New to gardening - tips please!

[Radders23]

Hi all!

I am a proud owner of my first garden. Albeit small I am excited to get some colour in there quick. I have a long planter in direct view from the front room as well as a paved area where I could put some pots, but the garden itself is not very big.

Any tips for a first timer?! I have no idea where to start, but in the midst of this lockdown I feel like it would be lovely to see some colour out the window. I have been looking for a cherry blossom tree as I've always wanted one!

My top tip is to hide your fence ( assuming you have one ) with lots of climbers . And a decent width of border next to it filled with shrubs and some herbaceous perennials.

Couid you upload a photo and info on sizes and aspect ?

Cheap quick colour, while you make permanent plans, would be to sow seeds of annual in large cheap pots.
Seeds such as Candytuft, Californian Poppy, Clarkia and Nigella could all be sown now and give splashes of colour throughout the summer.
All bought on line,

I have been looking for a cherry blossom tree as I've always wanted one!
Cherry blossom is very pretty but be aware that:
-the blossom doesn't last long, it's over before you know it
-fallen blossom can be a nuisance when it gets on your shoes and you walk it into the house.
Sorry to put a downer on your dreams.

General tips: give everything a go until you know what works, even expert gardeners have their failures. See what thrives in your neighbours' gardens. Supermarkets (Aldi, Lidl, Asda, Morrisons) have lots of gardening bargains - get your colour there.

For cheap colour I would buy some trays of bedding plants. They only last one season but you can make some other plans whilst they give you some joy.

What bout fan trained cherry along the fence? Colour of the blossom but it also adds some height and feature.

You need some shrubs etc to give year round interest.

Thanks for all the tips so far. Here are some pictures (excuse the broken fence). The planter was full of gravel on top of a black layer which I'm stripping out and going to fill with compost instead. Found some gladiolus at lidl today which I will plant. I also have a clematis which I'd love to trail along the fence.

Ooh it’s really lovely! I’d get some red or white or pink geraniums in pots for instant colour that should last until November. Then you can take cuttings of them and overwinter them.