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

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  • clarke.bruntclarke.brunt Posts: 215
    edited March 2021
    That's "Dracunculus vulgaris" you mentioned earlier - the Dragon Arum. A big relative of our wild native Arum maculatum (Cuckoo-pint, and many other 'common' names). I grow some other 'aroids' (that's the colloquial name for the plant family they're all in) - somehow never grew the Dragon Arum, despite it being the kind of thing that would fascinate me.

    In the photos, is that part of your property at the right, and is it Ivy climbing up the wall? I wouldn't have that - it has its place for wildlife, climbing up something suitable, but to my mind, a building that you care about isn't such a place. It's impossible to get off without leaving a mess, so I'd cut that off at the base, leave the growth to die, and try to stop it re-growing.
  • Dracunculus vulgaris, the dragon arum. Looks incredible, smells of decaying flesh so best enjoyed upwind of it. 

    Is that a huge mahonia I spy in the front garden?
  • borgadrborgadr Posts: 718
    As recent convert to the pleasures of gardening, who recently bought a new house with a big garden I fully understand where you're coming from!

    It might seem presumptuous me offering advice as a relative beginner, but here's my tuppence worth - I'm sure more experienced hands will chip in if I say anything stupid!

    I found a really helpful first thing to do was to go around the garden and try to identify all the plants, and know what I'm looking at, write them down on a sketched plan of the garden, then try to find out as much as I can about how to care for each of them. An app I found useful for plant ID was PictureThis (other members might recommend other apps).  Might be difficult this time of year when not much is in leaf, which brings me to the next piece of advice which is don't leap into changes or conclusions until you see what pops up through the growing season - don't rush into pruning something if you're not sure what it is or digging something up until it's had a proper chance to do its thing.

    I think there's no need to panic or rush things.  There's lots of advice around on "what to do now" - like on the GW site "jobs for this month", the GW tv programme starts in a few weeks and has "jobs for the weekend" and there are plenty of books which guide you through the year (one I like is the RHS Gardening Through the Year).  
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    Remember, it's now YOUR garden. 
    If previous owners left you carpet , curtains or wallpaper which were not to your taste; you'd remove them. 
    It's the same outdoors. Just take your time and proceed slowly. 
    We're more than happy to ID anything about which you're unsure
    Devon.
  • Thank you everyone.

    Dracunculus vulgaris seems to be popping up again in the front lawn so I'm excited to see it's Rolling Stones style tongue out again! Not sure about the whiff though!

    Rachel I'm not sure what a mahonia is! where on the picture is it?


  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    edited March 2021
    Clemmy, l think it's the large shrub on the left hand side as you look at the photo of the front garden .
    Evergreen with large spiky leaves a bit like a giant holly, and yellow flowers. 
    https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/popular/mahonia
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