What has held you back, as a gardener?

I was thinking about what I would like to do in the garden, the pros and cons etc and it made me realise that there can be obstacles to having our perfect gardens, maybe the soil, lack of terracing/too much terracing, weather/climate, etc.

For me, I would say not having a greenhouse for propagation and over-wintering has held me back. Having a smaller than desired garden is also not ideal.

What would yours be, and why?

 

Money mostly and part of my garden is rented so no stability, could be taken tomorrow now Starmer is at the helm, but before never sure, I would have gone down the poly tunnel route if I had been sure.

 

I guess we all have ideals but much of the challenge is in making the best of what you've got.
Certainly get your priorities sorted before you buy, for me the second visit to a prospective property involves taking a spade.
Once you are committed, then take time to manage your asperations, most adverse aspects can be adjusted or moderated by thought, time and compromise.
No garden is hopeless, none is ever complete and that is why we do it.

 

I agree that no greenhouse has limited my options too. In my garden there is an expanse of grass which although means I have a good size plot, I would prefer some was another bed or veg plot. OH not keen to change the layout as it does suit the shape of the plot. Even if I had a veg plot, my national collection of slugs are a big reason why I struggle to grow veg and young plants.

 

After many years my garden is now manageable and I don't know what else I'd want to do to it. However one thing is now holding me back and that's old age with all its difficulties.

 

I doubt mine will progress much further, its been going backwards for a few years now, suddenly you find out you cant always do what you wanted to regarding the heavy stuff or near the ground.

 

Clay soil. Should've waited for a year and created raised beds, instead started planting immediately.
No side or back entrance to the garden, everything goes through the house.
High wall from south direction, shady area there.
Fox gets over the fence from the other neighbours side.
Have to cover all berries, because birds think everything is for them.
Love fuchsias but can't grow those, because of gall mites....

 

Situation, soil and climate. I wasn't really looking beyond owning 2 acres and making an English-style garden when we bought our field. Over the years I've found out why English-style gardens are in UK and not generally in SW France . Disgracefully, I didn't check what the soil was like, although in my defense, we really had very little choice at the time and 95% of the département is on clay.
The biggest single factor is the extreme climate, though. Cold and soaking wet all winter and three or four months of heat and drought in summer. Not many plants thrive in both conditions.

 

I came here to write exactly what @noisette47 has just written! I'm in SW France to, gardening on clay, hot and dry in summer and cold and wet in winter and I wanted an English garden.

 

Money wold be one for most people and health , fortunately I still have my health but the money seem to go as fast as I can get it

Wish a had a much bigger garden so I tend to pick plants with multiple interest throughout the year, I like magnolia for example but its very short season a cornus kousa or a fruit tree / others are much better options with more interest . I miss out on so many plants .

Climate to cold and wet for some plants I'd like to grow but on the flip side bog plants / moist loving plants thrive .

Knowledge a times things that should work by the book don't , you live and learn or should I say you plant it and watch it wither/eaten away

 

Ignorance. So many attempts with discouraging results. And then money shortages here and there. But I figured out things more suitable for my economic circumstances. My ignorance of many things probably cause me to hesitate still.

Thank goodness for this forum. I've gotten more real life advice/help here than Google could ever offer.

That said, winning a lottery would definitely change things!

 

Pig headedness. I keep trying to grow things that I know are unsuited, or difficult or just odd. I kill sooooo many things... ( This is me being honest - normally I say I "lost" them)

As for others, also impatience. When I moved here, to a blank canvas, I should have spent more time and money on foundation stuff ie clearing poor trees, improving soil. Instead, I just dug small areas and started planting!

 

My first garden was a pretty empty canvas, but a lack of money, and just having had a child when we moved in, meant that I had to spend time planning, and reading a lot about what I could eventually do with it. Something I've carried on doing with later projects.
Doesn't mean I've not done what @CarolineL says re trying things, but I do it with a slightly more experienced head now, because a lot of info, especially on TV, didn't apply to the climate here. I still have failures, because some things just can't cope no matter what I do, but at least I can also afford to try them now, and there's also a bigger number of sources than when I started out.
Unless I had one of those huge greenhouses to grow stuff, I'll have to content myself with being realistic. Not going to happen though - but I'm perfectly happy with that.

 

When I was working, complete lack of time.
Now I'm retired, my garden is far too small for all my ideas.

 

Unpleasant neighbours. They kept sheds full of cockatiels in the garden ( I expect they called them "aviaries"). The birds shrieked all day long so you couldn't enjoy being outside. I once overheard the woman say to another neighbour "they're not hardy, at all" in a critical tone, so they must have had birds dropping dead from cold over the winter.
Then they started complaining about my rowan tree. They said it blocked their view (of a 1970s housing estate). When I declined to do anything about it, they used a long handled saw to cut bits off, well inside my boundary. They cut whole branches part way through and left them to break.
I stopped going out in the garden, I even stopped looking at it - kept all the blinds closed for years and telly on all day to drown out the sound of their birds. The sprawling buddleia and brambles filled the whole space, virginia creeper covered the patio, it was like Sleeping Beauty's castle with one major difference - I wasn't asleep!

They moved out 4 years ago and since then I've been gradually reclaiming it. I have no overall plan or picture, I just buy plants I like and find somewhere to stick them. I'm never expecting it to be "finished".