Getting some help with starting off

[MyNameIsInigoMontoya]

Would love to know what you think of this idea and if you have any good suggestions for making it work!

We have just moved house and (for the second time) got a "new" garden, it is a fair size but already planted up by the previous owners. (It's nothing hugely complicated btw, a big lawn with trees, shrubs and some flower borders all round the edges, and a separate bit with fruit trees/bushes). I have not yet got all that much gardening experience, so although I recognise most of the plants, I don't know all of them, and am not always sure which things are weeds either, especially when they are just starting to come up. Also I quite like the overall layout and some of the planting, but would like to put in some of my own touches, but find it hard to think how to "personalise" the garden when it's already done one way - in a way I think it would be easier to get ideas if we were starting with a blank slate.

So - I was wondering whether it would be a nice idea to pay for an hour or two with a professional gardener - not to do a big redesign, but to help me identify things (both plants and weeds!), give advice on bringing out the best of the current garden (e.g. which things are "treasures" I should be bringing out, which need to be cut back a bit, that sort of thing), answer questions and give me some ideas for improvements. Kind of like a gardening lesson but specifically looking at my garden!

Do you think this would be a good idea? And if so, how much do you think it would be likely to cost, and how would I go about finding someone really knowledgeable? - this would be a bit of a treat for me, so I would like to find someone who really knows their stuff and doesn't mind me picking their brains!

[meltedmarsbars]

Great name! Great film!

Will read post now and reply...

[meltedmarsbars]

To be very honest I'd do nothing for a year until you see what comes up, how the light goes round the garden at different times of year/day, where you like to sit in the garden, where is always cool and damp/hot and dry, etc.

Live with it for a while and learn how it works atm before you plunge in and redesign.

By then plenty of your friends will have given you their opinions (well, I would if you asked me! ) and you can decide if you want a professional. Bear in mind that a "professional" might know little more than you - or might have a particular "style" that they like - and you might not.

Maybe better to go round the open gardens in your area over the summer "National Garden Scheme" as they will have similar soil and weather conditions, and you can gather ideas there.

No idea how much a professional consultation costs.

[MyNameIsInigoMontoya]

Thanks, I will have a think about your advice! Though I don't think I have any friends who like gardening, most don't even have a garden - only my dad, who is very keen and has a lovely garden, but I am wary of asking him for too much advice as he always has very strong opinions about what we should do that I often don't agree with. (It tends to involve chopping down or digging up things I quite like...plus he is rarely here as they live down South).

I have already started doing a map of the garden, although I need to get out there again and add to it as loads of new things have popped up in the last few weeks!
I have also done a few small things too, mainly pots - there is no proper garden out front, only a parking area and one border (plus a lovely clematis though which is flowering all over the front of the house just now!), and a long deck at the back which are both crying out for putting pots on, so I have brought a few of our old pots in and also planted a big bowl of herbs already.

Done some weeding already as well, though there are some very overgrown bits where I am not sure what I should be pulling up/cutting back and what I should be leaving. Maybe I can get a book to help me identify the weeds and how best to attack them?

[meltedmarsbars]

Hey, you can seek advice but then totally ignore it !

[MyNameIsInigoMontoya]

Well I am starting to think you are both right about waiting a year - there is so much new stuff appearing all the time! Also I am pretty busy this year anyway, got a new baby and toddler to chase after, so it probably makes more sense just to keep it vaguely tidy for this year and do some things in pots if I feel the urge to get creative. Will look out for gardening friends too - anyone up in the North East?