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New Gardener Needs Help!
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Message 1.Â
Posted by mrscaldwell (U15087607) on Friday, 24th February 2012
Hi all,
We are young couple with a 3 year old son who have just moved into our first home that has a garden.
We basically have a blank slate as there are no existing plants, just some decking. I have a rather unsightly wall at the back of the garden which is about 2m high and 6m wide that I would ideally like to cover with something pretty.
The lawn area is quite small (approx 4m x 6m) but as we are end terrace I would ideally like a few trees at my fence to keep prying eyes out.
So basics I am looking for is child friendly, beginner level, fast growing and pretty - not much to ask for eh?
Any hints / tips would be much appreciated.
Oh, we live in Cumbernauld, Glasgow so would need to be plants that can cope with cold winters, and soil is medium - heavy . -
Message 2
Posted by Palaisglide (U3102587) on Friday, 24th February 2012
A couple of things gardeners need to know Victoria before advise can be given.
The wall faces N-S-E-W and does it get sun morning evening afternoon. The plants that can be put against it to cover will all have differing needs.
Clematis can be hardy and can be planted to give a progression of flowers unlike Roses they will be child friendly.
Flowering bushes planted near the base of the wall will give low cover but you will need to look for those needing less water, the base of a wall can be a desert.
I always tell people to get a chair a note book and pencil then sit with a suitable drink and watch the day pass making a note of the sunny and shady places and which get some of both, they will all need different types of plant.
With a child you could have a raised bed or boxes for Vegetables, peas beans carrot, my grandchildren plant their own and then eat them, to a child it is magic.
Take your time, start one small project and finish it trying to make and put into effect the whole plot in one go will sap your will where as one small section completed will lift your spirit and make you want more.
Gardening from scratch is hard work and costly so start taking cuttings from family and friends, sow a few seeds at a time in a pot then plant them out, as I said a bit at a time and you will get a garden, probably not looking anything like you see on TV but all your own work.
My last bit of advice is now and then just sit and look, enjoy what you have done, and make plans for the next small project you can start and finish in say one or two weeks max, it always takes much longer than you think and will not look much the first year, gardening is a long term project.
Hope this helps and good luck,
Frank. -
Message 3
Posted by kate1123 (U14824475) on Friday, 24th February 2012
Can I just clarify, you say you have no plants, do you have borders where you are going to plant trees or are you going to have to dig up the lawn?
How far is the fence from the house? It is normally not advisable to plant a tree too close to a house. -
Message 4
Posted by mrscaldwell (U15087607) on Monday, 27th February 2012
A couple of things gardeners need to know Victoria before advise can be given.
The wall faces N-S-E-W and does it get sun morning evening afternoon. The plants that can be put against it to cover will all have differing needs.
Clematis can be hardy and can be planted to give a progression of flowers unlike Roses they will be child friendly.
Flowering bushes planted near the base of the wall will give low cover but you will need to look for those needing less water, the base of a wall can be a desert.
I always tell people to get a chair a note book and pencil then sit with a suitable drink and watch the day pass making a note of the sunny and shady places and which get some of both, they will all need different types of plant.
With a child you could have a raised bed or boxes for Vegetables, peas beans carrot, my grandchildren plant their own and then eat them, to a child it is magic.
Take your time, start one small project and finish it trying to make and put into effect the whole plot in one go will sap your will where as one small section completed will lift your spirit and make you want more.
Gardening from scratch is hard work and costly so start taking cuttings from family and friends, sow a few seeds at a time in a pot then plant them out, as I said a bit at a time and you will get a garden, probably not looking anything like you see on TV but all your own work.
My last bit of advice is now and then just sit and look, enjoy what you have done, and make plans for the next small project you can start and finish in say one or two weeks max, it always takes much longer than you think and will not look much the first year, gardening is a long term project.
Hope this helps and good luck,
¹ó°ù²¹²Ô°ì.Ìý Frank, Thank you so much for your informative and friendly reply. It has helped alot. We have spent a long time saving for this house, and we plan on being here for many years so we aren't looking to have everything done in a year - more we just want to get the basics right when we start.
The garden is east facing, but with the shadow cast from the house it gets sun from around 11am onward.
I was going to get some planters for vegetables - could you recommend types that will grow without massive roots? My wee boy grew a sunflower at nursery last year and he was so pleased with it so I can't imagine how happy he would be if he grew his own vegetables.
Thanks again -
Message 5
Posted by mrscaldwell (U15087607) on Monday, 27th February 2012
Can I just clarify, you say you have no plants, do you have borders where you are going to plant trees or are you going to have to dig up the lawn?
How far is the fence from the house? It is normally not advisable to plant a tree too close to a house. Hi Kate,
Thanks for the reply. The fence is attached to the left hand side of my house and is approx 7 metres in length and yes I will need to dig up the lawn to get some trees in.
I have always really liked the look of cherry blossom trees, do you have any idea if these will be ok to plant near the house if these kind of trees will be suitable in a northern climate?
Thank you -
Message 6
Posted by AlinaW (U2220240) on Tuesday, 28th February 2012
You will need to go to a nursery to see what is available locally, but there are tall, narrow flowering cherries that will suit your garden fine. Still best not planted too close to the house, mind. One example is "Snow Goose":
You could have flowering shrubs close to the house to provide flowers, though, such as hypericum. -
Message 7
Posted by Palaisglide (U3102587) on Tuesday, 28th February 2012
Victoriacaldwell you will find the children love growing Carrots Peas Broad beans also salad crops. All can be grown in containers or pots and because peas and beans give off Nitrogen from their roots they enhance the soil for another say salad crop once the legumes are finished.
