Completely new to gardening! Hello from Bedfordshire

Thank you, I last night I mowed the lawn and it’s already looking a lot better. There are some bare patches so I assume I need to seed those parts?

When clearing out some brambles I was lucky enough to stumble across a plastic box containing a lot of tools so will sort through them today. I’ve posted on another part of the forum about the ivy on the tree and I’m sure I will do many other posts in course of the next year but I just wanted to say a big thanks for the warm welcome and initial help

 

Welcome from me too.

I think the first item to buy would be a lawn mower as, so long as you have grass, you will always use it.

The tools I use most are secateurs, (Felco, expensive, but over 30 years old). Trowel, hand fork and kneeler for weeding, which I do mostly on my knees. Big fork in stainless steel, rake and hoe, which I use mostly in the vegetable garden. Edging shears for edges of flower beds.

 

Or try Freegle.

 

Welcome @Trowelanderror , I'm sure you'll enjoy the process

 

Hello and welcome to the forums @Trowelanderror
I watch a lot of videos on YouTube anything about gardening.

 

I'd recommend this book from an old BBC series it covers most subjects a new gardener would want and is useful as reference (just an example of a seller, it can be had everywhere really cheaply)
The Complete How To Be A Gardener - Alan Titchmarsh: 9780563522683 - AbeBooks

 

I’d buy tools as and when you need them and feel an ongoing need for them otherwise you can buy some and find you never use them. Also worth asking friends and family if they have any unwanted tools, most of mine were hand me downs from my Mum. Also ones to borrow which you might use once or twice occasionally.

Tools we use the most in this and previous gardens are a hand trowel, secateurs, spade and I would suggest these are your basic kit.

We also use our loppers and pruning saw a lot here as we have cherry laurel trees which need regularly pruning and hazels which I cut for poles etc. I never had the need for a pruning saw in my old garden.

We use our wheelbarrow a lot here partly as initially we had a lot of renovation work and now as the gardens quite long it’s handy for moving stuff around. Never had or needed one in previous gardens.

I have several hoes, which I never use. I just don’t find them easy to use, don’t know why.

I did use a hand fork quite a lot for a long time but never got round to replacing it when it broke and don’t miss it.

OH uses a rake and garden fork when he turns the compost but I rarely use them for anything else.

 

Welcome @Trowelanderror! What a fab space you've got there, lots of potential whilst you learn.

I was in your situation about 4 years ago and am amazed how much you can learn from the many resources and just giving things ago.

Things that helped me most when brand new were:

• Posting on forums like this - my most basic 'silly' questions were always treated kindly
• Gardeners World magazine - I can get an e-copy free from my local library. This is good as it's tailored to the coming month so feels a little less overwhelming
• RHS Gardening through the year book - this book is mostly split up by month with guidance on a range of topics. You can read the sections relevant to your garden and largely ignore the others.

The other thing I would say is there is no one way to do things. You'll come across a range of advice to tackle the same issue. I try and work out what might be the best one for my garden, try it, if it doesn't work, try something else.

Looking forward to seeing and hearing how you get on!

 

I hate ivy. If you have any get rid of it before it gets out of control everyone does sooner or later. Including myself because if you keep trimming the top it just becomes thicker and thicker then you have to spend time cutting it back. It marks stone walls and can destroy a shed or fence if you let it grow over it. Speaking from experience.

 

I don't like ivy either, but it depends where it is.

You can buy a soil test kit in a garden centre. If there are a lot of rhododendrons near you it could be acid. If you are somewhere hilly like the south downs or the Cotswolds it could be limestone and alkali. If you hold some in your hand and squeeze and it sticks together and you can roll it into a ball then it's clay. If it falls apart and feels gritty it's sandy.

 

Welcome @Trowelanderror. I’m sure you will find lots of advice and support on here.

I don’t consider myself an expert gardener by any means; more a trial and error one. I don’t think it matters, what matters is that you enjoy it.

I think the advice regarding tools is excellent - you will be able to add to your collection as and when you realise you could do with something. My advice would be to clean your tools after each use to avoid a build up of sap, dust and dirt.

One piece of equipment I find invaluable is a trug (mine is rubbery plastic, so not totally environmentally friendly, sadly, but it gets lots of use). I find it invaluable when weeding, but also when potting up plants as it holds a decent amount of compost