Don’t even know where to start

[Sunshine49]

Hi everyone,

Sorry for all the threads today - as you can probably tell I’m on a mission to tackle the garden! Can anyone tell me how I can sort out this sorry-looking bed? I’m at a complete loss

The soil looks poor. Do you have any compost? And what are the plants growing there currently? It needs watering and weeding - or do you want to start afresh?

Hi Urban, yes, I think that may be the easiest option at this point. Is it best to dig everything out, add water to the soil and cover it with compost, before buying new plants?

I'd be pulling all of that out, digging the earth over, and adding compost. You'll then have a blank canvas to work from. Also, note the time of the year for planting, given we're now into summer.

Good luck!

x-post :)

Ideally you should dig the compost in. Worms will do that in time but you may not have many in such poor soil.

Also then leave it a bit. Digging over will release more seeds so you'll get another load to whip out before planting up. Easier to re-weed before replanting!

Do you have a herb green? Everyone needs one of those, even if it’s on a windowsill!

If you have a local microbrewery you could ask for a sack of musings from a brew and sig that in - worms love it. Also coffee grinding from a local coffee shop? All good free compost if you can access it.

Musings = mushings

Sig= dig
Oh god I am useless

Thanks so much everyone! Right, I think that will be my task for today. I feel bad as the lady who lived here before was a really keen gardener and kept it looking lovely. I’ve just completely let it slide!

That should mean you have good foundations to work on though!
What's your plan for planting? Worth planning what you want : colour scheme, wildlife friendly, easy care, herbs for cooking.

I am a bugger for random picks, It's better to plan if you can!

And think of the bees! 🐝

My top tip for gardening - is don't bother to dig much in the summer, it needs to be done in the winter.

If that were my patch, I'd go buy a load of woodchip, dig out all the weeds, go and buy some plants to fill the gaps, plant them and cover all the soil with the woodchip.

Also, doing it in the height of a hot day - not a good idea. Early mornings or evenings at the moment.

How muh sun/shade does it get? I like the idea of weed membrane/woodchip/ shrubs.

Quick update - after 1.5 hours of hard slog, this is how it’s looking now! I sprayed a load of water on the soil as it was rock hard in places, then loosened it and turned it over with a fork. I’ve got a lot of the weeds and brambles out, although I suspect some of them still have roots underneath (I was a bit lazy on that front), so will have to keep an eye out. Next job is to buy some compost to put on top I think!

Good effort

Thanks Tells! I will look into getting some woodchip.

Ginger, it’s in the sun for most of the day!

Thanks MrsBert!

Ooh nice! Lavender and herbs maybe? Maximise that sunny bed! I have passionflower, clematis (evergreen and perennial varieties), climbing roses and ceonothus covering my sunny fences

I love lavender - might go for that! Thanks Ginger! Is June/July an ok time to plant it?

I'm not too sure what with this hot weather we're having?! Maybe someone else can advise!! I think I'd plant it in the cool evening in a nice big hole with compost and grit (for drainage) and water in well. Hopefully someone can correct me if that's wrong. I don't tend to water lavender much as it's Mediterranean but it probably needs a bit in this weather (in the evening) until it's established.

Choose English lavender (rather than the tufted French variety) and it will flower every year. The trick is to cut back almost to the wood after flowering to keep a nice compact, non-woody shape for next year.

I'd have a climbing rose or two for the fence. Get a repeat flowering one. Colour from June to October.

Lovely idea - thanks Glitter!

Morning everyone! I've ordered a load of compost from Wickes to dig into this bed. Do you think I should get some bark to pile on top of that, or is that overkill?

Thanks!

I’ve put a load of bark down on mine, it’s really slowed down the weeds growing and need less wartering, if you want less work it might be a good idea, looks nice too. Just get the plants in that you want before putting down the bark.