Complete beginner with terrible overgrown garden - help!

I am trying to do something with my small overgrown garden. Until the last few weeks I had never gardened before in my life.

I would just like advice on what to do to make it okay; something I could happily sit in. I'd also quite like the following things (although I understand that having both these things together might be impossible:

1. I'd like it to be looking nice fairly quickly. As in next year... We might not be staying here for very long.

2. I'd like it to be done cheaply. I'm looking for a job at the moment which means plenty of time to do gardening but not that much money to buy things for the garden.

My current idea is to dig up any plants that I want to keep and plant them in gorilla tubs then weedkiller everything left over (except some things like the rosebushes) then put mulch down. Then after a while replant, perhaps buying a few new things and perhaps putting a bit of lawn down.

I can put pictures up if you like.

Thanks for the help!

 

Yep, we definitely need lots of pics. Meanwhile - step away from the weedkiller!

 

Yep! That sounds a bit ruthless to say the least!

 

We need pics (apart from anything else, we like looking at other people's gardens 'cos we're a nosey bunch!).

Without the benefit of pics (yet) - rather than reaching for weedkiller, my very first thought is ... have you got any grass? When my daughter and s-i-l bought their first house the garden was - well, 'a mess' hardly begins to describe it. With little spare cash, they bought a cheap flymo type mower and just kept cutting the grass, it never turned into a bowling green type lawn, but it was perfectly adequate for their needs.

If you've a bit of time on your hands, just go out there and do some weeding if you need to, it's amazing how much of a difference that can make and at least what you're left with is tidy, who knows, there might be something 'lurking' beneath them that surprises and delights you.

Once you've cleared a bit of ground, if you want instant colour, you could try the DIY 'sheds'; their bedding plants are quite cheap and never be afraid to look in what I call 'Casualty Corner' - part of a tray of sad looking things at a knock-down price can often be coaxed back into life with a bit of TLC.

At this stage, I'd save yourself the money you might spend on mulch, there are much cheaper and nicer ways to cover bare earth.

 

I'd be out there with various types of chopping gear. The mower for the grass and 'soft' weeds, and the secateurs and sheers for anything tougher, and just give it all a brutal hair cut.

Then having done that, you'll have a better idea of what you're dealing with.

If you have your own wheels I'd get out into the countryside to the little independent nurseries. Round my way these often turn out to be farms where the farmer has decided to make some extra pocket money while his younger staff do the hard work. In such places you can often pick up loads of plants at a fraction of the price you pay at garden centres and big nurseries.

The supermarkets are also a good source of cheap plants sometimes. I picked up a tray of 12 petunias from Tesco a couple of weeks ago for £3. Sometimes the nasty, poor quality, force grown herbs you get at the supermarkets work out well if you're prepared to give them some TLC. I once bought a done in basil plant (actually about 12 plants in one small pot) for 29 pence. I got it home, cut most of the top growth off (making sure to leave at least a couple of leaves per stem), and then carefully bust the root ball up to separate the individual plants before re-potting them. A nice spot on the windowsill and plenty of watering for a couple of weeks helped them to recover, and then the wife and I had all the basil we needed right through til the autumn.

 

If your budget is tight, sign up to your local freecycle/freegle group, you'd be amazed what you can get off them, from perennials to greenhouses and sheds to tools and top soil/horse manure; I kid you not :thumb:

I've got some lovely perennials from people that have been splitting their stock

I've just got 3 stunning stone planters (VERY heavy ones) on pedastels all for free :D :thumb:

 

I love when we get more excited about a garden transformation than the person who posted the thread!

 

Its because its really easy for us to armchair landscapers. The hard bit is actually getting out of the armchair and actually doing the graft:D

That said, I guess most of us enjoy it otherwise we wouldn't do it.

 

Hi Mhairihm!

Your cheapest option would be to treat your grass for starters, cut it and give it some good topsoil and mulch and bring some bulk into it! A couple of flower beds will brighten it up aswell! It depends on how far your would stretch your budget! hallstone direct offer cheap soil etc which may help you!

Matt