Carrots need around 9" to 12" deep pots or troughs, fill them with compost mixed with sand and grit, carrots like a loose soil, Buy short ones chantilly are good, sow the seed in short rows on the compost and cover lightly. Thin out as they grow and I eat the thinnings in salad when they have around three inches between then let them ripen your boy will love them.
About the Cherry it has a very short flowering period in spring then it looks nothing for the rest of the year. Trees like dogs are for life so be very careful what you put in.
Trees marked as small can grow to 30 feet and put roots all over the garden they have to get water. I had one taken out which was well away from the house but lifted the paving next to the wall, be careful.
There are small Acers that are slow growing and have colour the year round. Malus (crab apple) can be kept small by pruning but your best bet is shrubs. Some will blossom in winter or early spring and some in summer so you can mix and match, I have three Golden Privet which brighten up the garden in winter with their gold glow they get trimmed twice a year to keep them in hand..
Then there is Dogwood, Cornus which shed their leaves in winter and have lovely red yellow or green stems depending on which you put in, I cut them right back each spring when they have done their job of making me smile.
You will develope your own style that is what we gardeners do, your boy could be in colledge before you get it right so enjoy what you do, little and often, when you are sitting have a couple of pots and some seed or cuttings, your garden will overflow in no time.
Frank. -
Message 8
Posted by marinelilium (U8293024) on Tuesday, 28th February 2012
Hello VC,
If your garden is to be enjoyed by your children, and all their friends too, may I suggest an area with hard landscaping . Sounds a bit mean but if covered with that chopped up rubber tyre playground mulch it will initially serve for swings and slides and sand pits Then when swings are passe the over ground pool or ubiquitous trampoline. Then when those are passé the footing for a teens den and bike/skateboard/surfboard store. Then finally YOU get it the den for gardening stuff, or you have a gin and tonic corner
when he, and all his friends too, are off to Uni.
That rectangle of hard footing will be invaluable and save your planted areas getting jiggered.
From a Mum who spent 25 years saying things that made my children, and all their friends too, giggle such as
"get off my Aubretias!"
MLx -
Message 9
Posted by marinelilium (U8293024) on Tuesday, 28th February 2012
P.S.
I was just outside and thinking of my children in my garden and thought of you VC. I have a lovely Daphne which is bursting into life but just a couple of its berries could be fatal to a tot.
If you are growing food with your little ones do keep an eagle eye on them because they can eat nasturtiums but not daffodils they can eat lettuce but not rhubarb.if they see you eating onions they may try to eat hyacinth bulbs! It makes no sense to a toddler.
I'm sure you have done a plant toxins check but we often overlook the ones that blister like chrysanthemums. HTH
MLx -
Message 10
Posted by mrscaldwell (U15087607) on Wednesday, 29th February 2012
Thank you all so much for your replies.
Apologies I didn't reply yesterday - it was my little boy's 3rd birthday
Looks like I will need to get my thinking cap on, and fingers crossed I make the right decisions. The cherry tree is a tree I have always loved the look of when its in flower so I now need to decide if I can put up with it being bald for a large portion of the year! hmmmmmmmm
Again, thank you all again - I am extremely grateful that you have taken time out to reply and offer advice.
Victoria x -
Message 11
Posted by FellowCuckoo (U8523852) on Thursday, 1st March 2012
As an alternative to the cherry, with more all-round interest, can I suggest you consider amelanchier 'Obelisk'? As the name implies, this small tree grows in a conical shape, so does not take up too much room. It has beautiful white flowers in the spring then black berries in June (not poisonous - some people make jam from them) and finally lovely autumn colour.
We bought one for our daughter's small garden, as a moving-in present and my mother has one as well. It is a lovely plant. You wouldn't find it locally and would have to order it from an online nursery. However, we have ordered several from Jackson's Nurseries, near Stoke on Trent and can recommend them for providing very healthy plants and excellent service. -
Message 12
Posted by zoomer44 (U14019069) on Thursday, 1st March 2012
As an alternative to the cherry, with more all-round interest, can I suggest you consider amelanchier 'Obelisk'? As the name implies, this small tree grows in a conical shape, so does not take up too much room. It has beautiful white flowers in the spring then black berries in June (not poisonous - some people make jam from them) and finally lovely autumn colour.
We bought one for our daughter's small garden, as a moving-in present and my mother has one as well. It is a lovely plant. You wouldn't find it locally and would have to order it from an online nursery. However, we have ordered several from Jackson's Nurseries, near Stoke on Trent and can recommend them for providing very healthy plants and excellent service. I'm in the NW and have a prunus amanagowa, a tall vase shaped Japanese cherry blossom, it's 7 to 8ft tall and at it's widest only 1ft. The roots aren't particularly invasive, I've moved it at least twice and it's currently in a bed 1ft wide with alpine strawberries growing happliy underneath.
It grows well in full sun, you would need to check if it grows in shade, it produces masses of flowers in Apri/May and of course keeps it's leaves until Autumn.
Only problem I've had is ants farming anhids on to it but a ring of vasalin round the bottom a few inches wide keeps the ants off and doesn't harm the tree. Ants will also try to absail onto it from neighbouring plants, such is their persistance, you need to ensure there are no touching plants above the vasalin ring if you've ants in the garden, I've colonies of them
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