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I have bought a gardener's garden and I don't have the first clue what to do! Help!

clemmyx760clemmyx760 Posts: 32
in Problem solving
Hello,

I'm a total beginner at gardening, it's not something I've ever really been that interested in but I just bought a cottage with the most STUFFED full garden, full of wild and wonderful plants that I have no clue about!

For the past 6 months we've been renovating the house and garden and the early decisions have been easy because mostly they have been around reducing vegetation and removing plants/shrubs/trees in order to be able to get the place functional. Mainly using the chainsaw, shovel and secateurs!

Now the garden has been beaten back a bit I can think about actual gardening, and this is where I run out of knowledge lol

What do I do with a red hot poker? It looks sad. Do I cut it's leaves back? off? or will it just perk up on its own? I trimmed off the flower stalks when they were done, but the green crown of leaves all look a bit wilted.

Any ideas?
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  • clemmyx760clemmyx760 Posts: 32

  • clemmyx760clemmyx760 Posts: 32
    This is the level of vegetation we are dealing with! ^^^
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    First thing: don't panic. 
    Walk round your garden, over the course of days / weeks , even months to make sure you're happy with any future plans. It's far easier to remove something down the line, than wish you hadn't removed it earlier on. 
    Work out what you want.( bigger patio?, veg garden?, kids' play area?, greenhouse?,etc etc whatever YOU might need, ignore what other folk TELL  you you need) 
    If you can get a scale drawing of the garden , it'd help with planning . 

    Devon.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Lucky you, that looks like a nice mature garden!
    First thing, carry on observing until you've been there a full year. You might have bulbs and early perennials coming up that you haven't seen yet, if you weren't there until later in the year, and some of the shrubs might be spring-flowerers.
    Second, just because the previous owner planted something, you don't have to keep it if you don't like it, or if you want the space for something you like better.
    Third, if you aren't sure what a plant is or what to do with it, post pics on here and I'm sure people will help.
    I find that red-hot poker foliage does tend to be a bit scruffy-looking even when they're in full flower. You can pull off the dead leaves in spring. Here's the RHS advice https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/articles/misc/Kniphofia

    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    It looks gorgeous, so pretty, can see why you bought it.

    Red hot pokers, I just run my fingers, with gardening gloves on, through their leaves pulling out old dead ones, then let them get on with it.

    Basically, it is now your garden so you can do what you like with it. If you don't want certain plants you can can rid of them, if you want a play area for children or a patio then make one. But if you love the garden how it is then keep it and learn gradually what to do with it.

    If you have time and the wish then study everything you can about plants and gardens. Takes time though but enjoyable if it interests you. When we bought our first house I was young and knew nothing about plants. My mother in law visited and told me the names of a lot of them. I bought a plant encyclopaedia, no Internet in those days, and read up about them all. MIL walked down the road with me pointing out plants in people's front gardens and I wrote down what I liked.

    I agree with @Hostafan1 about taking your time and not digging up anything until you are sure, but a lot of plants and shrubs can be cut back if they are in the way. Most perennials can be cut down at this time of year to make way for new growth. Early flowering shrubs can be cut back or pruned after  flowering. Late flowering shrubs are pruned now, some quite hard eg Buddleia. That's why you need to learn what your plants are so you know what to do with them.

    Those tall light green plants in the front look like euphorbias, be careful and wear gloves if you cut them down when they start to look tatty. They have a white sap that can burn your skin.

    If you want to know what a plant is you could take a photo and post it on here. Usually someone will know.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    I was still typing when @JennyJ posted!
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • FlyDragonFlyDragon Posts: 834
    What a lovely house and garden, congratulations!
  • clemmyx760clemmyx760 Posts: 32
    Thanks everyone. I think I was quite intimidated at the start as the chap who lived here was a committed gardener. He had artichokes growing in with roses and pineapple plants and just so much stuff I've never heard of! something in the front garden called Dracularis Vulgaris? something like that? It has a big purple tongue, very odd. I like it!

    I've got a plant identifying app and that's helpful.

    I think the best advice you've given me is 'make it your own' I've had so many villagers say 'Oh you've bough X's house, his garden is so wonderful' whilst I'm stood there with a chain saw in my hand lol
  • clemmyx760clemmyx760 Posts: 32
    Busy-Lizzie said:


    Those tall light green plants in the front look like euphorbias, be careful and wear gloves if you cut them down when they start to look tatty. They have a white sap that can burn your skin.


    Yes they have 'got me' a few times. I'm not a fan so those are deffo on the bin list.
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    edited March 2021
    The Euphorbias are fab, they look so lovely especially in early spring. You have quite a lot of them though. Just pull any older ones that look tatty out of the ground. New seedlings will appear, then you can move them where you actually want them. Keep the tidier, smaller ones that are in a sensible spot; just cut out the spent flowers in late summer. 
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
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