I’d hold back on raised beds, too. Try growing tomatoes/peas/potatoes in a bag or a pot, see if that’s something you still want to do and if the answer is “yes” invest in good beds next year . You may find out that few pots is all you need to satisfy desire to grow veg.
You can always tuck in herbs and chives and such in flower borders.
Or, again, grow herbs in pots. If something doesn’t work out this way you just empty out the pot and fill it with something new to try
meanwhile, invest in trees you want (fruit or not, but do remember you need to pick fruit , so maybe look for dwarf variety to have it more manageable).
Consider few clumps of decorative grasses in different spots for year around interest. Maybe some plants like euphoria or see holly that are either stay the same long or leave nice dry seedheads.
But definitely don’t try to fill it all at once and just live in that place for a bit let it speak to you and see gradually what are your needs for that space actually are
I wouldn't say tomatoes are the easiest veg to grow - judging by the endless queries we get every year on the forum! Lettuce is probably the easiest of all. In theory. The wildlife often have an input on that though
Anyway, we'd need to wait until @jttv99 responds to see what they think of any comments and suggestions.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Firstly, thank you for the input. Secondly, sorry for the delay. On the plus side, a summer of sun, rain, wind and shade has at least given me an idea of things.
Having said that, I still find myself in exactly the same position, staring at an empty canvas, albeit our lawn has established a lot better (but is suffering a bit, due to new build clay!)
To answer a few of the questions:
- I definitely realise these things take work and time, and not looking to achieve it all at the same time
- By low maintenance I mean in proportion to what some of you do with your gardens; not zero touch. Some advice we have had is to use commercial plants, ever greens, leafy type stuff.
- I like literally any and all veg, the easier and more fruitful crops the better. We definitely want planters/raised beds/sleepers due to visual appeal, but I do like the idea of using pots first.
With us being south facing and not really overlooked, when it's sunny, the sun is out all day, every day! There is a nice bit of shade at the top right due to trees, but very little elsewhere. The last of the sun is at the top left later in the day, and we are looking at that for a seating area. L shaped patio extending up to the left is what we'd like to do for hard landscaping.
The layout and starting position is practically identical to me, including the trees at the bottom outside the boundary which offer a nice bit of visual appeal. A key difference for us would be factoring in an entertainment space and a play area, but that's what we can do with zones.
If only my grass would grow as well as they do (and be as green )
I am thinking to start with a small-ish border and get the hard landscaping done as suggested.
In terms of the plants and veg - would veg be OK in fully sunny areas during the day? And in terms of the top right corner which gets very little sunlight after late morning, what is good there?
For easy flowering low-maintenance groundcover, you can't beat hardy geraniums. Just cut them back in winter.
You can cut them back after their first flowering flush as well, but you don't have to if you don't mind it being mainly foliage from midsummer onwards. Even if you don't, some varieties like rozanne will just carry on flowering for ages. And they're fairly forgiving in a tough year like this once they're established.
I have a long border facing south, with soil that is improved clay. There is a low, dry stone retaining wall. It has survived this summer with scarcely any input from me.
My stalwarts are: hardy geraniums, as mentioned, phlox paniculata and white Leucojum for taller, solid clumps. There are Michaelmas daisies to follow on. These come in a range of heights, but are confusingly split between species, Aster, Symphiotrichum and Eurybia. I tend to favour the New England asters as they are supposed to be mildew resistant, but have others too with no problems.
These plants together give a compatible colour range of white, pinks, mauve/purple and blue. I then add a froth of lime green in early summer from alchemilla mollis.
There are also day lilies, Hemerocallis, which though they are known to like moist soils have still grown and flowered well for me this year and some crocosmias, as these both have tall, strappy leaves for contrast. The colour range is different, though you can select for similar: white, cream, pink, add pale yellows or hot things up with oranges and reds. In other beds I also have Heleniums which go well with these.
Apart from a couple of clumps that I split and moved in spring, none of these plants needed any watering at all this summer. I put in plant supports for the taller plants, that are inclined to sprawl on my sloping borders. Alchemilla needs a haircut about now, to remove seeding stems and refresh foliage. The rest will die back naturally. Dead day lily leaves look untidy so are removed, crocosmia leaves look quite nice in winter so I usually leave them, but otherwise they and the rest can be cut back in autumn or early spring before new growth starts.
