Thank you for the post Daintiness. I have some old carpet outside waiting to go to the tip so I will roll that out
I am a complete new-be when it comes to gardening so these are great tips - thank you all
i will keep posting progress pics along the way.
You have all given me great encouragement to really want to get this project underway now Today was very slow progress but at least it's a step in the right direction
Hi Donna we have 2 tiny gardens but they still take time! we moved here 18 months ago, had a gardener to lift all paving in back and lay lawn, done everything else myself, you're in the best place here, ask advice you'll get great help, i always do, read whatever you can on gardening too, everything i know i've learnt veru recently and practical gardening is brilliant to learn, enjoy your project, i've become a total plantaholic!
That's great thank you Fairygirl. I'm always happy to get freebies
I was looking at getting rid of the greenhouse (which my Grandad probably put up in the 50's) Its too big for anything I would need it for and is taking up vital play area for the girls. Do you think it would be worth posting on here to see if anyone wants it? I'm not sure if it will come down in tact though. It currently houses empty plant pots and horrendous amounts of brambles
The lawn area looks like it has sunk a lot since I played in ''Grandma's garden' - back in the day. It gets extremely boggy and water logged in the winter. Would it be better to dig out all of the grass and put some kind of hardcore or something down to bring the grass level back up? Or should I just leave it as it is and buy a lawn mower?
If anyone has any kind of design ideas for my garden that is on the affordable side I would be very interested in hearing them
I am a single parent to 5year old twin girls and I also work full time hours on shift so my time is quite tight. I'm looking for low maintenance (eventually lol) but would be interested in growing some veg/fruit/salad items once the garden is more manageable. The most important thing to me is to have a great play area for the kids. They love the outdoors and have their own mini gardening kit so they do like to help Mummy and get their hands dirty
Thank you again for the support. It's great to think I'm not on my own
Hi Rosemummy. I'm hoping to get to that stage and really learn about gardening. And as Fairygirl mentioned - it certainly is so much better than going to the gym Working in the garden and exercising at the same time. Win win and will hopefully see the benefits soon
Once the back garden is finished I guess I will need to make a start on the front :-/
i wish I could just wave a magic wand and it be finished lol. Lots of blood, sweat and tears to come I'm sure but after finding this website I am so determined to see this through now
We reckon that we have removed well over 30 tons of rubbish from the land and still have to clean up soil before we plant anything. the moles bring up all sorts of bits of glass, brick and scrap metal.
Well, you seem to have achieved loads so far and it's easy to see that there is lots of potential, especially with that fantastic greenhouse. You have a lot to keep you busy with family, work, a new home AND the garden so my advice is
1) get some essential tools, you cannot do a good job with a hand fork! You need a fork, spade and hoe for heavy work but don't buy a brush-cutter, hire one, you won't need it once you have things under control. You will need a grass cutter of some sort so do your research now. Getting brambles out is a man's job involving pick-axes and sweat, believe me, you'll need help here.
2) focus on tidying up, then concentrate on one area at a time, so that there is something pretty to look at, or something to eat. Gradually, you can tame more and more.
3) it's meant to be enjoyable. If you are coping with all the rest of your life keep the gardening ambitions modest so that you can succeed, not just add another load of problems.
I think you have a really exciting garden here and I hope it gives you years of pleasure, learning to make it what you want. Good luck!
Hi Posy. Thank you very much for your comments. I'm weirdly getting more and more excited about this project with each post from you lovely people. Giving me the much needed motivation to tackle this new project
It will be really good seeing the outcome and knowing it's through my own hard work and graft.
I never thought I would get excited about gardening but it's strangely becoming addictive
I'm also a single working mother of two Donna - so I know about the problems involved! Getting the bit nearest the house is always the best way of tackling a big job as you can see the results of your efforts there all the time, and it's easier to ignore the bits further away
I'd still be inclined to consider getting someone in to clear the big rough area to give you a chance of getting on top of it all before winter. You might think it's an unnecessary expense but the benefit to your sanity could be worth it. When the going gets tough - at least you won't have all those brambles to face. They're hard enough to keep at bay once you do get rid of them.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Posts
Thank you for the post Daintiness. I have some old carpet outside waiting to go to the tip so I will roll that out
I am a complete new-be when it comes to gardening so these are great tips - thank you all
i will keep posting progress pics along the way.
