How To Get Your New Garden Started

So you’ve settled into your new home and it is time to think about the garden. It still looks like a builders yard. Perhaps you have managed to keep the grass cut, but the rest is rampant. Full of weeds and plain unsightly. If it is a new build, it’s also full of builders rubble.Stop! Before you really start to work on your garden, you need to decide what you want to use it for.
Perhaps you need some of these:-

• Decorative flower beds
• Somewhere to entertain
• A vegetable plot
• A greenhouse to raise plants
• A garden pond
• A playground for the kids

So take some time to make yourself a list. What you don’t want is a square of grass surrounded by narrow,mean flower beds.

With most plots it is usually possible, with a little planning, to incorporate most of your wishes. You might want use some landscape design software to make this process easier. You should always start by drawing an outline of the plot together with an indication of where the sun is. This way you will know which part gets the most sun and where the shade is. If you want to use the garden to entertain in the evening, then you want your seating to catch the last of the rays. Remember that many plants cannot tolerate full sunshine, whist others really flourish in those conditions.

Before doing anything else, you should clear the worst of the builders rubble. Next test your soil PH. You need to know whether you have an acid soil or if it is alkiline. Test several different places, since the PH may vary across the garden.

Right, so now you have the shape, size, aspect and soil type of the plot. Time to get to work. You need to dig the garden over and clear all those weeds. There is no easy way to do this. You can try weed-killer, but the deep rooted and pernicious weeds will only come back. Whatever you decide to grow, it will do much better and save a lot of time and effort in the long run if you do this preparation thoroughly. Its boring, its tedious, its hard work, with very little to show for it. But its essential.

Next comes whats known as hard landscaping. Deciding where to put paths, garden ponds,a patio or seating area, and if you want them a potting shed and a greenhouse. A garden shed may seem unnecessary at first, but you will find it immensely useful to store all your tools (thus freeing room in your garage or utility room). If organised, it will make it much easier to find everything and can also be used to sow seeds in pots or put plants in pots. The use of sheds in the garden is something books have been written about so I shan’t go into detail here.  However, you will want the shed to be attractive if it can be seen from the house. So be sure that you leave enough room to grow plants over it if wished, or have other ways to screen it.

Now comes the fun bit. Draw a plan of what you want where. Don’t get too detailed, to begin with a general outline will do. If you want a pond or other water feature, plan what you will do with the soil you dig out. What will you do with dead plants, grass cuttings etc. You need a compost heap, again plan where it will go and how you will screen it from the house. If you intend to raise hens, then think about building your own chicken house.

When you start to build your garden, begin with any large excavations you want. Don’t forget any excavations you will need for the garden pond pump and pipes. Next comes paths and hard standings, then any grass. Finally you have the planting.

This all takes time and hard work, but in the end you will be amply rewarded with a garden just as you want it, fulfilling the functions you want and will be easier in its upkeep than if you had not put in all that hard work.