I'm so rubbish at gardening

dollparts

As the title suggests, I am clueless in the garden. I simply have no idea what I am doing.

I have decided to tackle the front garden first as I have lots of work being done in the back garden. So yesterday I went out there and dug over the large flowerbed (is that what one would call it?) and removed most of the stones and all of the weeds.

I rather like the wild garden style as I am not one for uniformed rows of flowers iyswim, so I followed the instructions on the back of the box of seeds ie; raked it over and watered well. It seemed very easy, and I followed the steps to the letter and made sure I was sowing at the right time etc etc.

I had some bulbs too that I had bought so I filled a large post with composty stuff and planted them as well.

Feeling rather pleased with myself I did some reading last night and came across this (in so many words)

'Wildflower growing should be tackled by the more experienced gardener as they can be difficult to establish and are labour intensive.'

Damnit, I was so deflated by this, I don't know what I should do now.

Everybody here seems to know what they are doing so I thought it would be worth asking whether I am wasting my time with my wildflowers and if so what on earth can I do instead with the big space that I was so proud of only yesterday.......?

lastly, is it right the wildflower seeds were not seeds at all? TBH it just looked like a load of sawdust in the box. I thought this was strange because despite the box telling me of all the different varieties, the sawdust all looked the same to me.

Hmm I am actually more rubbish than I thought.:(

maro11

I have set wild flowers before and the seed reminded me of cigarette ash when I opened the packet. I thought not a hope but they grew!
Persevere you will get there in the end.

elsien

I think the article you saw might have been more about a full scale wildflower meadow rather than the flower bed you're working on, so don't panic just yet.
Mum did a meadow at the top of her garden - paid a fortune for mixed grass and wildflower seeds and it did look pretty for the first year. But when it's a meadow, you have to be careful about cutting it at the right time or you lose the seed heads, and mum found that with last years meadow the grass got quite long then after all the rain it just went flattened and horrible, and she couldn't get a strimmer through it.

Your flower bed is different - you haven't got all the grass to worry about, and if it works, you can chuck another pack of seeds on next year. Your main problem is likely to be working out what's a wildflower and what's a weed. (I hoiked up all my wood anenomes, not realising they were real plants!)
Why don't you just wait and see how it goes? If it doesn't work out as you hoped, you can always chuck in some summer bedding (snapdragons, that sort of thing) while you have a rethink. We all have to start somewhere - my black fingers were renowned in my family.
You can always put more seeds on that are happy with a bit of neglect. Things like love in the mist and aquilegia self seed like mad in my garden, I just leave them to it.
Watch out for the cats as well - newly turned beds can be like a magnet to the little sods.

bromsgrovebarry

Just give yourself some credit for what you have done already and remember the two P's- perseverence and patience. We all were beginners once. Good luck with your new venture

dollparts

Aww thanks for the words of encouragement. I have just started the BBC online course for beginners' gardening......I now know what everyone means by mulching and I'm going to test my soil for drainage in the morning!

The link for anyone else that may be interested in having a look

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/htbg/

I hope that wildflower thingy takes off, I'll be on the lookout for cats that's for sure.

Popped into Wilko's today to get some pots and compost, have bought a few plants, ivy was one, will have to have a look at the others as I can't remember the names. I was hoping to put the ivy in a hanging basket as my Mum has but I will read the note that was with it and follow whatever it tells me!

Bought a sieve too to get rid of the stones in another flower bed, if it stays dry tomorrow I will have a go at that one too.

Hmm, maybe I can diary-ise my adventures and hopefully pick up some tips from you nice people at the same time, will keep you posted.

savemoney

Hey your never to old to learn or make mistakes even established gardeners can make mistakes or learn new tricks

I wouldn't say I was an expert and although I have a small beautiful garden it takes some skill/had work and most of all patience

When I say skill I mean by way of learning over the years

I love my garden, gets lots of good feedback even when I just grown posts in my front of the terraced house and backyard

I find gardening very rewarding dont give up

Having a garden to make it luck naturally is a skill who cares what anyone thinks, as long as you are happy

dollparts

Yes, I must admit I felt rather pleased when I stepped back and looked at the freshly dug flowerbed! I shall patiently await the green shoots and see what happens!

I dare to be excited when I once killed a cactus..........

Have just ordered some plants and things on that parkers site that people are raving about on other boards. I have no idea what I have ordered but I will have a read up when it arrives and plant with a sprinkling of good luck and throw in some magic for good measure.

If I am not careful I will begin to enjoy this gardening lark

Am off to see where I can get some manure from.....Under the instruction of Mr Titchmarsh....see you when I get back!

savemoney

Dont forget to feed your plants every few weeks in growing season

I also find it good to get a composter and put your old plants/ weeds/ grass gutting in. Then use this 6-9 months later as a soil improver or us it for new plants dig bigger hold and leave some compost in to give it a quick bump

I get wilkos composter improver to get compost decay faster as composite is in shade most of the time.

I also water plants with water from water butt saves some water and they prefer rainwater

I also just bought some blood/bone meal (it stinks a little)to feed plants especially those just waking up after winter

Ches

I wouldn't worry about stones. Plants find their way round them without you needing to worry and to be honest as quick as you sieve the top ones out more will work their way to the surface so its a hiding to nowhere really. I garden on gravel but with the addition of lots of mulch/manure/compost the plants don't seem to mind.

savemoney

dollparts this is my garden front and back last year

I did inherent some plants in it so not all my own work although I do maintain it a lot

elsien

I got my manure off freecycle - local stable which was desperate to get rid of the stuff.
You need to make sure it's well rotted though, and the stuff I got was a beggar for weeds. I'm guessing many dandelion seeds went in one end of the horse and out the other....