New/old garden

[Deleted]

Just wanted some general advice! We have bought a house as a renovation project, while my OH does the inside I have the job of tackling the garden, it is about 75ft long and 25ft wide with no plants whatsoever, just full of rubbish, bindweed and every other weed you can think of! We started off by strimming it down from 4ft high! Our plan was to rotovate the main area and put to lawn, but someone said rotovating would just cut up the weeds and spread them around, which I suppose is correct, I have therefore started digging, I am digging up and at the same time planning the shape and planting up where I can, I will then dig out as much weed in the 'lawn' area before rotovating and re-turfing. Does that make sense.

I have taken quite a lot of cuttings from our own garden in advance and these are quite well established now. I also want to put in a couple of trees, not too large, and preferably with some winter interest as hopefully the house will be back on the market after Christmas!

[Deleted]

I'm in the same boat Frangipani with a garden 50ft wide by 35ft deep and have completely stripped it bare apart from a handful of shrubs that were worth saving. I'm really undecided about summer interest as I have too many favourites but I know that eleagnus, cornus and mahonia are going to be top of my winter backbone list. Am surrounded by trees in neighbours gardens (rather large ones!) but would like one of my own, preferably with berries and autumn colour so maybe a sorbus.

[Main Admin]

Welcome onboard folks, I too have a rather large garden, probably about 25ft wide and 50ft long give or take a few. When we moved in just in April it was all turffed ready (new build estate) but I got bitten by the gardening bug and started at the top end and shaped out and dug away the turf, lowering one area whilst slightly raising another, I then started planting shrubs, perrenials and a couble of conifers and roses, I have scattered some rocks around and covered all the bare top soil with stone chippings. I think it looks quite good, I think that worries the wife though.

i114.photobucket.com/albums/n259/christiebhoy/mysteryrose.jpg

[Deleted]

I like pyracantha and also the red robin for colour. I got a job lot of mixed bushes (bare root) on the internet, (eBay?)and had more bushes than I really wanted for about £1.50 each, I gave a lot away that I already have, and kept the red robins, some dogwoods, some Rose of Sharon, and some hypericum. Other shrubs that have done well in my long back garden are the smoke bush, a berberis thunbergii (the one with pink streaks) and three different kinds of laurel (sorry I have forgotten the proper names for some of these). If I had room for a tree, it would be a nice apple on a dwarf stock - I am making more space for fruit and veggies now. I am making raised beds in nice shapes and they are going to be filled with a few nice flowers and different veggies, with herbs and the odd currant or two. I have done an Alan Titchmarsh on my lawn (two overlapping different sized circles) reducing the grass to a much smaller area and leaving me with interesting shapes for the productive and beautiful borders. I have 120 ft by 30 ft but not enough to grow the amount of food I would like to. So what food there is must look pretty among some flowers in this dual purpose back garden.

[jlottie]

When I moved 5 years ago I had a blank canvas all grass with a path down the middle surrounded by a chainlink fence. I took time out and made a plan on graph paper which was a bit of a wish list, decided where my shed was going where I would like to sit (I am a bit of a sun lover) then adapted my plan by adding borders, hedges a 6' fence a poly tunnel, decking and a patio and a pondlet. I still have some grass but that may not be there for long. My patio is surrounded by 10' borders as I wanted to be surrounded by plants. I have adapted my plan over the last couple of years and now its just a case of tweeking the plants when I want to try something new.

Take your time and decide what you want to use the garden for and then go for it, if it doesn't work change it. Its your garden so its for your enjoyment and I hope you get as much out of it as I have

[Chuckles]

I would have suggested spraying the whole area if there is nothing you want to keep. Rotavating is a no no in my opinion, it will make matters worse and just spread weeds around. Digging is going to be hard work.

I'd clear it first in what ever way you feel best doing. I would suggest the same as jlottie think about what you want out of the gdn, seating areas, eating area, shadey area possibly a pergola, do you want open space or rooms within the gdn. trellised areas for climbers etc etc. paths, edging etc etc. Once you get an idea of what you want then you can start work getting the structural parts done and you can plant things as you go along.

It all sounds very exciting, good luck, maybe we could see some pics of before and also progress at some point.

[Deleted]

Thanks for all your ideas! Plenty of food for thought, the only problem with this garden is that we will sell the place once it is renovated so I am doing the garden for someone else! Therefore, am planning on low maintenance and obviously not wanting to spend a fortune, although keep buying plants ready when I see them!

I have taken some before photos and will take the after photos when it (or I) am finished!

[Rosefriend]

Hi

You lucky people - what I would give for a large garden - especially empty or nearly so.

The things that I would do - water features are a definate must, pergolas, an area that smells absolutely divine in the evenings - two or three different places to sit down. Roses, clematis - one tree - a fantastic center point.

Well isn't it nice to dream - I will now go outside and look around my 6 by 30 meter back garden and think about what I am missing.............

