How can I restore my garden to its former glory?

Hi,

I've just recently bought a house, and it's back garden is beginning to become a mess - I don't think it's been tended to in months.

I haven't really done any gardening before, so I was wondering what's the best way of getting it back to how it should be!!

Here's a couple of photos showing the difference before and now...

Thanks a lot in advance for the help!!

UPDATE: Have updated this post from ages ago, with photos of how it is looking now, they are in the comments (on Page 2).

 

I'd cut the grass, cut it to the shape which you want (I presume in the circle which it once was?) Maybe give your patio/decking area some oil/paint, maybe paint the fences and shed too? Buy some flowers (maybe winter pansies now?)

Here's a link; http://www.vanmeuwen.com/flowers/fl...ants/pansy-winter-flowering-super-mix/68090VM

I bought a tray last year and they were flowering well into December. I'd rather buy something cheap like this than start buying plants that could die over the winter. Plus, I'm not sure if you want flowers!

 

Welcome to the forums, failedcomic

You have a nice sized garden there: not too small, not too large, but big enough to enjoy.

Begin with cutting the lawn and pulling up the weeds. Then stand back and take another photo. For inspiration, have a look at some pictures on Google of gardens and get an idea of what appeals to *you*. Not everyone likes flowers and prefer simple, straightforward ideas that take little looking after.

Note which way the sun moves across the garden so you'll know which aspect you are working with.

 

Hallo,
that's a nice little spot to enjoy a cuppa in when the sun shines and the work's done. Plenty of winter bedding plants around in Supermarkets to brighten it up. Welcome to Gardeners Corner,
Jenny namaste

 

Welcome to GC Failedcomic
Mow the lawn and weed the borders and you'll be suprised what a transformation that will be

 

Two thoughts (well, and some other suggestions!):

1. You can do with it what you would like. It isn't planted "enough" that you would have to be ripping stuff out, instead you can add whatever you like. Some nice mature bushes at the back, but other than that its just a nice area that you can make into a garden.

2. Although its a bit hard to be sure from the photo it looks like the fence panel on the right needs fixing - otherwise the next wind will catch it and do a lot more damage.

Could do with some more photos please. A closer-up picture of the plants at the far end, and one from the far end looking towards the house.

There are two schools of though about whether a sitting area should be at the far end of the garden, or next to the house. Personally I would change it and move it next to the house and plant the garden so there is something to look out onto at.

Next up you need to decide what sort of garden you want:

Something to Wow! all your mates. That is likely to take some money, and effort, but could look stunning.

Or a collection of plants of something you have always taken a fancy in - for example a Rose garden (but I have seen stunning gardens with just be containers, and one on on TV on Gardners World that was just Hostas - until seeing that I would never have thought that a garden with just Hostas could work at all! so an "obsession" garden is also possible).

Or you could have a low maintenance garden that is nothing special to look at. Just a patch of grass and maybe some flowers around the edge. That would give an area for children to be able to play on the grass / have a padding pool / etc. or for pets (if that's important to you?)

Or you might want to grow a few vegetables?

Whatever style you would like, the fences would benefit from some climbers growing up them - that will make them less stark, and bring some colour into the garden.

I would turn the shed round so the door points to the right, then you could grow something up the "wall" of the shed that then faced the house, to disguise it a bit. I think it currently looks a bit utilitarian that the shed door faces the house ... but maybe that's just me?!

 

P.S. When you stand with your back to the house facing down the garden which way are you facing?

 

Definitely something to decorate the fences. I agree with the idea about the shed but if you turn it round then there won't be much room left to sit on the decking. I'd consider getting rid of it if it's not used all that much.

I'd keep the seating where it is and plant a low but interesting plant in the top L hand corner of the circle so it enhances the seating area but doesn't crowd it out. I'd put somewhat taller plants in the other corners of the circle. I think you'd find that if you weeded and planted those corners the shape of the lawn would be much more defined and it is an attractive feature. I agree with Shiney - spend a Saturday sorting it and you'll have a lovely little relaxation space again.

 

I would move the seating adjacent to the house, thus rotating the shed would not be a problem, but definitely if the contents of the shed will fit in garage etc. then its taking up too much of the garden!

If you want the seating at the end of the garden then you could construct a pergola over it (and grow something, perhaps Wisteria, up it). This would provide some interest at the end of the garden, some shade from midday sun, and it wouldn't look like a stark dining area

(Buy your Wisteria in flower - that way you will be sure that they are already "of flowering age")

 

Think you've already been given some good ideas and definitely get the fencing sorted before anything else as it would be annoying (that's polite!) if you've spent ages getting the garden lovely and then the fence falls down and demolishes all your hard work! Just remember it's now YOUR garden so doesn't matter what it's like atm. Lot depends on how keen or otherwise you are and do you need the grass? Obviously if you have children/dog then maybe.Relatively small patches of grass are a pain to mow/edge and unless it's smart grass ie not full of weeds/couch grass as mine is the grass area will continually infest the flowerbeds. If I was you I'd get rid of the grass completely and weed kill the lot. Let your imagination run riot making a lovely "picture frame" with some kind of pathways and then plant what you like in the surrounding areas. Certainly the likes of Clematis on the fencing (wait till next year and often the supermarkets sell Clematis for about £2 each!) The soil you'd need to dig out from the grass area to make pathways would just be added to the flowerbed areas and ok yes there is going to be digging involved...good way to get fit! Cost wise which may be an issue, sometimes you can find old slabs (much nicer than new ones) for free/very little on the likes of Ebay or membrane with gravel on top shouldn't set you back too much.
Having grass can be very time consuming and INCREDIBLY difficult to get the perfect lawn look unless you have ideal growing/drainage conditions. If my garden wasn't HUGE I'd get rid of my "short meadow" and spend all available time on looking after/enjoying my plants. That's only what I would do and while my suggestion seems daunting after the initial hard work, you'd have a garden which depending on what you planted could relatively speaking look after itself. Have fun with whatever you decide to do.

 

Thanks a lot for the responses guys! And thanks for being so friendly

I'll try and answer some of the questions and what I'd like to do

1) I want to keep the grass in a circular way that it was before. I guess therefore I need to cut the grass, and do some weeding! Any tips on the best way of removing weeds?

2) The fences do probably need fixing, but I can't afford to do that just yet, that will have to come (probably a lot) later!

3) I want to keep the shed and the decking where it is. There is a space just in front of the house which is concreted over, and that backs onto the conservatory, so I have seating in both ways. I was thinking of getting a smaller table than the one in the picture.

4) I'm not a fan of the pots as they are. I was either thinking of trying to grow herbs in smaller ones, or some assortment of unique flowers.

5) Any tips on how to decorate the fences? I like it as an idea.

As I said I'm really new to gardening! I tended to just let my parents sort out the garden when I lived with them haha!

Again, thanks a lot!

 

Decorate the fences by planting climbing plants up against them, like clematis, jasmine, vines etc. Though you could paint them if you wanted.

Weeds. Get a pointy trowel to help you. Grasp the weed low down on the stalk near the soil, firmly, gathering the leaves and stems together in your hand. Pull gently, trying to loosen the rots from the soil. If they won't come out, use the trowel to tease them out - but lots of plants will just pull out by hand. Make sure they really are weeds before pulling, though.

 

Whatever you do, don't let Martha's cat to help you "feed" your plants!!,!