roses, begonias, will flower for months on end (November/Decemer) - make sure to read the label before buying.

Best of luck and enjoy the process.......

Ellechim

Oh yes, you can plant almost anything now - I do - anything you buy at the garden centre. Make sure to give it a good watering after you plant it. Generally you would avoid planting things when in flower, however, if you do plant now you will get colour for the rest of the season and then if you buy perennials they will come up next year without you having to think about it. Things like bizzy lizzies, petunias, lobelia, fuschia, geraniums, dahlias, begonias, marigolds, you can pick up relatively cheaply at the garden centres now and they will flower until probably October or so (depending on how sheltered your garden is). Bear in mind that some things only flower once and then die, others come up year after year.

Also, think about structure in your garden - it is good to buy a few things which will give some shape even in the winter, whether it be an evergreen shrub or bush or small tree. there are lots of small trees suitable for small gardens - japanese maples which come in a variety of colours and shapes, some magnolias (there is one called sieboldii, which flowers all summer), vibernum or mahonias which have scented flowers in winter, grasses, especially large phormiums which look good all year round, or ferns of various shapes and sizes.

It is a good idea to go and visit gardens to get ideas - go visit whatever ones are local to you (you don't say where you are but in Dublin/Wicklow there are lots).

By the way, I move things regularly in my garden - either in October or March - before the growing season kicks in - so if I don't like where I've put it I can move it.

Also, depending on the condition of your soil it probably will be an idea to add some compost and/or fertiliser. you can buy large buckets of chicken manure pellets in most garden centres - that is one of the best fertilisers - you sprinkle it on and then dig it in. Also, I would recommend you get your own compost bin - there is nothing more satisfying than having your own compost to dig in and its a brilliant fertiliser!

The other thing you could be doing now is planning what to plant in Sept/Oct for next year, either in terms of veg or bulbs - all the daffodils, tulips, snowdrops, irises, lilies, etc need to go by October - also many vegetables and seeds can and should be planted in the Autumn, so start doing your research now!

TequilaMockingBird

I started with a small new garden and can tell you some mistakes I made if it helps!

I wish I had concentrated on the grass initially, a nice lawn is the blank canvas for the rest of the garden. My plants are fairly established now, and the thought of digging the whole lawn up and getting new topsoil etc is disheartening, as the rest looks great and I want to enjoy it now rather than putting up with the mess. Iyswim!

I also put some plants at the front of the garden, the part where we sit, the "main view" as it were, which looked great initially but have now grown really big and hide the view of smaller interesting plants. Again I could move them but I don't want to risk losing them so they will stay where they are.

I love it though, even with the mistakes (I'm sure theres more), its very satisfying starting from scratch and watching it mature.

As for which plants to buy, have a good mooch round a garden centre, anything they are selling now will most likely be suitable for planting now. And as the poster above said, get as much evergreens as possible.

Have fun!

langerdan79

thanks for the replies so far guys, some really great tips there that i wouldn't have ever thought of! will call into a few garden centres soon and see whats there, its only grass in the back so its like a blank canvas! keep the advice coming if anything else crosses yer minds!

laurak265

A circular lawn will push your garden outwards and make it appear much larger than it already is!

langerdan79

ok so today i visited the house and took a soil test and its neutral, which i hope is good! went to a garden centre and think i'm going to put a few fushia plants down as well as some jasmine on a trellis on the side which faces the sun. from what i've been reading i'm thinking i should be putting these on raised beds?? with all the rain we've been getting is this a must?? and i think i will get some perenials too, theres too much choice in the garden centres!!