These plants give a strong foundation to which you can add as takes your fancy. All can be split to give you more plants after a year or two and can then be left to bulk up nicely so you can save money by buying just single specimens, start with a small area and then gradually extend. Alchemilla can be split, but will readily self seed if allowed and I find it better to start with a young plant than a straggly bit of an old one.
Everything is easy to grow in the right environment. Before planting anything, dig down into your soil a spade's depth. Take out a handful. Is it crumbly? Sandy? Full of stones? Dark and rich in organic matter, or light coloured? All these things make a difference to what will enjoy your garden and be least effort. Knowing where the sunlight falls when is also good, as plants vary in their need for direct light/shade. Finally, get yourself a cheap soil pH kit, and test your soil sample to see whether it's acid, neutral or alkaline. You'll need all this info (sorry) before you can choose good plants for your particular location.
I would spend the first Summer looking at pics, books and maybe visiting neighbour’s gardens. Certainly make a drawn plan of where sun is, soil type and essential components eg. Patio, BBQ, shed. I would seriously consider ditching the grass, but you may have little people to cater for.
Evergreen shrubs will be high impact for minimal maintenance. Some trees, even fruit trees, would be lovely if budget allows.
You could try pots/containers for annuals and veg next year, just to test out the level of effort (although pots need more watering). An outside tap is very helpful.
As a fellow busy person I can really recommend learning how to potter. Ten minutes spent in the garden once a day saves an hour's work on weekends. I often walk around with my morning coffee and pull some weeds or do little jobs like that.
This is great advice. You also have to learn to love it, rather than see it as "maintenance that needs to be done". I find it a very valuable way of getting into a "flow state".
"What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour".
Posts
meanwhile, invest in trees you want (fruit or not, but do remember you need to pick fruit , so maybe look for dwarf variety to have it more manageable).
Consider few clumps of decorative grasses in different spots for year around interest. Maybe some plants like euphoria or see holly that are either stay the same long or leave nice dry seedheads.
Lettuce is probably the easiest of all. In theory. The wildlife often have an input on that though
Anyway, we'd need to wait until @jttv99 responds to see what they think of any comments and suggestions.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Firstly, thank you for the input. Secondly, sorry for the delay. On the plus side, a summer of sun, rain, wind and shade has at least given me an idea of things.
Having said that, I still find myself in exactly the same position, staring at an empty canvas, albeit our lawn has established a lot better (but is suffering a bit, due to new build clay!)
To answer a few of the questions:
- I definitely realise these things take work and time, and not looking to achieve it all at the same time
- By low maintenance I mean in proportion to what some of you do with your gardens; not zero touch. Some advice we have had is to use commercial plants, ever greens, leafy type stuff.
- I like literally any and all veg, the easier and more fruitful crops the better. We definitely want planters/raised beds/sleepers due to visual appeal, but I do like the idea of using pots first.
With us being south facing and not really overlooked, when it's sunny, the sun is out all day, every day! There is a nice bit of shade at the top right due to trees, but very little elsewhere. The last of the sun is at the top left later in the day, and we are looking at that for a seating area. L shaped patio extending up to the left is what we'd like to do for hard landscaping.
I found this thread: https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1034795/finally-my-own-garden#latest
The layout and starting position is practically identical to me, including the trees at the bottom outside the boundary which offer a nice bit of visual appeal. A key difference for us would be factoring in an entertainment space and a play area, but that's what we can do with zones.
I hear only silence
If only my grass would grow as well as they do (and be as green
I am thinking to start with a small-ish border and get the hard landscaping done as suggested.
In terms of the plants and veg - would veg be OK in fully sunny areas during the day? And in terms of the top right corner which gets very little sunlight after late morning, what is good there?
Thanks!
You can cut them back after their first flowering flush as well, but you don't have to if you don't mind it being mainly foliage from midsummer onwards. Even if you don't, some varieties like rozanne will just carry on flowering for ages. And they're fairly forgiving in a tough year like this once they're established.