Good point I missed out Raisingirl, I should have pointed out the areas to be sown need a bit of work to accept wildflower seeds, some scarifying ro open up patches where the seeds can establish to soil, as its already being cut this would not necessarily be too much work and would add interest.
All above is good advice. I am a great believer in living with an inherited garden for at least 12 months, especially one owned by a keen gardener. You never know what treasures might be planted. Also, by now your family will have trodden their own routes to get around the very large area. Use those paths as a basis for your basic design. If you impose designer paths in the garden, corners will be cut by small humans, as the most direct route to where they want to go.
A cosy area close to the house is also good, not far to carry food, and the essential liquid refreshment, for outdoor meals etc.
Laurels are extremely hardy and can be cut back to bare stumps of almost any height and shoot again, if the hedge is taking up a lot of room. It could well have been planted as a wind shield for the nursery plants. The East wind can be a killer for many plants.
The pond may also be deliberate as a drainage area for the garden. It could be made into a lovely nature reserve area for wildlife, beneficial to the rest of the garden. Mature trees also help with drainage so if they can be left, all to the good.
Your situation really strikes a chord with me. Just after moving to my cottage I had the option of renting and eventually buying 2 two acre fields, one in front and one behind my property. I had to say No but have always regretted losing them. My neighbours now own them and have done nothing with them so I struggle to keep on top of the weeds blown into my garden. I often sit and muse on what I would have done with the land had I been able to buy them. A vineyard perhaps as they face South and have a slight slope towards the south, it is very poor, gritty, shallow soil overlaying compacted shale so not easy to cultivate. I have to feed, feed, feed to get anything to grow.
Good luck. Developing your plot should be fun, exciting and rewarding. Try to incorporate as many labour saving ploys as you can. Anno Domini has a bad habit of creeping up from behind and interfering with your plans.
Been there, done that with regards to buying a wreck with a hectare of land tho half was paddock. We concentrated on making the house livable then got a man in with his bulldozer to scoop out a natural drainage pond and smooth out the rest of the garden area for us ready for grass sowing, hedge planting and bed making.
It sounds as if you can skip the bulldozer and grass sowing phase so I would treat it like a house renovation. In other words, do one room at a time and do it well so it just needs dusting and vaccing while you do the next.
In the garden, that translates to keeping the short grass area mown at least once a week and not too short so the grass can grow strongly. Mow access paths through a longer grass section so you and the kids can get to the rest of the garden for pruning, digging, play as appropriate. Then start on priorities which I would suggest are the spaces nearest the house - flower beds to maintain or create, herbs, fruit and veggies ditto.
Make sure you have a seating area to sit and enjoy meals, drinks, chat outside when you can and think carefully about what kind of garden you want - playground, entertaining, productive, perfumed, wildlife friendly and so on. Then prioritise according to time available and budget. Grow into your garden rather than have it overgrow you.
Sowing seeds and taking cutting or making divisions are a very cheap way to acquire new plants but you do need things like safe cold frames or a greenhouse or polytunnel to bring them on. I suggest you borrow or buy Alan Titchmarsh's How to be a Gardener DVDs and books. They'll give you a comprehensive and easy guide to what, where, when, how and why.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
A sectioned off orchard sounds divine. I'd get an apple lover to take a gander at some point. Are there no gardening notes left for you? Diaries and the like?
WOW - thank you ALL very much indeed, you have given me much food for thought and pointed me in directions I hadn't considered, I'm very grateful.
Happily, I'm in my early forties, fit and the kids are 6, 8 and 11 so I can rope them in too - I am really excited/enthusiastic about the garden and tend to potter about a lot with secateurs and loppers!
Now the house is approaching being finished (this summer, fingers crossed) my thoughts are turning to the garden, this is the house we'll stay in, so I hope this garden will keep me fit and occupied long into my retirement years - your comments have made me realise I don't need to rush anything, and to really consider how the garden works for our family.
