How to identify plants in a newly acquired garden?

Wobblydeb

Hello lovely greenfingered people

We moved into a new (to us) house in December, and I am watching the garden wake up now.

I know what some of the plants are, but not all. Is there a handy (preferably online) way of identifying all of the plants I've inherited? Like somewhere I can upload photos of each plant?

Thank you

andrewf75

not aware of a site specifically for this purpose, but I have identified many by uploading to messageboards. You could even try here but preferably a more specific one. You get very quick replies.

shortcrust

There are loads of free apps that will identify flowers from photos you take. Just search app stores. I used one in my Dad’s garden and it was pretty accurate. I deleted it so can’t give the name. I think it also works on foliage but that’s less accurate.

A wander round a garden centre would help, as would the eyes of a garden savy friend or neighbours. Next door neighbours often know a lots about your garden because people chat about what they’re planting, what’s doing well etc.

Some good advice I followed was to not really do much in the garden for the first 12 months, assuming it’s a well established one. Keep on top of weeding, mowing and pruning and just see what comes up. The first year in my garden was amazing. In February I thought it was pretty empty. By May it was bursting with colour.

Mojisola

shortcrust wrote: »

Some good advice I followed was to not really do much in the garden for the first 12 months, assuming it’s a well established one. Keep on top of weeding, mowing and pruning and just see what comes up. The first year in my garden was amazing. In February I thought it was pretty empty. By May it was bursting with colour.

This is advice worth following - I know someone who bought hundreds of daffodil bulbs and spent ages planting them at the bottom of her new, large garden.

She had just finished and was sitting on the grass, imaging what it would look like when they were all in bloom when the neighbour poked her head over the fence and said "If you think the garden looks lovely now, wait til the Spring - daffodils everywhere!"

I also know someone who dug up a big area of bluebells, not realising what the tangled roots were.

Gers

I've posted photos of unknown plants here frequently, especially as I too moved into a 'new' garden.

Folk here are very knowledgeable and generally very helpful too.

glasgowdan

Facebook has a massive page called "Plant identification", no chit chat, no discussion, just post a photo and people will tell you what it is. Superb. Also an App called Plantnet.

Wobblydeb

Glasgowdan - that Facebook group is great - thank you! :beer:

Davesnave

Who needs Faceache when people have us? :A

Wobblydeb

Davesnave wrote: »

Who needs Faceache when people have us? :A

LOL - you really wouldn't want to be looking at the 30+ photos of plants I have shared so far!!

HEPBURN9124

Wise to have them checked out, especially if there are small children or animals. We fell foul of finding a poisonous one in our new garden. Straight out and dumped.

Davesnave

HEPBURN9124 wrote: »

Wise to have them checked out, especially if there are small children or animals. We fell foul of finding a poisonous one in our new garden. Straight out and dumped.

What was it? Hyacinth? Bluebell? Daffodil perhaps?



There aren't many plants I'd remove from a garden because of children or animals; only two or three come to mind, and they're not common..


Even sheep and chickens are intelligent enough to recognise plants that might harm them. Most children of an age when they might be alone in a garden should also be clued-up enough to avoid ingesting anything unfamiliar, and even if they did try something poisonous, they'd be spitting it out PDQ.


So few children are seriously harmed by garden plants that no one keeps specific records about it. That's hardly the case with accidents in the home and on the roads.