Where to start?!?

Hi everyone!

I have recently moved into a cottage in rural South Oxfordshire. The cottage used to belong my partner's relative and the garden was used as a dumping ground for nearly 40 years. The shed is pretty much held up by it's contents, and the two greenhouses were used to store a ton of plant pots and seeders. The garden itself is a mess and full of nettles,weeds and saplings. Due to it's neglect and the sheer amount of things that were dumped in it, it is not really safe for our 8 year old son to play in.

We would like a family-friendly garden, which requires minimum upkeep due to both of us working full-time. I have plans for a vegetable patch along the side of my neighbours barn, although the barn itself is in dire need of some building work, and, as I found yesterday when I was trying to clear the area, there is a considerable amount of rocks, bricks and roofing slates in the top layers of soil. Would it still be possible to use this area as a veg patch if I clear as much of the debris from the soil as I can? I'm a complete novice when it comes to gardening, and I'm not sure what soil conditions vegetables need to thrive.

The front garden, as you can tell, needs a lot of work. There is a well hole in the long grass at the front of the cottage, which is currently covered by metal doors, although I would like to build a well structure around it at some point. To be honest, getting the gardens cleared and manageable are top priority. I'm using two beds that i cleared as a sort of short term storage area for plants that I have already been given, and have quite the mismatch of plants. I would like to plant some night scented jasmine to grow up the side of the house, but I don't know what conditions will suit it.

A few details about the garden... both gardens get a lot of sun. The house is west-facing, so we have sun all day. The soil is, according to my mother, pretty good. It's not what my gardening encyclopaedia called either sandy or clay, so I'm guessing that this is a good start. I have no idea what the pH is, I'm afraid. I would like, as I have said, a child-friendly garden. I would also like it to be quite a traditional county cottage garden, if that makes any sense! I would like a veg patch, and a winding path through the garden, and I would like to move the greenhouses, as I do not think greenhouses in the very middle of a garden are safe and practical for a child.

To be honest, all I'm doing at the moment is spending an hour or so a day clearing everything out with a fork. I would prefer to have a fresh slate to work with, although anything I find that I like and discover isn't a weed I'll keep and move to a suitable location (I already accidentally moved a weed from one bed to another in the front garden, thinking it was a pretty little plant! I have so much to learn!). Does anyone have a better idea, or am I doing the right thing? If there's a way I can do it without getting beaten by all of the nettles, I'd love to know about it!

Any advice will be greatly appreciated. I'm under quite a lot of pressure from family to get the garden sorted, and my partner knows even less about gardening than I do, so it has pretty much fallen to me to do it all. After only a few months here, the garden has depressed me so much I've already had a good cry about it on more than one occasion! I'm just utterly overwhelmed.

 

A skip is going on my Christmas list, and it's not too long until Bonfire Night. We have access to a 3 acre orchard that has a rather impressive mini-mountain of junk that I've already removed from the garden - it's going up in smoke in the next few weeks so I can start again! (the orchard is family-owned, and they know about the dumping and the future bonfire - we're staying well away from the trees!)

Thanks for complementing the setting - it is absolutely beautiful and I would like a garden that does it justice, rather than looking like... well... like it does now!!! I'm thinking of getting rid of one of the greenhouses, as I don't have the time to keep two going, and moving the one I keep next to the barn, in the corner and out of the way. The area still gets sun for most of the day, so I don't think it should be too much of a problem for the plants I put in there.

 

Apart from the well hole, which I'd want to make absolutely sure was blocked off securely, I wouldn't be too worried. When I was 8, I played in far more 'dangerous' settings. Kids don't have the same sense of danger as adults do, but they do have a built in sense of self preservation.

As for how to tackle the garden, I'd tackle it a section at a time, starting closest to the house and working out. Involve your kid(s). Kids have better imagination that adults, and they aren't hindered by the knowledge that things wont work, so they just sound out their ideas without caring about the practicalities. Also, that way you get the kids on side to help, and you know they'll enjoy the garden more because they have the sense that its theirs rather than their parents'.

You have loads of garden there. Enough to offer a lot of options. What does your young lad like to do? Is there room for a small BMX track if he likes that sort of thing? You have plenty of room their for a network of living willow tunnels, hideouts and strongholds for him and his mates to have Nerf battles in. It can all be done without making the garden look like a playground. Its what I'm slowly doing in my back garden, its fantastic, just the other day my 4 year old asked if we could build a mound between his fort and the exit of one of the willow tunnels, to provide cover. The idea was entirely his, but it works for me because it helps to reinforce my plan of dividing the garden into rooms.

 

Thanks for the idea, Clueless. The well hole is securely covered, with the covering holding my weight, and I cannot lift it up unaided, so my son has no hope of doing so!

I will definitely get his input on the layout of the garden, and we have brought him his own gardening gloves and tools in order to encourage him to help out a bit. He's very keen for a veg patch to grow his own veg (although he also wants a mango tree, which I'm almost certain won't give much fruit in this climate, but please correct me if I'm wrong!), and his only other insistence is that we don't cut down the enormous tree that he has dubbed his den, which I had no intention of doing anyway. Over the weekend, I'll get him to draw me a picture of what he wants the garden to look like when we're done! I do like the idea of willow tunnels, and will definitely look into doing that for him.

 

I can quite understand why you have been overwhelmed, you've a ton of work to do there, but the suggestion from Clueless to start with the bits nearest the house is a good one - that way you can see the wilderness getting beaten back inch by inch over time. I love the old bricks of the cottage, they will make a wonderful backdrop for planting against and your curving pathway idea sounds lovely. You'll get there, gradually.

I am no expert gardener and have never grown veg (other than potatoes once in a bin bag lol) but wonder if a raised bed might be good for a veg plot since then you can better control the soil? Could save you a lot of time and energy digging and riddling and perhaps get your other half involved if he's handy at building stuff? A skip would def be a great thing with so much debris to dispose of. You could have a skip party - get your friends and relatives round to fill it for you with bbq and drinks afterwards, many hands make light work

 

I agree with RJ re the vegetable bed. If you are finding a lot of rubble as you work the area you want the vegetables, then it probably goes a long way down... I'm speaking from experience! Moving a bit of rubble unearthed the foundations of a second building, complete with cellar!

I would clear as many large items out, to a depth of about 12", and then make a framework of boards to hold another 6-12" of soil (ideally good topsoil) above ground level. That should give you enough depth to grow many veg, as their roots will be able to work through the rubble below the cleared area. It is not actually that difficult to do. I managed to make mine whilst hubby was busy at work - he was well-chuffed!