Inspiration and advice required

Hi, I have spent a few days looking at the forum and it is bursting with good advice and ideas.

I am new to gardening and my wife has a little knowledge. This time last year we moved house because we wanted more outside space for chickens and the kids. The house we bought came with a pretty much flat 125 foot long by 85 foot wide garden. There is a path wich goes round the garden leaving about 12-18ft to the walls which surround the garden. A large lawn in the centre isn't in great condition but will be there for at least a few years as the kids love playing on it.

Here is the garden. This pic was taken a couple of months back. With the good weather I have cultivated a good size perennial bed near the house on the right and the veg patch was started too late but has provided us with loads of tatties, cucumber, beans, peas and corguettes. The soil appears to be excellent in the Veg Patch and pretty good in the area nearest the house. I am almost on first name terms with the guys at the recycling centre as I have taken down two huge Holly bushes and a number of other shrubs not to mention loads of grass cuttings and weeds galore.



Our plans include a Greenhouse or two ( where is best to site them). Some sheds for storage and potting and moving the chickens to the other side of the garden in an area where we have removed a large Cypress. We will keep the veg patch running down the left wall approx 70x12 foot and we are in the middle of creating an orchard and flower area in the large bed nearest the house which is approx 50x20 foot.

I am looking for any inspration or ideas. We have a limited budget as our money will mostly go on the house. The garden is wonderful though and we want it to be something to be really proud off. I have already spent over £100 on perennials most of which were reduced bargains in the local garden centre. All appear to be doing well but it would cost a fortune to fill the garden with colour using potted plants from garden centres. What would be the best way to get loads of colourful perennials without breaking the bank. The chickens are penned in with a 6 foot wire fence and I would like to do something more decorative there.

I'll post a couple of photos up of the work we have done to get your opinions. They would be most welcomed. The garden is pretty much in sunshine all day and the wall running round is brick standing at 5 foot tall. You are looking due North in the picture.

Thanks in advance

 

Thanks, there are a couple of compost containers in the top left of the Picture. Both are around 90 cubic feet and made up from scaffold boards. They are getting full already and my wife has grown some tomoatoes in one under some polythene. Lots of green toms but dont know if they will ripen.

I saw the 50p deal on another thread but the nearest one is over 100 miles away. I forgot to say I am in sunny Scotland just south of Edinburgh

 

I am so jealous - I would love to have a large garden like that which is effectively a blank canvas.

Do make sure you keep us supplied with photos of your progress please

 

Here is the first before and after







And one of our veg patch. You can tell we are Scottish by the vast amounts of untouched salad

 

You've already made a remarkable transformation there, Simon!
I'd definitely second JWK's suggestion of growing perennials from seed. Some varieties flower the first year from an early sowing, others might take a year to get to flowering size, but you can fill big borders very economically and create far more impressive displays with groups of three or five plants. I really can't recommend particular Companies as I'm out of touch with who does what now, but Plantworld's website is interesting and Googling 'unusual perennial flower seeds uk' throws up several pages of possible sources
Sheds are best sited in a place where plants would struggle to grow, as long as they're also reasonably convenient to get to. In Scotland, I'd be inclined to site a greenhouse in a sunny spot but make sure that it's got plenty of ventilation. Just a door and one louvre vent isn't enough in summer!

 

Thanks noisette. We have been talking sheds recently and are favouring 3 small sheds painted brightly for a beech hut effect. I wish I had a photo at the very start as the before photo above has already had hours and hours of work done before being taken. I will have a Google for seeds as you suggested. As said the plants are thriving so hopefully seeds will do well and I should have a greenhouse soon to start them off in.

 

I took a look at the seed swap but I haven't been a member long enough. I am happy to buy the seeds just need the ideas. The wife came back with 4 Allium bulbs today and we have a couple of hundred mixed bulbs coming soon. I'll do a bit of research on the Perennial Seeds.

 

I got a few seeds for sale, but suprisingly few uptakes,

http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/threads/seeds-for-sale.50391/

 

Another few pics of our garden

Compost heep needs a good turn


Wife and son sorting out the pollination army



Heating for the house



View back up the garden. We have the whole of the top floor. It is a strange set up caused by the property being a former Registrar Office. The garage will in time become a garden room allowing us to make a brew and chill out.

 

I would make getting the greenhouse sorted a priority, and then you can embark on propagation . I have a 10' x 12' greenhouse for propagation, and another 30' x 10' for "cropping". Both second hand off eBay, £200 the first and £400 the second, from memory.

Here's mine - a bit "stuffed" with things I was growing on at that time:


Watch out for the number of seeds-per-packet for the more unusual things. Quite often there are only 5 or 10 seeds. That's fine, but from 5 plants (if they all grow!) you'll then be able to take cuttings later in the first year, perhaps, and definitely in the second year ... and they will be a year or two to get established ... so it takes time.

But once you have started - lets say you sow 20 packets of seeds, and get 200 plants - then each year you have that number to plant, and a similar number "maturing", and the same again as seedlings, so after a couple of years you have plenty, but can work on adjusting what you have, without having an empty garden to worry about!

Might be worth looking for a job-lot of perennials - e.g. from someone that is spliting and diving, or clearing out. They might not be what you want, but they would fill the garden whilst you propagate and evolve a wishlist.

You could also grow Annuals in the short term. More work to raise and grow, as they only last a year, but they tend to put on a colourful show for a long period (whereas many perennial plants only flower for a few weeks each year). If you need some seeds in modest bulk then have a look at www.molesseeds.co.uk - their smallest size packets are relatively large for an amateur gardener (and they do do proper bulk too), but work out very cost effective.

There are lots of seed suppliers to choose from, but
http://www.nickys-nursery.co.uk/garden-shop/seeds/flowers/
offers a good range, many that are a bit unusual, and at reasonable prices

One possible other option is www.kernock.co.uk who provide plug plants. You have to buy 10 trays at a time, tray sizes can be up to 50 plants per tray, but if you can find a combination of trays that suits you (or share with a friend?) then you'll get a flying start at a good price.

I take photos all around my garden every two weeks. I have particular spots where I stand so that the photos are roughly the same"view" and thus I can compare before/during/after. Don't forget to take some from upstairs windows too, perhaps even for neighbour's upstairs windows that overlook your garden from another angle.

 

Thanks for taking the time to post that reply. I will make a greenhouse a prioity and great idea about a photo every few weeks. I actually have a geodesic greenhouse lying in bits in the garden. It will be great when I get the time to build it and was a cheap purchase from Gumtree. I'll possibly build another greenhouse as I have a space in mind that a custom fit would work best for. Two kids and balls flying everywhere so it might become an expensive hobby quickly.

 

Polycarbonate instead? Bit of a tendency to act like a kite in high winds :( the solution to which is usually to silicon the panels in - which then makes it a swine to de-construct/move, if ever the need arose.

 

I will go with the glass to start with and see how I get on.