I now own a garden - where do I start and what do I need?!

[SaucySorceress]

We have just moved into our first house, and it is on about a third of an acre. In fairness, most is lawned, but there are some borders and trees too. We have always lived in flats, so have nothing. What do you think we should buy? Thinking lawnmower (petrol? Lithium battery?), edging tool, small tools for borders? I would also like to start a little veg patch, but maybe I am being a bit ambitious...and I see there are recent threads on that topic anyhow.

Thanks!

[HaveYouSeenHerLately]

Congratulations!

I have the following tools for a medium garden. I use them all regularly:

Spade, border fork, hand trowel and fork, wire rake, secateurs, shears, loppers. I didn't bother with a lawn edge as I use my spade and cut under a bit

Also things like a hosepipe and attachments, watering can, gardening gloves

I've had quite a few tools from Wilkinson (even the yellow 'value' range - check out the reviews) which are perfectly functional. They do loads of other bits and pieces too, all very well priced. Handy for getting kit together quickly!

I can't really advise on lawnmowers as I inherited a relative's electric one. It's fairly basic but lightweight and does the job.

Hope that helps!

[mipmop]

Get on pinterest and the RHS website.
Try to identify what kind of soil you have / where the sunny or shady posts of the garden are / what kind of plants are doing well in the various areas.

If you have a garage or shed, you can make your own tool hanging storage by putting a plank of wood horizontally on the wall. Put some long nails partway into the plank of wood to hang your spade, fork, lawn rake etc from. If you buy hand tools (e.g. a trowel) with holes in the end of the handle, you can hang those.

It can be handy to have more than one watering can - one for water, one for weedkiller. You don't necessarily need proper watering cans, your spare can for dirty jobs could be a large container that you've drlled holes in the cap.

Gardening gloves, kneeling pads, all those little things can be picked up in shops like Home Bargains or supermarkets once spring is nearer.

[mipmop]

Garden shed tool rack-
www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/projects/garden-diy/how-to-make-a-garden-shed-tool-rack/347.html

[mipmop]

Here you go

[LouiseBrooks]

I would also recommend that you wait at least until spring to see what is already there. You may find there are plants which you love, or plants you hate. The people next door to me gutted the garden when they moved in and dug up beautiful roses and peonies, not knowing what they were.

[DoItTooJulia]

Time. You need time! Just getting out there every week will help.

Good advice from HaveYouSeenHer, I was going to suggest Wilkos too! Gloves and kneeling pads are a must, and we use wheelbarrows a lot, and trugs to move stuff around/collect rubbish in/put clippings in.

Watching what everything does this year will help too!

Have fun!

[HaveYouSeenHerLately]

Oh and get a compost bin or start a pile in the meantime

Some councils do them or you may have luck on eBay or freecycle locally.

[SaucySorceress]

Thank you so much! Great advice :)

[ThatBloodyWoman]

I would say -

Live with it for a while.Observe it.Where the sun is.Where you naturally walk etc etc.

Read up on permaculture and organic gardening -see if this appeals to you.

Grow some stuff in containers if you're itching to get started,and sort out compost and water butt.

[PurpleWithRed]

For ? acre I think you're going to need a petrol lawn mower, but check out lithium battery options (I love mine to pieces).

Buy tools as you decide you need them: personally I think decent tools make gardening much nicer, so get copper ones if you can stretch to it, www.implementations.co.uk/site/home certainly the hand fork and trowel are streets ahead of anything in stainless steel that I've ever used. Which? magazine recommends Darlac Compound secateurs which are amazing value for a best buy.

If you want to dabble in veg I'd start with courgettes: whatever else you have a go at these are likely to do well if you follow the packet instructions.

[Ferguson]

Although they are expensive, Wolf tools only need two or three handles, and all the 'tool heads' clip on securely. They cover many applications and are probably tougher than many 'ordinary' tools.

[Ferguson]

I see minimop has some Wolf tools! But I have never been disciplined or organized enough to have a lovely tool rack.

Yes, courgettes are very easy, but also VERY big, so you need plenty of space for them; we ate them from July till November last year.

Get the 'yellow book' of the NGS - National Garden Scheme - or look for the small local editions in garden centres; private gardens open for charity, and some sell plants or seeds. If you visit other gardens in your area you will gain lots of ideas:

www.ngs.org.uk/shop-online/product.aspx?id=93

There used to be an organization 'Bed & Breakfast for Garden Lovers' but I'm not sure if it is still running, but there are still similar things if you Google.

[goshhhhhh]

I agree with give it some time to work out what's there. Also occupy don't know already get a compass & find out where the sun is. Get the right plants for the garden conditions.

[funnyperson]

Gardening kit
garden gloves: any old but must be impervius to thorns
hand cream
hand fork, trowel,
garden fork, spade, hoe, rake
secateurs (niwaki are the best)
shears
trug
compost bin (made of pallets: see veg patch thread)
lawnmower: flymo
back door shoes
twine
labels
box to put seeds in
garden notebook/diary
vine eyes and wire
potting bench
watering can
hose on reel
outdoor tap
garden apron and smock are optional
I lurve this garden bag

[hannareilly24]

Hello, I know this isn't totally relevant to the discussion but I'm wondering if anyone could help me? I'm a final year student at Sheffield Hallam University. For my final year major project I am re-designing an electric lawn mower, if anyone who has used or regularly uses a lawn mower could fill in this survey it would be extremely helpful! Thanks a lot! Here's the link: www.surveymonkey.com/s/NGJ5Y2C

[BlueBrightBlue]

Don't buy anything with a lithium battery.
They don't last forever and replacing the battery costs as much as a new mower.
I'd buy something like a refurbed Honda Izzy with a wide cutting blade and get it serviced annually.
Something else I would suggest is to buy decent secateurs, the ones with red handles. A small branch/ pruning saw is a must too.
Wilkos do some fairly decent tools. A quality spade and fork are a must. Buy the " ladies" sizes, so much easier to work with for either sex.
I'd concentrate on learning the basics in the first year or two before moving on to more ambitious ( and often expensive) projects.
Lastly look what grows well in neighbouring gardens; gives you an indication as to the soil type, drainage and other factors. A pretty shrub might look appealing in the garden centre but it might fail to thrive in your garden.

[BlueBrightBlue]

Oh forgot to add, for 1/3 of an acre, I'd get a self propelled mower not one you have to push.
ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41ao5c6uW2L.jpg?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

[hannareilly24]

Hi thanks, for that! Would you mind clicking on the link in my previous post and filling it out? You sound like you know a lot about what I'm looking for. Thank you :)

[HaveYouSeenHerLately]

Hi Hanna, just bumping for you. I completed the survey

[DelphiniumBlue]

I found that a really useful exercise was to take a photos of the garden every month, so that I had a record of what grew where and when. That really helped when planting bulbs in Autumn, as couldn't remember exactly what had come up the previous spring.

Also useful for seeing what, if anything, will grow under the trees. Watch where the sun is, and spend the first several months planning.

And vegetable patches can be easy, especially if in raised beds. I found cabbage, lettuce, leeks,& spinach all very easy to grow. Tomatoes need watering every day so not quite as easy. Beans needed very little attention.

Enjoy!

[DelphiniumBlue]

Have completed survey for you, Hanna.