A new garden

A new garden is both a wonderful thing and ever so slightly daunting, there’s a lot to do to get it looking just right with many decisions in between.

So here’s few things about our new garden, some pretty plants have emerged amongst the brambles during the three weeks that we’ve been here

 

one side of the garden has a lovely, mellow brick wall, there’s a fence on the other side of the garden. The box hedge is a little shaggy, but there’s a nice place to sit in what seems to be the sunniest part of the garden.

I’m very pleased to see hellebores appearing, there are pale pink ones like this and a couple of fetching dark purple ones, you can just see one in the background.

The soil is the opposite to the light, sandy soil of our previous garden, all the better to grow roses, but it’s a little soggy in places so I’m thinking willows would be nice.

It’s nice to have a flat garden rather than the terraces and steep slopes of the old one.

So here’s a few tips for sorting out a new garden and deciding what to put in it.

Plants:

• be patient and see what plants emerge before any serious digging is done,
• check the soil type and see how much sun and shade there is, then make a plant list accordingly so as to avoid the disappointment of plants struggling to grow in the wrong place,
• add some good compost to the soil to increase fertility, improve drainage for heavy soils and add guts to light soil, local councils are a good place to source compost,
• if you want to know what will grow in your garden, have a look at neighbouring gardens to see what  they’ve got growing, chances are they’ll have similar conditions.

The practical things:

• you may need space for a shed to store toys, tools and garden furniture
• a nice paved ares to sit with enough shade or sun is essential
• paths to get from the back door to the shed or garage are a real blessing in wet weather
• space for a compost bin or two, is also essential to recycle kitchen and garden waste,
• a couple of water-butts will be a great to help irrigate the garden.

I’m hoping that some more interesting plants will pop up.

Have a look here for a beginners guide to pruning.

Happy gardening

Jill

all photos: Jill Anderson