Gardening advice for a complete novice please!

[gingerbubs]

So the sun is shining and I think I should get out in the garden and tidy it up a bit, but just have a few questions.

1. I have a couple of Rose bushes, is now a good time to prune them?
   
2. I have a few small rose plants that I planted in autumn. They are apparently supposed to be climbers and I have them against a fence. I plan to put up trellising when they start growing. I just bought them as (I think) bare root plants from aldi and shoved them In the ground with some compost and Rose food. They haven't grown at all. Is that normal? Should I prune those slightly to encourage growth?
   
3. the lawn looks like it's starting to grow again. Too early to start cutting? We have thick clay soil so the ground takes aaaaages to dry out.
   
4. we planted a griselinia hedge last May time. Anything I can do to encourage its growth? Also, deer have demolished a few of the griselinia shrubs and there are no leaves left. Is there any hope for those ones or do I need to replace? Any advice for keeping deer away? I live in the middle of a new build estate, bit random they came all the way to our house but I guess our hedge was especially tasty. I'm hoping that now it's spring they can find more to eat in their woods...
   Am sure I have a ton more stupid questions. I would be really grateful for any advice from people who have more gardening experience than me (so almost anyone!).
   Thanks!

[CrazyOldBagLady]

According to the RHS site the best time to prune roses is in late winter, up to March. If your rose bushes are a bit straggly then maybe you should do this now.

If your climbers haven't done much I would be tempted to leave them a year without pruning and see how they do. One thing to bear in mind is that sometimes trailing roses are sold as climbing roses. Especially in cheapo places like Aldi. Trailing roses are lovely, but they won't cling to a trellis like a climbing rose will, they will need tying to it. They will still look lovely however.

Generally if I have a new plant and it looks a little sad, I won't prune it in the first year, I will let it do it's own thing and let it get established. Feed it lots and make sure it is not competing with weeds and once it looks like it is doing well, then I might give it a prune to encourage a bushier growth.

Can't really comment on your hedge as I don't know this plant, and we don't have deers round here. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will be around soon to offer some more advice :)

[gingerbubs]

Thank you! Feel likes a bit of an idiot when it comes to gardening.

[gingerbubs]

I also think I expect things to happen too quickly...

[LetThereBeCupcakes]

Hi Ginger - I watched gardeners world on Friday and there was a bit about pruning roses on that - it might be worth catching it in iPlayer if you can.

DH cut our lawn on Saturday - we are also on heavy clay, very damp. The lawn didn't get cut near the end of last year so was 6" high in places, so VERY wet underneath. DH set the mower on the highest setting first, then left it a bit to dry out, then went over it again slightly lower. It took 3 goes but it's fine and looks lovely now.

New plants can take a long time to establish so give them chance. have you looked up info about your hedge? I've got a feeling griselinia likes light, sandy soil so you might need to dig in some sand around the base to add drainage?

[gingerbubs]

Thanks for that, I will try to catch gardeners world and look into the sand. Much appreciate the advice!