You have all given me great encouragement to really want to get this project underway now
Today was very slow progress but at least it's a step in the right direction 
Hi Donna we have 2 tiny gardens but they still take time! we moved here 18 months ago, had a gardener to lift all paving in back and lay lawn, done everything else myself, you're in the best place here, ask advice you'll get great help, i always do, read whatever you can on gardening too, everything i know i've learnt veru recently and practical gardening is brilliant to learn, enjoy your project, i've become a total plantaholic!
That's great thank you Fairygirl. I'm always happy to get freebies
I was looking at getting rid of the greenhouse (which my Grandad probably put up in the 50's) Its too big for anything I would need it for and is taking up vital play area for the girls. Do you think it would be worth posting on here to see if anyone wants it? I'm not sure if it will come down in tact though. It currently houses empty plant pots and horrendous amounts of brambles
The lawn area looks like it has sunk a lot since I played in ''Grandma's garden' - back in the day. It gets extremely boggy and water logged in the winter. Would it be better to dig out all of the grass and put some kind of hardcore or something down to bring the grass level back up? Or should I just leave it as it is and buy a lawn mower?
If anyone has any kind of design ideas for my garden that is on the affordable side I would be very interested in hearing them
I am a single parent to 5year old twin girls and I also work full time hours on shift so my time is quite tight. I'm looking for low maintenance (eventually lol) but would be interested in growing some veg/fruit/salad items once the garden is more manageable. The most important thing to me is to have a great play area for the kids. They love the outdoors and have their own mini gardening kit so they do like to help Mummy and get their hands dirty
Thank you again for the support. It's great to think I'm not on my own
Hi Rosemummy. I'm hoping to get to that stage and really learn about gardening. And as Fairygirl mentioned - it certainly is so much better than going to the gym
Working in the garden and exercising at the same time. Win win and will hopefully see the benefits soon 
Once the back garden is finished I guess I will need to make a start on the front :-/
i wish I could just wave a magic wand and it be finished lol. Lots of blood, sweat and tears to come I'm sure but after finding this website I am so determined to see this through now
Hi Pauline. Thank you. I think I need buckets of luck
You have done a lovely job on your garden
I can only dream that mine will look half as good
Slow and steady is the way to go, that way you do not exhaust yourself and then give up. This is what we bought in 1995
http://www.ideasforgardens.net/Berghill-FGT/
And what it looked like a few years later.
http://www.ideasforgardens.net/berghill/CoachTrip/
We reckon that we have removed well over 30 tons of rubbish from the land and still have to clean up soil before we plant anything. the moles bring up all sorts of bits of glass, brick and scrap metal.
Above all , enjoy it, don't make it a chore.
30tons? Wow. Well done - it looks lovely
I think you are right about taking plenty of photos. I can already see a difference just looking out the back door after my first day's graft.
Well, you seem to have achieved loads so far and it's easy to see that there is lots of potential, especially with that fantastic greenhouse. You have a lot to keep you busy with family, work, a new home AND the garden so my advice is
1) get some essential tools, you cannot do a good job with a hand fork! You need a fork, spade and hoe for heavy work but don't buy a brush-cutter, hire one, you won't need it once you have things under control. You will need a grass cutter of some sort so do your research now. Getting brambles out is a man's job involving pick-axes and sweat, believe me, you'll need help here.
2) focus on tidying up, then concentrate on one area at a time, so that there is something pretty to look at, or something to eat. Gradually, you can tame more and more.
3) it's meant to be enjoyable. If you are coping with all the rest of your life keep the gardening ambitions modest so that you can succeed, not just add another load of problems.
I think you have a really exciting garden here and I hope it gives you years of pleasure, learning to make it what you want. Good luck!
It will be really good seeing the outcome and knowing it's through my own hard work and graft.
I never thought I would get excited about gardening but it's strangely becoming addictive
Thank you for all of the support
I'm also a single working mother of two Donna - so I know about the problems involved! Getting the bit nearest the house is always the best way of tackling a big job as you can see the results of your efforts there all the time, and it's easier to ignore the bits further away
I'd still be inclined to consider getting someone in to clear the big rough area to give you a chance of getting on top of it all before winter. You might think it's an unnecessary expense but the benefit to your sanity could be worth it. When the going gets tough - at least you won't have all those brambles to face. They're hard enough to keep at bay once you do get rid of them.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...