Where do I start???

[Elouera]

We've bought a derelict house thats been left for 7+yrs- the garden even longer. We've had the 6ft of brambles cut back, but now have a boggy, clay mess.
Are there any good sites/books to help plan out raised beds and a design for a 1/3 acre garden? Ideally I'd like to put the dimensions into a programme and it helps with designs, when and where to plant what.

There are, but I would start with pen and paper and draw your space loosely to schedule, noting where the sun rises and sets, what areas will be in sun or shade etc.
Decide what type of garden you want (edible, pollinator friendly or just pretty flowers), will you have a colour scheme or can any colour fit - we have a strict purple blue and white scheme what is strictly edible or pollinator friendly - if a plant doesn't fall into either if doesn't come into our garden!

Have fun and get your partner to do the same so you can compare and combine ideas. For my partner he didn't care about plants but wanted a nice BBQ and a nice place to sit and relax, a low effort garden what wasn't full of pointless flowers was also important to him. Challenge accepted it's taken a few years but we are getting there. While we have a lawn, we added flowers for pollinators (clover, self heal and common daisy) and don't mind the moss - in the summer we can't cut our lawn every week/fortnight because it's fill of bonus flowers for pollinators!

Thanks for the tips. I'd like raised beds for veg, but also borders with flowers and easy to maintain, bee/bird friendly plants. I've moved from having a small roof terrace to a massive garden, and planning it out, or knowing where to start is daunting.

If you join Gardeners World website they have some great forums. One of them is a garden design thread, if you post some photos you should get some great suggestions.

@FoxinaScarf- thats for that. I shall sign now.

Check out "no dig gardening - undug" on Facebook. Or just google no dig. Essentially you clear the area, put down cardboard to stop weeds coming through and cover with compost. Suitable for food and non food and keeps the soil structure. I know that isn't a design tool, but might save you an awful lot of digging work.

Also @DennisTMenace suggestion of cardboard is a good way to see a layout before you start work.

How exciting to start from scratch.

Do think about having a pond, we dug one over lock down and it's been a real source of enjoyment, we had frogs within a week, it was teeming with dragonflies and water boatman in the summer. It's a wildlife pond so no fish and requires very little maintenance.

We also planted a wild meadow around the pond and had all sorts of butterflies that I had never seen in the previous 10 years of living here. Non - fertile soil and a bag of wildflower seeds is all you need.

Congratulations. One thing you can certainly start to do now is get compost and muck heaps going. You are going to need to work hard on that clay soil to get it into the best possible condition. Get into the habit of saving suitable kitchen waste, ask around and find a local riding stable who will probably give you manure for free. A nice muck heap rotting down nicely is a lovely thing.

As HPandtheneverendingbedtime said take time to observe things about where the sun shines in the morning, how it moves around the garden in the day,

This is a long-term project. Don't be fooled by the 'garden makeover' programmes on tv!

Take your time, keep on at the brambles and any perennial weeds, because they really need to be thoroughly gone before you start planting up with new stuff. As a pp says, start a compost heap now and you will have loads of good compost in a few months' time.

Start making lists of things you want - a herb bed for instance needs to be in full sun, but also near the kitchen, so you can just pop out and pick what you want when you need it. Also work out whether you will need an electrical supply to garden buildings, and where would be the best place to keep wheelie bins etc. A water supply near veg beds will also be necessary.

Forgot to mention - don't put perennial weeds with spreading roots and loads of seed heads on the compost heap.

Some great advice, thanks. In terms of a compost heap, would something with bricks on 3 sides and a wood panel at the front to lift up work? I'm not sure if I need a sealed unit that prevents vermin (rats/mice), or if something open would still work?

If rats and mice want to get into a compost heap they will, the only way to deter them is to make sure you put nothing on it that will encourage them, so no cooked food items of animal origin, only household and garden vegetative waste , plus paper and cardboard. They will probably still use it, composts are cosy places.

Three walls would be fine, you probably don’t need a panel at the front,it would be easier to access without . You could put something over the top, but that could be an old carpet or sheet of hardboard or something, but lots of people don’t bother with that even. If you can it would be better to have two heaps side by side, one that you build up first , then turn into the empty heap to rot down while you build up the second heap. Three heaps would be even better, if you had the room.

If you are not sure where things are going to go in the garden then it might be better to start off with a bin first before you build walls.Check with your local council, lots of them have compost bins on cheap deals for residents.

Turn your compost regularly with a fork, will help with getting air in and will also discourage rodents from nesting.

In terms of a compost heap, would something with bricks on 3 sides and a wood panel at the front to lift up work? Once you've lifted up the front, compost will spill down and stop it shutting. I have a slatted front, so I start digging from the top and remove slats as I get lower and lower in the heap.

Yes to three heaps. One to use, one to add to, and one to mature. When you've used all the current heap take the older of the other two, heave the unrotted stuff on the top into the bin you've just emptied, until you get down to usable compost. Then add new stuff to the one you've just emptied, leaving the previous active heap to mature (or for overflow during those times of year when your generation of waste exceeds the capacity of your active bin).

I don't have problems with rats in the compost heap (ie no tunnels and I don't come across nests) even though I don't aerate it and don't worry excessively about what I put on it. But we do have at least 8 cats patrolling the garden.

Beth Chatto have a border design service that's only about £100 once you buy a certain value of plants. After years of failed experimenting it has actually saved me a fortune in unsuitable dead plants!

Get your hard landscaping planned first, paths, shed, pergola, patio, raised beds etc. Then it's easier to sort out things like a water supply for a pond, or electric for the shed or summerhouse.

There could be some long-neglected shrubs that could be good if they have some renovation pruning, and some buried perennials and bulbs that could surprise you in spring

So find out what things are before you get rid of them. Existing stuff will make the garden mature more quickly than if you clear the lot and plant everything from scratch.

Photos please!

Think really hard about what you are going to use your garden for, and make sure you know where the sun falls. Do you have football playing kids? pets? love to sunbathe? want a greenhouse? need a washing line?

Spash the cash on good quality hard landscaping and build in some outside power points.

Your council will probably offer you a deal on compost heaps/bins - the plastic Daleks are less romantic than something in wood but they are very easy to use (don't dry out, not too big etc) so great for a beginner (and about £10 each from my council). You need at least two, as above.