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Where to start!!

Nick3181Nick3181 Posts: 7
in Garden design
Hi there. I’m very new to gardening. I bought a house which I’ve slowly been doing up. There is a large garden but before I bought the property the house was left empty for many years. The gardens are just full of weeds and I’m finding it quite difficult to start planning. Do I need to create a blank canvas before starting. I’ve read some things about baking the soil under plastic sheeting to kill everything off. 
There isn’t really anything there at the moment. There are no flower beds. It’s just a mass of fern like weeds, thorn bushes and the grass isn’t even like a lawn. It’s just a mass of weeds and grasses that look like a jungle Of different plants when left and almost a lawn when cut down short. 

I think I’ll obviously need to do this in sections. Do I bake it, rotivate it. I just don’t really know what to do with it. Watching gardeners’ world I am in awe of all of these garden which don’t have a weed in sight!  I realise that this is something that comes in time but I’d like to try and do it best way possible. 

Any advise, I realise people will probably have plenty of questions before they can help. 

Thanks in advance. 

Posts

  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    Let's start with the usual questions  :)
    What do you want in your garden?  Lawns, flowers, veg plot ? Someplace(s) to sit ?
    Do you need somewhere for a washing line? Wheelie bins?
    Do you know which way it faces, ie is it sunny, shady.
    Answer those questions,  then write them on a piece of paper and put it somewhere safe for future reference,  because the first thing you need to do is clear the site.
    By the sounds of it, there maybe some hidden treasures under the neglect, so personally l wouldn't go in with a "slash and burn" policy as it were. One step at a time, the key to a successful garden is in the preparation. 
    Some photos would be helpful,  maybe include one or two from the upstairs window (assuming that you don't live in a bungalow !)
  • rachelQrtJHBjbrachelQrtJHBjb Posts: 819
    Could you post some pictures so we can get an idea of which weeds you have (annual or perennial) and how big the plot is? This will help everyone post comments giving advice on whether to tackle the whole lot in one hit or do it on project by project basis. 

    Also, what are your needs/wants for the garden?

  • Nick3181Nick3181 Posts: 7
    Ok so trying to be as helpful as I can. So the house is my second home which is in France. (Before people judge, the house was cheaper than a car!). There is quite a sizeable piece of land. The largest being left as a meadow for now. I intend to have one piece as a lawned area for sitting. I’d like to grow vegetables in a section and then install a greenhouse etc. The garden completely goes all the way around the house and it’s in the middle of nowhere in the countryside. One of the reasons why there is probably so much random stuff growing everywhere. Nature has probably been left to do what it wants for five Years. or possibly even longer. The issue with it being a holiday home is that I can’t tend to it all the time but they plans are to hopefully move there full time so I can spend most of my time in the garden. I can’t visit at the moment for obvious reasons but I have found some pictures that I have taken in the past. Typically though they tend to be the after shots when I am happy it looks semi presentable. 

    The photos. The one with me standing in the over grown garden was a period of six weeks between Easter and May a couple of years back. The last picture is the same spot but cut back with the lawn mower. 
  • Nick3181Nick3181 Posts: 7
    The plot is attached. The huge area at the back of the house is
    left as a meadow. 
  • Nick3181Nick3181 Posts: 7

  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    Wow ! Must admit l was imaging your typical UK semi detached  :)
    We do have at least one forum member who (under normal circumstances), travels between the UK and France, l hope she doesn't mind me tagging her @Bizzie-Lizzie, and there are several other members who live in France.
    The fact that you can't visit at the moment probably means nature is having a high old time !

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