All round new guy!

Hi all!

When I got into fishkeeping, I joined an online forum which is proving to be very useful and fun. So I figured I'd do the same for gardening! I've recently moved house... into my first house in fact! I'm renting but been given permission to do whatever I want, at my expense. I love getting stuck in with gardening and I've got a fair amount of experience to say I'm 24yo. I'm helped my family (mainly my grandma) with their garden and I've always acted on their advice. Now is the time where I put that into practice and act on my own advice.... EEEEK!!

Since this is my first garden, I've got a lot of freedom and I'm going to be making a secluded garden, which has lots of colour but also grow veg and fruit, without it looking too much like an allotment (I'm terribly OCD with how things look). At the same time, I have several constraints that I must bear in mind:

• I have a cat problem. The neighbourhood cats use the drive down the side of the house and rear garden as the main route to the park over the fence. Of course, that means I have cat "presents" half buried in the garden... of all kinds... which I'm not keen on!
  
• The garden is currently a lawn consisting of 90% dandelions, nettles, thistles and doc plants. There's bricks and stones littered throughout the soil. Oh and every spade of soil I turn over, there's bits of glass uncovered. So yeah... not sure what will grow in it if I don't get some new topsoil.
  
• Any money I sink into this garden is a reduction on my mortgage deposit, so I want to keep the costs as low as possible without things looking tatty. Moreover, if I spend something on the garden, I want to be able to take it with me when I move out!

The garden is North facing and the soil is rather gravelly, loamy and slightly acidic but free draining.

I think that's eveything I needed to write so I'll leave it there.

I look forward to speaking with some of you in the future!

Rad91.

 

Hi
I had a similar cat traffic problem,grow cat nip and the only thought on their mind is too get giddy in your garden then they poop elsewhere

 

Hi Rad,



Welcome to Gardeners Corner

I'm sure you'll find all the help you'll ever need here, plus a bit of fun and banter

PS... I love your pic but I'm frightened to stare at it too long in case it sends me a bit

 

Hi Joolz I was toying around with the idea of catnip but had no idea what it would do. I was under the impression that cats would flock to my garden from miles around to get another catnip buzz so I crossed it off my list haha

I will add it back onto the list though. Planning on putting a few lemon scented plants in the garden because they don't like citrus, or so I've heard! I'll probably start a thread at some point and I'll let you know how it all goes.

Hi Anthony! I'm glad to hear it... although you'll undoubtedly get sick of all my questions at some point and regret offerring to help lol

As for the pic, I agree... although I've been a bit for years now so I can stare at it all I want Join the club!

Rad91

 

Hi and welcome! Good luck with your garden plans

 

Hello and good luck to you two too

 

Welcome to GC Rad91. It seems you've got some digging to do and a lawn to sort, if you'd like to start a thread in the 'Lawns' forum somebody, possibly me will help you out.

Cat discussions are usually banned here because they create friction between members but you could try using Jeyes fluid along the drive perhaps......if you can stand the smell!

Good luck with the garden.

 

Welcome to Gardeners Corner

Click here for cat deterrent info

 

I love cats but my fiancee seems to have a mild allergy and I don't particularly want to have to be on the lookout for doodoos everytime I'm in the garden. They can pass through the garden, that's fine by me, but they insist on digging and what not when they pass by. They're going to have to find somewhere else to do their business. Thanks for the link @Zigs !

@Sheal , I hope that the lawn will be my pride and joy. I've spent a fair amount of time tending to various lawns so I'm hoping that will be the easy bit. Having said that, I know where to go if things go wrong The new lawn should be getting laid on Sunday, although it's forcast to be heavy rain and storms so maybe that's ambitious!

@wiseowl I've got an old Jack Russell staying with us throughout September. The fiancee's parents are going on holiday and we're dogsitting. There are 2 other jack russells in neighbouring gardens which is why the cats use my garden as their main route I think. Let's see how that goes down

 

It's good to hear you've got lawn experience @Radiation91, you'll be most welcome in the Lawns Forum!

Let's hope the weather holds off until after it's laid and then it can water it in for you.

Jack Russells are certainly good to have around as are terriers in general. If the dog staying with you is male even better, the smell of their urine usually keeps cat's at bay.

 

I just put little pieces of sticks, brambles, shrub prunings etc in the ground about six inches apart, leaving about the same in height above ground.
That seems to keep them off, and we've found that once they've got used to them being there they don't even bother coming into the garden.

 

That doesn't work with lawns though Anthony.

 

Well I couldn't really say there as we haven't got one of them lol