Newbie just inherited a garden & clueless :(!

Hello,

I am new here & I would really like some help please.

My mum passed away a few months ago & left behind a beautiful garden full of flowers & roses & I have no gardening experience what so ever! I've been trying to look up what to do with the garden in Oct/November but it's all really confusing! Everything seems to be dying and it seems such a shame to let all her hard work just go to waste :(!

Should I be cutting anything back?
Should I have put fertiliser down by now?
Should I be adding extra soil to pots?
Should I be doing anything with the soil?
I read that I should be taking all the leaves off, is that from the entire rose plant?

There is lots of plants growing up the trellis but it all seems to be dead, should I cut it all right back?

There is also a long trough out the front with three mini rose trees that have tiny rose flowers & they all seem to be dead, do I just leave them for winter now?

There also seems to be a green fly problem, i've sprayed the flowers with anti-green fly spray but it doesn't seem to be doing anything.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you! xxx

 

to GC EdenG
Condolences on the loss of your mother

To be able to give you the very best advice, forum members would prefer to see photographs of the garden and, in particular the plants. The "plants" could be anything and without knowing what they are, could lead to being given the wrong advice.

The garden is clearly very important to you and we wish to give you the best advice possible. So, grab your camera, take photo's and then post them on here

 

sorry to hear of your loss x you will get lots of great advise on here, i cant offer any as i too am a newbie gardener anyway welcome to the forum

 

Thank you very much for the warm welcome ! I will get some photos taken this afternoon & post them up.

 

Welcome to GC

 

Welcome to Gardeners Corner EdenG. I'm sorry to hear you've lost your mum, she obviously loved her garden so let's see what we can do to tidy it up. Everything isn't dying it's just going into dormancy for winter. Yes, you may lose a plant or two over winter but the percentage will re-shoot next spring.

Picture 1/2. It's difficult to see what's growing in those pots. I suggest you pull out what's growing around the base of the main stems as they look like dying annuals, these are plants that grow and die in one year. The plant with the little blue flowers is Lobelia (annual) and I've noticed you have that elsewhere, when the flowers have died dig it out. If you have a little hand fork give the soil surface a bit of a dig over in the pots. Close up pictures of the foliage (leaves) of those plants will enable us to identify them and suggest whether they need pruning or not.

Picture 3. I can't see what's climbing up the frame, is it a rose? Once again a close up is necessary for id. The plant with pink flowers in front of that is a Fuschia and when it's finished flowering you can prune it to tidy it up. The plant to the left of the frame and against the wall is a Hydrangea. No need to touch that, it looks fine. The other lower growing plants in that bed I can't identify, perhaps another member can. Once again give the soil surface a tidy up and gentle dig over.

Now the roses. They all look fairly healthy but a little scruffy. Prune off any dead flowers, the leaves will drop naturally as winter appears, so no need to touch those yet. Roses are usually pruned back quite harshly in February for the new season with the exception of climbers and standards. Picture 5, a tall rose in the round pot is a standard and the pic to the right of that looks like a climber as well as the one in the last pictures. Again just tidy up at the bases. We have a Roses forum and there is a thread there that will give you guidance for pruning when the time comes. It is also the best place to ask questions about them.

I can't tell what's climbing against the trellis in the picture where the watering can is and I can't id the tree in the brown pot by the window. Could we have a close up shot of the climber in the corner by the drainpipe please.

Don't feed any plants this time of year, they need to 'sleep' for the winter. When they start to grow again in spring is the time to feed them.

Greenfly can be dealt with by spraying with a solution of washing up liquid diluted in water.

You have a little to be getting on with for the time being, so I'll leave you to it and don't be afraid to ask questions along the way.

 

Welcome EdenG. Sorry to hear about losing your Mum. I agree with Sheal, most of the plants look well established and are just beginning to settle in for the winter. The only thing I would add is that as most of the plants you've shown us are in containers you will need to be ready to respond to weather conditions. High winds may result in broken branches or the plants coming away from their supports so try to make sure main stems are tied in before that happens. If we have a very wet winter like last year the pots could become waterlogged which most of these plants would probably survive as they're already well rooted but if waterlogging is followed by a very cold snap that water in the pots could freeze which would damage the roots and could also result in broken pots. Either move the pots to an area where they would be protected or at least ensure they're lifted off the ground and draining well. Lastly, whatever you do at this time of year, you will still need to be watchful in the spring, you will love seeing the new growth as it comes. Look for guidance on pruning but a general tidy up in late spring, cutting back to new growth etc will give you a glorious show in the spring and summer and wonderful reminders of your Mum. Best wishes.

 

Thank you all SO much for the help, I can't thank you all enough! I will get on with tidying them all up & get some closer shots taken. Thanks again, I've learnt so much already!