Planting, where and when to start

Whispered

Hi, after a few years of not making the most of our garden we've decided to invest a bit into making it usable. Problem is we don't know where to start. So id love some pointers please.

Most of the planting will be done in planters as we already have a few trees growing and would like to keep the lawn and patio areas as they are. I intend to put a very small green house onto the decking, which is the sunniest part of the garden. Ideally to grow tomatoes, rocket, herbs, that sort of thing. So I'd like to know what edible plants need a greenhouse and what would manage in outdoor planters in our weather. Also when to plant.
What do I need to buy in terms of equipment, plant feed, type of compost etc

There is a side of the garden which never gets much sun except in the height of summer. Is there anything that would grow here for me? Maybe something like raspberry/blackberry bush? Are these manageable in a small enough garden or would they take everything over?

Finally, I'd love to plant some that give off a nice smell. We have a lilac bush which I love but the flowers don't last long on it.

Any other things you'd recommend to a total novice?
Anything I need to consider or allow for?
Sites, blogs etc you'd recommend?

Thanks!

Live at Three

Educate yourself here:

TV: Gardener's World starts back on Friday 9th March, Monty is always sowing veg.
The Beechgrove Garden (Scottish Gardener's World - but a bit more 'earthy') have lots of veg stuff

Podcasts:
Gardener's Question Time - 45 mins long - any gardening topic
Sunday Gardening with Tim Crowther - best for practical tips 20 mins long
Gardener's Corner - 55 minutes long - good sometimes, might not be to everyone's taste

Web: http://www.garden.ie/gardencare.aspx
This is an excellent guide to what to do every week in the garden.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/ the definitive guide (in my opinion). A lot of google results will send you to American sites, but the RHS is better for our climate and more accurate.

www.youtube.com anything you ever wanted to know about how to do anything.

Visit garden centres, B&Q, Woodies etc regularly and look at seed packets for the things you want to grow. You will learn a lot just by reading instructions on back of pack. Chance your arm at sowing seeds, nothing to loose - you get more than you could ever possibly need in a pack for 2 or 3 euros.

Get plastic seed sowing trays in aldi/lidl/dealz for very cheap, but get good potting compost from a garden centre.

If it says grow under glass you'll need a greenhouse, windowsill or cold frame.
Personally I think going for a greenhouse straight away is a bit of a leap, maybe you should try a cold frame first, takes up less space. If you're any way handy you can make one up like this
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05kl1ln

I'm not mad about the small lidl/aldi greenhouses, they seem to work better as kites.

If you don't want to go through the rigmarole of sowing seed you might find small 'plug' plants in garden centres for cheap. These are very young plants that will grow on to form good plants later on. I got 5 tomato plants last year for 1.50 each and I got around 6 million tomatoes from them.

If you want to buy more expensive plants or trees talk to a horticulturalist at a garden centre. Talk the face off them. Describe your site, ask them how much water it will need, what sort of compost, can it grow in a container, how big will it get, does it need pruning and when. When you get home then look up your plant on the RHS website.

Buy a watering can first, then a hose.