I'm going to have a garden!

[thislittlepiggywenttothemarket]

We've bought a house with a garden! We won't move till January. It's a small front garden with three short trees and the back garden is larger with grass in the middle and plants along the edges and fenced off. The fence is overgrown with something green. Almost all the plants have died during the heatwave and draught so it's a clean slate.

I've never had a garden before and I don't know anything about gardening. Do you have any tips for me?

start slowly - do nothing for year 1 but take photos and look at what grows at different times of year / where the sun comes from and how you want to use the garden. do you want a kids play area or lots of flowers or something formal?

get a couple of books about gardens (there are often ones in charity shops) and there are some good 'instant garden' programs on BBC to give you ideas.

then start to plan & buy a few plants. clematis is always good for long lasting flowers.

the RHS website is very good if you want recommendations for specific plants

Yes, spend the winter/ spring planning and waiting to see what pops up. Some of the plants that have died off might regenerate next year, or even when the rain starts.
As PP has said, plot the movement of the sun so you know where full sun and shade fall. Take a look at the soil, how good is it, does it need additional compost.
Research, Pinterest have a look at different styles of gardens. Think about how much time you have to tend the garden.
Have fun, enjoy the journey.

No idea. Have a massive one amd not at all keen gardeners..., but very happy for you as you sound so chuffed.

Lots of visits to garden centres!

There is a massive back catalogue of gardeners world on YouTube. Start watching the spring episodes from previous years for inspiration and to get a heads-up on jobs that you will be able to do when you move in.

Look at what grows well in the neighborhood and use that as a guide for your planting.

When redesigning your garden try to move away from having everything "pushed" to the edges.

Enjoy.

Get yourself on Pinterest!!

Thank yoh so much for your tips, I'm off to youtube and pinterest!

I don't know what kind of style I want. No kids, although still hopinf for one. I don't like the sound of formal. I do like reading in the grass so a patch will stay. I like flowers and shrubs and cooking so fresh herbs might be nice too, maybe even some vegetables if they are a bit pretty as wel??? I really really like birds so will read up on how to attract more birds.

Definitely stay looking in people's gardens, see what you like, visit garden centres too. Start making a list of what you like. A few shrubs, some evergreen, some deciduous, and a list of perennials. Some for fun, some for shade. Then wait until you're in, and you can look out of the window and start planning,! You may need to plan but only plant a small section at s time, or it just seems impossible. Maybe choose a sunny spot for a small veg patch, or for annuals just for the first summer. Have fun with it, don't be afraid to change it or get rid of plants if plans don't work, or you just don't like something. So excited for you!!

Er, some for SUN! 🤣

Lovely! We moved into a house with a garden almost exactly a year ago and I've loved it! Not done much as yet, had a tree taken down as it was blocking all he light but that's it. I agree with previous poster, do bare minimum to make it presentable for first year so you get a feel for it and see what pops up over the year. I has a few pots for colourful annual flowers, but have plans for next summer. Good luck!

I started a garden from scratch three years ago. Did it in three sections as it was full of weeds including dandelion roots which were incredibly long and spreading underground.
Took me till late August the first year to clear one-third, too late to plant.
I collected cardboard and lay that over the soil and covered it with manure, by the following Spring it had composted into good soil and I planted shrubs and perennials. Did the same the next year.
This year I have a garden bed teeming with shrubs and flowers.
I spent hours on YouTube and Google researching everything about gardening.

Look in gardens of houses nearby to see what works with the soil and aspect. Take photos of plants that other people have that you like. Maybe get an app that will recognise what you have photographed, identify it and give you information about it.

Think about how much maintenance you're willing to do. Something that works well in low-ish maintenance gardens is to have a lot of the same plants in repeats. For example, take a section of the border (say, 6 feet) and plant what you like in there and repeat that exact same thing 6 feet down and then the same 6 feet down again. That means that you will do your maintenance of that plant in one go.

I like Alan Titchmarsh's book The Complete How To Be A Gardener. It is available second hand on Amazon. I've bought lots of second hand gardening books in the two years since I have taken an interest in my garden, and this is by far the best.

Finally, try and resist buying things until you've seen the garden for a whole year. I know this is hard! If you can't resist (and I definitely couldn't) then maybe buy some bulbs for spring and summer. I bought loads in Wilko last year and they were great value, but B&M have bargains too.

Think about what colours you like. Do you like everything all together? Fiery colours? Bright colours? Calming colours? My garden was already pretty established when we moved into our house, but I have since got rid of anything that doesn't flower in white, pink or purple/pale blue. No oranges, reds or yellows (save for daffodils) for me. I would ideally like just purple and white but I needed to keep a lovely variegated pink weigela and camellia for height.

Enjoy - it’s lovely to have a garden.

I would try to work with what you have before visiting garden centres. Next summer go through the flower beds carefully, sorting through and digging up all the weeds, and you might be pleasantly surprised with what established plants you have.

Look up online advice on when to prune etc.

Definitely agree with pp's, don't actually do much until you know what you've got already, some of my plants that looked dead are regrowing now, also there may be all sorts of spring flowering plants and bulbs in there that will have died down naturally until next spring. Nothing stopping you digging out the nettles etc! But personally, I wouldn't be able to stay away from garden centres for a whole year, it's so much fun looking to see what's available each season, and planning where it can go when you're ready. And also to check prices of things you like, it can vary wildly.