Newbie gardener & “permaculture”

[Divebar]

Ok so forgive me if I get any terms wrong but I need advice. My DH and myself moved into our house about 8 years ago. It has a pretty large south facing garden. He doesn’t remember it clearly but when we arrived it was very manicured with lawn and flower beds. a vegetable patch, strawberry beds, a greenhouse etc. The first year we had full flower beds planted by the previous occupiers. At the time I had serious misgivings about the size of the garden since neither of us knew about plants or gardening but my DH was keen ( but overly optimistic) 4 months after moving I gave birth to DD and my involvement has been very sporadic and we now find ourselves with very few flowers, lots of tall, straggly shrubs and a weedy veg patch. I would like to start from scratch and learn about plants and how to design an attractive, informal, wildlife friendly garden that is also productive. In the real world I don’t have tons of time but I think a couple of hours of maintenance every weekend is realistic. I don’t want to use chemicals and I’m not interested in overly designed looking spaces with lots of flowers. I’m reviving the compost heaps and we’ve planted some seeds in the greenhouse but it’s all very haphazard. Where should I start? Is there an online resource or gardener you’ve found who i should explore? I already have some RHS books on plants and garden design and books on growing fruit & veg but they’re not very “ sustainable “ & it’s not quite what I need. Am I getting ahead of myself... do I need to go back to basics and if so what are they?

The RHS has done some research on plants and biodiversity which is worth looking at. Roughly, focus on natives and near-natives (ie N European) plants but exotics are useful to extend the season and have some use increasing diversity, possibly because a greater proportion are evergreen. Avoid double flowers - the stamens and stigmas (the reproductive and pollen producing parts) have been turned into petals.

Tall straggly shrubs can be renovated over 3-4 years by cutting a third/quarter of the leggy stems back to base each winter.

Don't try to tackle it all at once. Getting a tiny bit as you want it is far more motivating than a whole garden of not much visible progress. Similarly, don't try to learn everything at once. Get some idea of how a plant functions, which will make sense of a lot of the "rules". Then just learn about what you're interested in at any one point, and let the rest look after itself

It's amazing how much better a lawn looks if you keep the edge tidy and mow a path through it. Then mowing time can be used for something more interesting.

I've been gardening for 50+ years so now look things up as and when I need them, so no great advice on introductory books, other than to say there's been a noticeable shift away from chemicals (even by the RHS) so recently published books are going to be nearer what you want than ones published more than 15 years ago.

Treat yourself to a subscription to Gardeners World. Each month it will have basic information on what you should be doing at that time. As well as interesting articles and visit feature to lovely gardens.
A lot of current garden information has a basis in sustainability and the preservation of our wildlife.
Ask away on here, there are many experienced posters with many differing experiences and ideas to help you.
Gardening is great for the soul.

Thanks for your thoughts. 50 years gardening? What a thought...I don’t think I’ll be managing that. I expect your gardens are lovely. I’ve decided to give it a go and tackle a little bit to begin with. I’m going to have a go with my slightly unloved north facing front garden and have been pouring over my books looking at woodland and shade loving plants. I’ve also found an old packet of seeds that fell out of a book which led me to a seed merchant ( ??) of heritage fruit and vegetables so I’m going to try my luck. He also does period flowers too so I’m fascinated to see what I can grow. I find that a bit more compelling than the big garden centres. I feel a bit more expenditure will be happening but it’s not like I’m going anywhere else.

There is a permaculture magazine you can buy, and I recently bought the book Edible Paradise by Vera Greutink which contains lots of really useful information. I have only just started reading about permaculture, so no insight from me yet

Thanks Thomas.... I bought a couple of editions a while back but they seemed pitched at experienced gardeners who were exploring Permaculture... I’m new to both. I’ve ordered a book on Permaculture for beginners and Forest Gardens for beginners. ( they were not expensive) and my plan is to insert some edibles in my flower beds ( as well as my traditional veg patch currently awaiting de-weeding). I have these bare patches of fence where our once full flower beds have gradually died off over the years. Edible Paradise sounds incredible.... I’ll look out for it. So far we’re nurturing tomato’s and some herbs and random flower seedlings in our greenhouse and anxiously awaiting peppers and chillis. I don’t want to be random and haphazard though.... I want to be planned and purposeful. I’m just a bit impatient.

Do you have instagram op? Vera Greutink has an account on there, if you search her name or growntocook.

I know what you mean about being impatient. I think your plan to start small and interplant edibles in your garden is a great idea. I recommend chard, and also beetroot, if you like them (I have added both to my flowerbeds).

You can always take this year to build knowledge, and have a more definite plan next year. There is nothing wrong with starting small .

I recommend alpine strawberries. They grow and crop happily in shade, and spread very easily. They're a pain to pick, but they are very good as an addition to food - too intense a flavour to eat a whole bowl with cream, but excellent as a scattering on cereal, ice cream or filling a cake. They retain the flavour on freezing, though not the texture, so are a nice addition to cereal in midwinter. And they pull up very easily if you need the space for something else, so I let them grow in any bit of bare ground.

RealSeeds do heritage varieties - they'd like you to save your own seeds rather than buy from them year after year.

I you're interested in Heritage vegetables, see if you can find a copy of the Vilmorin vegetable book published at the end of the 19th century, and boggle at the sheer variety of vegetables grown then. Everything that we feel smart about introducing seems to be in there. But beware - some of the editions are the illustrations only. You need the words too.

My new garden is similar, and I have similar principles. My plan for flowers is to mostly have shrubs and spring bulbs, they’re easy and less effort. Self-seeding plants like forget-me-not, marigold and even aquilegia are welcome between them (the last does get dead headed though as it spreads everywhere, but the bees love it).

I am keeping a few areas at the back of flower beds for tall veg like beans and peas.

My main veg plot is hidden as it can look untidy. My last veg plot was full of self-seeded marigolds that I removed when I had veg to put in. That kept it looking pretty and was great for wildlife.

A pond is great for encouraging nature. Leave a wild area around one side of it.

I’ve found a lot of books and websites assume you have a lot of time or more organisation skills than I do! I tend to just google each problem as I find it.

Herbs are good in the flower bed too.