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Gardening

Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

Please help a gardening novice with a neglected garden!

31 replies

MirrorMirror21 · 26/05/2018 12:23

So my garden is not pretty at all. Have really neglected it since last summer. I haven't got a lawnmower, so cut the grass with a handheld one last week as it was so long I just didn't want it to die 🙈 so looks a bit scruffy (though better than before) and am going to ask the gardener who does next doors if he will mow it for me every few weeks. It's tiny, like 7m by 3m if that so think he might do it for £20 or so.

But I want to make it pretty (today Grin). I've got the paint for the fence and shed so I want to give it a fresh lick of paint. I have three rectangular flower bed trellis things attached to the fence (I'm definitely a novice! No idea what these are called) with dead plants in. What sorts of things will grow nicely in there, with not too much effort? Should I literally just pick the prettiest ones and stick them in some soil in there? Is there anything else I could do to pretty it up? I have two chairs and a table out there, will clean them up. Got a solar lantern and solar trees. Maybe could get a few bright pots dotted around the patio (v small as well, maybe 2m x 4m)? Happy to spend about £60 (though could go up to £100 if I was irresponsible Grin). I'm not sure how expensive this sort of stuff is? Also the garden centre is only a 5/ 10 minute walk from my house (I don't drive) but I'll have my toddler so may struggle with 20lb bags of compost or whatever!

I do fancy growing some fruit/ veg, in particular blueberries, but I have no idea where or how I would do this.

I know I sound like an idiot, I'm not really. I'm just young and have always lived in flats Grin

OP posts:
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MirrorMirror21 · 27/05/2018 12:26

Thanks so much! Love the idea of painting the shed! I'm pretty sure they'd be fine with that. Your planter links aren't working but I'll try and find them on the Wilko site later, sounds perfect. Also the decking tiles sound interesting if not too expensive. The tree is in my garden, I'll take some pics later. It's not really the end of the world if nothing can be done, just a shame in such a small garden to have wasted space!

Yay, can add my pics now! So pleased with them, really brightened it up. DDs dad suggested a bbq so going to get on with the painting Grin

Please help a gardening novice with a neglected garden!
Please help a gardening novice with a neglected garden!
OP posts:
GingerKitCat · 27/05/2018 13:32

Lovely pics, great start Grin The decking may be a bit budget-unfriendly but if you have any handy contacts/relatives they may be able to whip something up!?

If not I've seen people painting ugly concrete patios (use exterior masonry paint) to smarten it up. Dark grey sounds boring but makes your patio furniture and bright planters stand out beautifully, as well as the contrast with the lawn. You could add an outdoor rug, picnic rug or some children's foam interlocking tiles as a softer surface for your DD to play on - this would be a cheaper solution than decking.

The links are working for me - the first two are olive bell pot and the last one is Athens tall planter if that helps Grin
If you look under pots and planters Wilko have loads of bright colours. Smaller pots are fine but they tend to get a bit lost at ground level (and also dry out fast!) - larger ones make a bigger impact and give you more planting options.

Depending on the type of tree you could potentially prune off the lower branches to raise the canopy. This will open up the area beneath. While still shady it means it's not quite as dank and gloomy! Ferns enjoy this type of situation.

Have a lovely BBQ!

MrsBertBibby · 27/05/2018 14:36

Lovely start!

I collect smooth sea stones to put in my planters, it reduces moisture loss and also keeps weeds out.

I drive my other half mad carting stones home, but it is a lot cheaper than buying!

This is an absolute stunner of a fuchsia I got for a quid from Morrison's last year (fuchsia like a bit of shade). It is a non hardy variety, but when I went to yank it up to refill the planter, I realised it was sprouting. Very pleased as my cuttings from it were done too late and failed.

Please help a gardening novice with a neglected garden!
MrsBertBibby · 27/05/2018 14:41

And this is my potting bench, which I think I used Cuprinol Seagrass on.

Please help a gardening novice with a neglected garden!
GingerKitCat · 27/05/2018 21:35

Excellent use of Cuprinol Seagrass Bert Grin

I'm very jealous of your potting bench!

The beach pebbles are a great idea (I'm landlocked boo hiss).
I've started adding a layer of fine gravel to my pots this year. Not sure how old your DD is OP but painted stones seem to be a popular children's activity - they're all the rage in my local park. Not sure what you seal them with (varnish?) but google will tell you. You could add them to the tops of pots!

Morrisons £1 fuchsias are awesome! I'm going to grab a couple more on my next visit Blush

LIZS · 27/05/2018 21:52

I love morrisons plants. Climbers for £1.76 and plant of the week usually around £1.

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