On a happy note, through the village network, I tracked down the owners prior to the ones we bought from, they did a lot of the planting about 20 yrs ago, so are coming to walk through it with me - you gardeners are a good lot
If I find a way to do it, I'll try to put some pics up
To post pics tap on the icon, above the text box, that looks like a mountain range, 5th from the right and follow the instructions. If you get confused ask and someone will help you. .........or you could ask one of your sons
this is summer 2015, the orchard and the 'market garden' area are off to the right, behind trees/shrubs etc and the pond is down the bottom near the weeping willow
Posts
All above is good advice. I am a great believer in living with an inherited garden for at least 12 months, especially one owned by a keen gardener. You never know what treasures might be planted. Also, by now your family will have trodden their own routes to get around the very large area. Use those paths as a basis for your basic design. If you impose designer paths in the garden, corners will be cut by small humans, as the most direct route to where they want to go.
A cosy area close to the house is also good, not far to carry food, and the essential liquid refreshment, for outdoor meals etc.
Laurels are extremely hardy and can be cut back to bare stumps of almost any height and shoot again, if the hedge is taking up a lot of room. It could well have been planted as a wind shield for the nursery plants. The East wind can be a killer for many plants.
The pond may also be deliberate as a drainage area for the garden. It could be made into a lovely nature reserve area for wildlife, beneficial to the rest of the garden. Mature trees also help with drainage so if they can be left, all to the good.
Your situation really strikes a chord with me. Just after moving to my cottage I had the option of renting and eventually buying 2 two acre fields, one in front and one behind my property. I had to say No but have always regretted losing them. My neighbours now own them and have done nothing with them so I struggle to keep on top of the weeds blown into my garden. I often sit and muse on what I would have done with the land had I been able to buy them. A vineyard perhaps as they face South and have a slight slope towards the south, it is very poor, gritty, shallow soil overlaying compacted shale so not easy to cultivate. I have to feed, feed, feed to get anything to grow.
Good luck. Developing your plot should be fun, exciting and rewarding. Try to incorporate as many labour saving ploys as you can. Anno Domini has a bad habit of creeping up from behind and interfering with your plans.
It sounds as if you can skip the bulldozer and grass sowing phase so I would treat it like a house renovation. In other words, do one room at a time and do it well so it just needs dusting and vaccing while you do the next.
In the garden, that translates to keeping the short grass area mown at least once a week and not too short so the grass can grow strongly. Mow access paths through a longer grass section so you and the kids can get to the rest of the garden for pruning, digging, play as appropriate. Then start on priorities which I would suggest are the spaces nearest the house - flower beds to maintain or create, herbs, fruit and veggies ditto.
Make sure you have a seating area to sit and enjoy meals, drinks, chat outside when you can and think carefully about what kind of garden you want - playground, entertaining, productive, perfumed, wildlife friendly and so on. Then prioritise according to time available and budget. Grow into your garden rather than have it overgrow you.
Sowing seeds and taking cutting or making divisions are a very cheap way to acquire new plants but you do need things like safe cold frames or a greenhouse or polytunnel to bring them on. I suggest you borrow or buy Alan Titchmarsh's How to be a Gardener DVDs and books. They'll give you a comprehensive and easy guide to what, where, when, how and why.
Happily, I'm in my early forties, fit and the kids are 6, 8 and 11 so I can rope them in too - I am really excited/enthusiastic about the garden and tend to potter about a lot with secateurs and loppers!
Now the house is approaching being finished (this summer, fingers crossed) my thoughts are turning to the garden, this is the house we'll stay in, so I hope this garden will keep me fit and occupied long into my retirement years - your comments have made me realise I don't need to rush anything, and to really consider how the garden works for our family.
On a happy note, through the village network, I tracked down the owners prior to the ones we bought from, they did a lot of the planting about 20 yrs ago, so are coming to walk through it with me - you gardeners are a good lot
If I find a way to do it, I'll try to put some pics up
If you get confused ask and someone will help you. .........or you could ask one of your sons
Thanks Pauline 7!
this is summer 2015, the orchard and the 'market garden' area are off to the right, behind trees/shrubs etc and the pond is down the bottom near the weeping willow