Help Required Please!

CheekyLittleMonkey

Hello peeps,

I've just bought a new build home complete with my very own garden. Now in my previous home the only plants I managed to cultivate where sweet peas and lavender (and this grew like wild fire).

I'm not green-fingered at all and I wondered if anybody could give me a few tips about where to start? I'd like to grow/plant some heavily scented plants and maybe roses and possibly start my own veggie patch at the back of the garden. The garden is not huge but its big enough (for a 4bed house). I've been watching that woman on the telly (can't remember her name) who's been doing just that and planted a vegatable garden and she's given me the bug, trouble is, I haven't got a clue where to start or what to start with (for a novice).

Secondly, I'm absolutely petrified of spiders, so if I came across one (as before) I shreik, down tools, and leg it back into the house. :rotfl: Hubby thinks I'm a nut case and he has absolutely no interest whatsoever in gardening.

Thanks.

smk77

I'd just spent 10 mins replying to this and the accidently hit a keyboard short cut and lost it all!! doh!!

Anyway, basically, take a look at:

http://www.crocus.co.uk/plantingideas/plantcombinations/

This will give you ideas for what to plant.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/design/des_ins/index.shtml

This will give you ideas on layouts.


Take your time and come up with a design. Decide what you want from the garden and how much time you are able to commit to it.

If you are interested in growing veg then have a look though all the recent posts on here. There are many people here who are new to this and are unsure what to do. There are also many people with years of experience and give great advice. I'd suggest you have a think about what veg you'd want to eat. Once you've decided then work out what you have to do to the land where you are going to grow the veg - ask on here, someone will explain the best growing conditions.

alanobrien

CheekyLittleMonkey wrote:

Hello peeps,

I've just bought a new build home complete with my very own garden. Now in my previous home the only plants I managed to cultivate where sweet peas and lavender (and this grew like wild fire).

I've been watching that woman on the telly (can't remember her name) who's been doing just that and planted a vegatable garden and she's given me the bug, trouble is, I haven't got a clue where to start or what to start with (for a novice).

Thanks.

Probably Carol Klein, worth a look at the thread below you can get the book to go with the series for £4.99 p&p included


http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=362843

Linda32

Yep I say its Carol Klein, she's good isn't she? :beer:

I visit a few gardening boards, and alot of peeps like her because her nails and hands are as bad as theirs, never wares gloves :rotfl:

Anyway, down to the :j bit of veggies and plants.

lavender and sweet peas take abit of knowledge btw

You say the house is a new build so do you know what sort of soil you've got? do you have a lawn? and also which part of the garden does the sun shine on in the morning?

These may or may not seems like odd questions, but I promise these a reason and I'm not just being nosey

Edited to add, I'm scared witless of slugs and snails and generally make a noise and waves my arms around and run away when I see one. So I know what you mean.

CheekyLittleMonkey

smk77 wrote:

I'd just spent 10 mins replying to this and the accidently hit a keyboard short cut and lost it all!! doh!!

Anyway, basically, take a look at:

http://www.crocus.co.uk/plantingideas/plantcombinations/

This will give you ideas for what to plant.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/design/des_ins/index.shtml

This will give you ideas on layouts.


Take your time and come up with a design. Decide what you want from the garden and how much time you are able to commit to it.

If you are interested in growing veg then have a look though all the recent posts on here. There are many people here who are new to this and are unsure what to do. There are also many people with years of experience and give great advice. I'd suggest you have a think about what veg you'd want to eat. Once you've decided then work out what you have to do to the land where you are going to grow the veg - ask on here, someone will explain the best growing conditions.

Thank you so much, those sites are brilliant and very informative.

I've a slight problem at the moment (its a case of running before I can walk), I have yet for my solicitor to complete his searches etc and then give me a moving in/completion date. Should hopefully be within the next two weeks. Talk about being eager eh?

Now please bear with me, cos I am a bit thick when it comes to gardening. I don't know the type of soil yet but how do I find out, just dig it and assess it? Also for the same reasons (not moved in yet) I don't know the aspect but I do know that this gives an indication of where gets the sun and what time of day thus what plants to plant where, I'm slowly learning so I'll get back to you on that one.

A couple of further questions? What is a 'shrub'? What do they mean by 'herbaceous'? I haven't got a clue. Thanks again. x

CheekyLittleMonkey

Linda32 wrote:

Yep I say its Carol Klein, she's good isn't she? :beer:

Yes, thats the woman, she's brilliiant. I was watching her with the lettuces and planting the green beans (I think) whereby she'd split a drain pipe in two and sown some seeds first until they sprouted shoots and then transferred them ever so niftyly (if thats a word). ha ha

The garden has been laid to lawn and it does seem to have knitted quite well. They where using it as a sort of show home for a while but minus any garden plants or internal furniture (just for the style of the house as they didn't actually have a show home for this model of house).

I can't wait to get started.

