tips for a walled garden ?

[Lovepancakes]

We are about to buy a walled garden and I want to learn as much as I can before planning what to do (it's empty grass at the moment).

I will look in the library and have also ordered a book about 'no dig' gardening as I won't have help other than our 2 year old. I am clueless but very keen.

My interests are in maximising nutrients in the soil and growing our own veg plus apple and pear trees. Does seaweed make a good difference as we're not too far from a coast?

Also it much too big to just grow veg/ flowers for the house so wondering do I just choose the best corner for sun and fence it off? I think I need ideas if anyone is willing!

Thanks so much

Oh gosh you lucky old thing! I'd give anything for a large garden and a walled on at that!

In your case I'd train the apples and pears along the wall.

I don't know about seaweed- it depends on what the plants etc need- it's not a fertiliser for everything.

I'd cover the wall with roses, clematis, climbing shrubs and in front plant a mix of bulbs and perennials.

Thanks so much jaffa. It feels a bit surreal and it's possible it might fall through as we haven't had a survey done yet but one of the biggest draws to me is the garden.
Your ideas are just what I need and I hadn't even thought I could train the apples too. Thank you. I'll try and work out which sides are more shady and am also wondering how to keep the grass down!

A herb garden with benches and a sundial.

Couple of sheep to keep the grass down?

A maze?
A playhouse?
Rose garden?

The different fruit goes along different facing walls eg nectarines on south facing, apples/pears on each facing, strawbs/currants on west facing and compost along north facing as it's too dark to grow fruit.

You can do lazy beds in your first year and grow lines of spuds; saves deturfing.

you can also do lasagna gardening, put down cardboard and cover with anything organic - straw/compost/shredded paper etc etc, and after a few weeks, the grass underneath dies back; you part the organic material, make a hole and plant into it, water in, replace the soil and organic material and the plant continues to grow. By the time the next year comes around, all the organic material has broken down, the worms have taken it down into the ground and you have lovely ready made beds. the grass remaining then becomes your paths.

Oh gosh I'd love a walled garden. I'm the most un green fingered person EVER but I love the idea of one iykwim

I'd go for a dry stone wall as they attract lots of wildlife, bumble bees like to nest in them, plants can creep all over them such as valerian (good stress/sleep herb) and they are very Eco friendly. Roses and lavender mixed in with culinary herbs all thrive in this environment.

I'm jotting all these ideas down to remember, thank you and FunkyBoldRibena thank you for the link and so many more ideas. I watched the video and thought my vegetables would look very professional the way that technique raised them and left a sort of path, I liked it! Brilliant idea about the cardboard idea too; I've done lots of digging to make beds at my parents' and it's hard work and takes so long!

A bench and herbs are definitely on my list now although maybe I'll need herbs by the back door too but I do love herbs. Thank you and I hope I'll turn into a gardener as I haven't been very good at keeping houseplants alive for long!

That's it really, just , nothing constructive to add to any of the above.

blackpudding i'll lend you a large patch as I could do with you growing vegetables alongside mine so I can copy what to do . But you may not live in the remote northern area we are hoping to move to.

Pancakes just a tweak to Ribena's very useful post, as there are some fruit that grow in shade. Morello cherries grow fine on a north wall, and make fabulous cherry brandy (and are excellent for cooking).

I'm also massively . I don't have a garden at all and I'm craving one so bad! I agree that fruit trees would be amazing. I'd love to grow veg!

Plan your watering - fruit and veg will need regular watering so make sure you put them somewhere you won't need to be trailing miles of hosepipe (or leaving them around to trip over) - this may not apply in certain parts of the UK!

Don't take on too much too soon - you are likely to get overwhelmed and discouraged. Start with a small bed and grow only the things you use the most. Then add another bed the next year (or extend the one you have), and so on. Also, if you find that the location turns out to be completely the wrong one, you have less work to undo!

I wouldn't do dry stone anywhere near the veg patch. While great in many ways, they are also the best hiding place for snails, and any seedlings left near one are likely to disappear (bitter voice of experience)

One tip - visit NTrust or English Heritage stately homes. They have wonderful walled gardens- so visit in autumn and spring/summer to see what's in season. You will get some great ideas.

Dont forget a bench to admire your walled garden from. Or maybe several so you can admire it from different angles.

I now want to buy this book to feed my walled garden dreams.

Ooh Bertha I want that book!

My walled garden is two thirds orchard (apples, pears, peach, nectarine, mulberry, greengages and a plum). The remaining third is currently just lawn but I plan to create veg beds in there plus permanent beds for raspberries, rhubarb and asparagus.

I also want to build a lean-to greenhouse along the south facing wall and cold frames along the east facing. There are currently grape vines on the east facing wall but they don't get enough sun to ripen the grapes, so I'm going to try Japanese wineberries in their place, because I saw them growing successfully on an east facing wall at Pashley Manor.

I have gooseberries against the north facing wall and they will be joined next year by hazelnuts. My west facing side is a yew hedge rather than a wall, which is slightly annoying from a productivity point of view, but it's old and satisfyingly undulating so I like it.

I may also create a cutting garden in there, eventually

Enjoy your new garden - exciting stuff!

I just ordered that book. Oops

I still have the page up on my iPad. My finger might just slip soon and I'll end up buying it quite by mistake...

Let me know what it's like Rhubarb.