One year on and my garden is a disaster!

[bellabunny]

We bought a town house last spring with a very small garden which flourished last summer -beautiful peonies , poppies ,lupins and other lovely things. I planted a couple of plants but basically sat back and enjoyed the fruits of the previous owners labour!

I am the first to admit I'm not a gardener but I have been weeding , pruning and generally looking after things BUT the garden this year is terrible , the peonies look like they are rotting away with no flowers , the soil looks dry and stony and things just look sad!

Any tips to revitalise things, probably too late for this year ,but what can I do to improve things for next year?

Your Peonies may well have a fungal disease...they're quite delicate. Take away any bits that don't look "right" and dig in some good compost around them. Do it again in the spring. If they flower next year, you need to try to keep the flowers dry...shake the heads if they get rained on.

Dig compost into all soil that looks dry and I have to ask...have you been watering it all daily?

It's all about the soil. Just keep adding organic matter, lots and lots of it if you have stony soil, water plants, give them an occasional dose of fertiliser and they should do better.

Some very good advice above. Would also suggest buying a soil testing kit - only a fiver or so but you'll save a fortune on buying plants that will never thrive in your garden unless in pots!

And there is a "no dig" method of improving the soil. Add a thick layer of mulch around the plants and wait for the worms to do the work of pulling it down into the soil. You'll have to buy mulch this year - garden centres will have something suitable - but if you start a compost heap you'll be able to make your own.