Have fun
Rosefriend

[4pygmies]

This is quite a big challenge for a garden you're never going to use so, if you have no objections to using chemicals, I think maybe spraying it off would be the quickest option. If you want to have it looking reasonable by Christmas you have to at least have some potential sitting, planting and playing areas suggested , if not finished. You would have time to lay turf if you're quick, a patio area could be laid and some decent size shrubs put in would have time to settle before the winter. As it's quite long some trellis across the width might be an idea to give some idea of possible structure and layout. Maybe even plant a couple of fruit trees at the end. I always suggest herbs as they are quick to establish and would give a potential buyer something to use immediately. I'm sorry to go on but I love this sort of thing! My own garden has been laid out for 15 years so I'm pining for a new challenge!

[jlottie]

Hi 4P

Have a week off in Sept & another In Oct, getting fed up with one of my borders and apart from aquiring loads of manure and seaweed (OH willing) I intend to dig out one of my borders and resite a load of my plants. I take after my mum - I am not bothered by a colour scheme as long as I have colour for as long as I can. Got the basis for my garden but just feel like a change especially for colour in August & Sept any ideas?

[4pygmies]

Hello jlottie. It's fun rearranging things isn't it? I have so much to do this next couple of months though - it is beginning to seem like hard labour! Colour in September and in to October is a tad tricky though - it depends so much what sort of Autumn we get. Loads of things in my garden have gone straight to seed this year but at the moment I have Purple Echincea flowering with Purple Fennel's yellow flowers, Pink and dark red Scabious flowering in a jumble with Knautia Macedonica next to Crocosmia and yellow snapdragons. Still got lots of gorgeous Cerinthe purpurea as well. If you're planning to buy plants to flower over the next couple of months - Hyssop, Oregano and Golden Marjoram would look pretty good altogether. I have a hardy Geranium that's flowering well too _ I think it's called Eve Balfour, it's cerise pink - quite striking! That would look good against a Michelmas Daisy - there's one with dark leaves and pink flowers but I can't remember its name - sorry. I don't really do carefully planned borders though - I like to just shove things in too and see what happens. Hope this helps. Oh and just thought - I love the Purple Smoke Trees. I have one next to a Wayfaring tree underplanted with Gardeners Garters and Leopards Bane which looks brilliant in early Spring especially when the sun shines on it. I know it's not for now but I look forward to it every Spring!

[4pygmies]

Hello jlottie. It's fun rearranging things isn't it? I have so much to do this next couple of months though - it is beginning to seem like hard labour! Colour in September and in to October is a tad tricky though - it depends so much what sort of Autumn we get. Loads of things in my garden have gone straight to seed this year but at the moment I have Purple Echincea flowering with Purple Fennel's yellow flowers, Pink and dark red Scabious flowering in a jumble with Knautia Macedonica next to Crocosmia and yellow snapdragons. Still got lots of gorgeous Cerinthe purpurea as well. If you're planning to buy plants to flower over the next couple of months - Hyssop, Oregano and Golden Marjoram would look pretty good altogether. I have a hardy Geranium that's flowering well too _ I think it's called Eve Balfour, it's cerise pink - quite striking! That would look good against a Michelmas Daisy - there's one with dark leaves and pink flowers but I can't remember its name - sorry. I don't really do carefully planned borders though - I like to just shove things in too and see what happens. Hope this helps. Oh and just thought - I love the Purple Smoke Trees. I have one next to a Wayfaring tree underplanted with Gardeners Garters and Leopards Bane which looks brilliant in early Spring especially when the sun shines on it. I know it's not for now but I look forward to it every Spring!

[4pygmies]

OOPS SORRY! Pressed the button twice......

[oldmoleskins]

I know this is slightly off-message in view of the timescale of the original question, but to anyone else starting out, I would recommend Geoff Hamilton's "the ornamental kitchen garden".

I was re-reading it the other night, and it all makes such sense, one book, all you need to know in that easy familiar way!
OM.

[jlottie]

4P whats Gardeners Garters? I have some leopards bane somewhere and it makes a welcome appearance every spring. I planted some echinacea earlier in the year but due to the dry conditions hasn't done too well. In fact the only thing that has done brilliantly this year is a yarrow which was a piece from my mums plant, its been flowering fro weeks and the bees and butterflys love it

[4pygmies]

Hello jlottie, Gardeners Garters is a vigorous creeping grass called Phalaris arundininacea (I think). It's green and yellow and very unfashionable now. My mum had it in her garden and was always yanking it out. I have mine in a bed where it can't do a lot of damage!

[jlottie]

Hi 4P

Just googled and found that its called canary grass, looks a bit invasive - still clearing the couch from the lottie - so I think I will give it a miss

[Margi]

JLottie

Re Gardeners' Garters - don't even go there! I put in a tiny bit a while ago, and I'm still digging great chunks of it out six or seven years later, YARDS away from where I put the original bit!

Margi x

[4pygmies]

I know, isn't it odd? My Mum was always swearing about it (under her breath, as mothers do) and pulling great armfuls of it out but in my garden it's pretty well behaved (thank God). I just tidy it up a bit every couple of years. Now Saponaria - that's a REAL nightmare ......

[Chuckles]

Wonder how frangipani and patdevs have been getting on with their gardens, not seen them around for a while