I love the smell of things like Jasmine (reminds me of India) and would love a magnolia tree (? not sure if this would grow) I also like the idea of a herb wheel because we use a lot of herbs and spices in our cooking (hubby is Indian).

smk77

CheekyLittleMonkey wrote:

I don't know the aspect but I do know that this gives an indication of where gets the sun and what time of day thus what plants to plant where, I'm slowly learning so I'll get back to you on that one.

Do you not have any plans of the property/development? They may have a compass on the drawings.

CheekyLittleMonkey

smk77 wrote:

Do you not have any plans of the property/development? They may have a compass on the drawings.

No, but I've seen them in the sales office. I'm going on Saturday to take window/curtain measurements so I will ask the appropriate questions then and find out!

Thanks.

Linda32

CheekyLittleMonkey wrote:

Now please bear with me, cos I am a bit thick when it comes to gardening. I don't know the type of soil yet but how do I find out, just dig it and assess it? Also for the same reasons (not moved in yet) I don't know the aspect but I do know that this gives an indication of where gets the sun and what time of day thus what plants to plant where, I'm slowly learning so I'll get back to you on that one.

Its addictive isn't it, once you get bitten by the bug :j

Yes you pretty much do dig it and assess, lift a trowel full and try to mould it in your hands to make a sausage, does it stick together? if so its clay, dries out and cracks in the summer but holds rain in the wet and thus dosn't wash away nutrients in the soil. Its mostly all about the soil. if it flies away in your hand like sand, then thats not so go, nothing there you see for the plants to get an hold off. Its not the end of the world though, we can cure that. If its feels gritty in your hands, then its gritty soil finely, these loam, which is good stuff indeed, never too wet, never to dry. Imagine sticking your hands in a bag of shop bought compost.

CheekyLittleMonkey wrote:

A couple of further questions? What is a 'shrub'? What do they mean by 'herbaceous'? I haven't got a clue. Thanks again. x

A shrub is a bush.

Generally, the word "herbaceous" is used in conjuction with "perennial" so an herbaceous perennial is a plant which dies down during the autumn winter, (you need to leave a plant label in the ground so you know its there) and grows again once spring is here.

As yours is a new build its unlikely you will have any, unless anything was planted for "show" during the summer, which you won't see now as they will have died down. Although I've got little shoots coming through now :j but I know they are there.

*Just knock my wine over, never mind desk needed cleaning anyway* :rotfl:

Now where was I, Hope that all helps

CannyAnnie_3

Just a word of warning, in a new build you are likely to find all sorts of rubbish from house bricks to whole cement mixers (true!!!!!) buried in the garden. If it's currently covered in grass, that hides a lot, but if it was me I would try to dig the bit I wanted for veg, a fairly small bit at a time, but quite deeply, to get out any nasties which might be lurking in there. You can get some compost (what Carol calls organic matter) in at the same time, which will help improve the soil.

Oh and I run away from spiders too but by the time you go back out, they have run away from you as well! so don't take any notice of hubby's mocking!!

Annie

CheekyLittleMonkey

Hi Guys

I'm back and I am one very cheesed off 'monkey'! We went to our new home to be on Saturday to measure up etc and get some ideas regarding the garden.

I'd appreciate any advice on this one please as I'm now quite dubious about going ahead with the purchase.

We have been only twice to view, the second time Saturday just gone. It was very sunny day. The garden gets no sun whatsoever apart from a small beam of light to the left of us which filters through between houses. We have the shadow of the house on the left hand side falling all over the garden (it is also slightly in front/ahead of our house) if you understand what I'm trying to say? On the right, we have our garage, which is separate from the house/detached. This also throws its shadow onto the garden. Grrrr.
We spent 3hrs there and absolutely no sun. Went outside to assess the situation, grass/turf has not knitted together at all, there are big gaps/lines between pieces. The ground is very squishy and boggy. The garden was laid to lawn in September (I asked the sales office) us now being in February, surely it does not take 6months to see some improvement? My guess is that its because the garden gets no sun at all, nothing is able to dry out. Along the edges of the grass that border the patio'd area, is all wetness seeping over. I have aired my concerns with the sales office and was told that this has been passed onto the construction manager to deal with and that they are considering putting in some kind of drainage.

Now, this house is a new build which is the last one on Phase 5, they are now building Phase 6. This house was 'held' on Phase 5 to use as a 'show home' because they do not have a 'show home' of this type on Phase 6, although they do have about 8 of these houses of the same model to sell (I also think they have sold) on the new phase.

The house is 3 storey. I'm thinking that they knew this all along, that this was the reason why it hadn't sold. That this was the reason they had reduced it 20k from the asking price of today. I mentioned this to the sales office today and she told me that this was not the case at all and it was purely a case of keeping that house on hold for viewings.

The aspect of the garden is slightly north west for those that asked previously.

I'm very annoyed having been looking forward to lying in the garden and doing a spot of gardening etc. Any views/thoughts would be welcome. Thanks. x