Hi All, South Wilts

Hi all.
Myself and my girlfriend have recently moved into our first place together which has the benefits of a front and back garden.

We are both in our mid 20s and have no idea at all when it comes to gardening.

I've registered here as I am certain I have a million and one questions that someone here is certain to have the answer to.

Please bear with me on my posts as I am highly inexperienced at gardening. The only real gardening I know is take it all out and then in hindsight have a neighbour tell me that I have dug up a nice plant.

Thankyou in advance for any help and advice you may give me on this forum.

James.

 

Hello and welcome

 

Good evening James and to GC.

Congratulations on you first home together with your girlfriend and to a world of front/back gardening

I arrived here a couple of years ago (but, it does feel like I've been here forever - such a friendly bunch) and, like you, knew diddly squat about gardening (although I'm no longer in my 20's ) .

Any question/s you may have, just ask!
Or, you could use the search function on here (which I have found to be a life line on a number of occasions!) and see if that may either a) address your query; b) bring forth a new query (having answered a) ) or, c) confuse you so much that you need to ask for clarification anyway

No question is deemed a stupid question (after all, if you don't know it, it's a valid question!) so just dive in.

Members are a nosey bunch though, so do be warned ( ) once you begin asking a question, they may follow with a few of their own. So, let me begin so you can anticipate theirs with your own answers:-

Which direction does your garden face? (N, E, W, S? <--- those are compass related)
Which style of garden do you aspire to? (country cottage; tropical; productive; etc.,)
Which plants absolutely scream at you: me, me, me!!! (flowers? foliage? fruit? veg? tropical? self seeding? minimalism? Easy Care? Try anything once? )
What do you envisage you want to use your garden for? Clothes drying? Shed? Entertainment? Looking at? Sunbathing? Hot tubs? These are valid questions so you can consider how to best utilise your space.
Speaking of space, what size is your garden? Front? Rear? Do you have a back passage/gully?
How much time (per day/week/month) can you realistically spend on "gardening" (which includes sowing, planting, weeding, mowing, designing, dreaming, spending (£), indulging, becoming bored, disinterested, chore filled?). Advice will vary depending on if you have on hour per month or one hour per week or one hour per day!
The more you think about what you have, the elements you are exposed to, the "dream" you are aiming for ... the better start you can make (which is both money saving and time efficient)

You have chosen a really great time to join because you have arrived at the start of the calendar year and there is much you can achieve in the next 12 months - and you won't need to break the bank (or your back) to achieve a visual difference you can be proud of

Wishing you a bountiful 2015

 

Hi

Sit and relax in the garden and while supping a drink take in what you want to use the garden for ? ie where the sun comes up in the morning and sets in the evening
lots of low maintenance plants you can grow to give you confidence and look good at the same time , roughly what part of the Country are you in as it will help us answer any questions you have (put in avatar)

With anything you do, if you don't put the time and energy in you wont get anything back.

Spruce

 

Thankyou for your kind welcomes. I shall make a start in answering some of those questions.
We live in Salisbury but we both are originally from the New forest.
Both front and back are lawned with a border around most of it. the back has a patio area. I'm not too sure on sizes. We haven't got acres of land but a reasonable size. It is end of terrace ex council from the 60s so both gardens are adequate. We dint have pets or children. There is a reasonable cross wind so we have taken down two 20ft trees, one being eucalyptus and the other I don't know. They just swayed too much for my liking and covered a lot of the sun. walking out the back door is facing east ish and thus the front is west ish. The back garden has a six ft fence to the south and at the east end. The north side has a 4ft breeze block wall so we will be looking for a 4-6ft flowering shrub/bush to go along there and fill where one of the trees came out.

The neighbours are great but everyone likes a bit of privacy.

There are a number of rose bushes and fucshias. Other than that there are a few others I'm not too sure what they are.

We are ideally looking at reasonably low maintenance but do enjoy gardening and aim for an hour or so a week. Due to winds we are looking to avoid trees, but would like to increase privacy, especially on the north side wall (south facing). Am open to various ideas and styles. There is a paved path running straight along the back garden to a small shed at the end. I like the idea of having a few things that aren't common. Something that isn't too much hassle, flowers nice in the summer and does it's own thing in the winter before reflowering.

I think the south side border with 6ft fence (north facing) doesn't have a great deal of sunlight, there is a rose Bush, green bush thingy and rhododendrum but other than that we took all weeds and ground things out when we moved in a couple of months ago to give us a clear start for this year.

 

This sounds like a project. It would probably be a good idea to start your own 'My Garden' thread in the General Gardening section. Pics will be required
Welcome to the forum

 

Welcome to Gardeners Corner

I lived in Salisbury while I was working on Clarendon Palace. Lovely City

 

Welcome to the forum.
I wish I had been into gardening in my twenties . You may be a tad behind me in gardening experience at the moment, but you will soon catch me up and pass by.
Just don't be like me and spend thirty odd years being more interested in too many other hobbies that just come and go with the passing of time.
Gardening is as good as it gets , just watch out for the bug.
Cheers for now
Rod....

 

Welcome to GC

 

Welcome to Gardeners Corner James.

 

Hi welcome to GC

 

Hi and welcome