Complete novice wanting to grow something!

[SnowyTigers]

Hi all,

I am a complete novice when it comes to growing anything, but I'd absolutely love to have a go with my DD who is 7 as she seems really interested in trying.

We have a small front garden with a bit of grass which gets the full sun in the afternoon, and an enclosed back yard which gets a bit of sun in the morning but not loads as we live in rows of terraces so the sun gets a bit blocked by the houses to the back of us.

Our back yard has a stone raised bed along one side which has some herbs growing in there (a small mint plant which doesn't seem to ever get any bigger, two types of thyme, a huge sage and huge lavender bush). I've bought w garden waste sack so I can clear out some leaves and cut back the big sage and lavender plants, and once I've jet washed the paving I can build a small wooden greenhouse I ordered from Aldi.

Is there anything relatively easy we can get started with? I think dd would love growing something edible (maybe tomatoes?) but I'm totally clueless and open to ideas! I'd also love some sort of flowers for the front garden, maybe in pots? Am I better off just buying these ready done?

I know I need to buy some bits such as compost but I honestly don't really know what other basic equipment (such a pots etc?) I should have to hand. We have a spade, trowel and gloves

I'd love some suggestions if anyone would be happy to help.

Hello again, I have another question if someone wouldn't mind indulging me!

I'm currently sowing some more seeds (I did some last Monday and my tomatoes and sunflowers are starting to grow already!) and I have a few packets of different things. There's quite a few seeds in some of the packs, so should I sow them all or do a few and save the rest? Will the seeds keep for next year or are they only good for one year? I'm just doing some sweet peas and theres 40 seeds in the pack. I've sown 20 of them but have some different ones to do and will run out of pots if I sow them all!

Sunflowers are a fantastic first grow. Will have to wait until later in the year for results but boy, are they worth it. Reliable pretty much every time.
Sugar snaps and peas too are pretty failsafe. Lots of watering though.
Good luck with whatever you choose

Saving seeds for another year is ok, but check the date on the packet and keep them in a dry dark place.
Sweet peas can be patchy to germinate. Out of your 20 you might only get 10 to germinate, so having more sown might be better.
Sunflowers are very reliable germinators so sowing the amount you want usually works fine. This year I’ve sown some of the traditional tall yellow sunflowers, but also the shorter orange shades for a change.

I have two variations of sweet peas so hopefully something will grow! I've done 40 seeds in total for them. I'm also sowing some mini cucumbers today but I feel like I'm being ambitious with them!! Hopefully something will happen, I'm going to try and keep them warm enough.

I'm also sowing some African marigolds which has 150 seeds in the pack. It seems like a crazy amount of seeds to own. I wish I had more windowsill space!

I don’t think anyone else has mentioned it, but peas are fantastic grown in windowboxes too for pea shoots which are delicious in a salad.

As are wild rocket and beetroot and the small globe shaped carrots, think they are called Paris Market carrots?
I don’t like lettuce but a wild rocket, pea shoot, beetroot and carrot top salad with a sprinkling of nuts, lovely 😊

I find that sweet peas actually, are better bought was baby plants from the supermarket.
I despise cucumber but the kids like them, god knows why 🤢 and we grew ‘marketmore’ last year in a small pot up a tall bamboo stick.
It did really well but needs a lot of water.

@SnowyTigers

Hello again, I have another question if someone wouldn't mind indulging me!

I'm currently sowing some more seeds (I did some last Monday and my tomatoes and sunflowers are starting to grow already!) and I have a few packets of different things. There's quite a few seeds in some of the packs, so should I sow them all or do a few and save the rest? Will the seeds keep for next year or are they only good for one year? I'm just doing some sweet peas and theres 40 seeds in the pack. I've sown 20 of them but have some different ones to do and will run out of pots if I sow them all!

Yeah just keep them.

Thank you, I'll save the extra seeds. It seemed a waste to have so many left over! I bought some African marigolds and there's 150 seeds in the pack!

I've sown some marigolds, alyssum and cosmos today too. Feel like I'm being super ambitious trying to grow so much but it's worth a try

I LOVE sweet alyssum, it has the most gorgeous, sweet honey scent and it flowers most of the year.
What variety of sweet alyssum did you buy OP?
Because the older varieties self seed so abundantly you’ll never be without it!

Your courtyard garden is a lovely space. Are you thinking about some structural plants in pots? A Fatsia Japonica would look lovely there.

@BigWolfLittleWolf

I LOVE sweet alyssum, it has the most gorgeous, sweet honey scent and it flowers most of the year. What variety of sweet alyssum did you buy OP? Because the older varieties self seed so abundantly you’ll never be without it!

They are called 'wonderland' mixed, if that means anything to you. I thought they looked very pretty on the picture

@Beebumble2

Your courtyard garden is a lovely space. Are you thinking about some structural plants in pots? A Fatsia Japonica would look lovely there.

Thank you! I wish I'd taken a before photo, as it looks so much better now I've sorted it out and cleaned all the paving.

I definitely need something in pots. I'd love to eventually have a really lush space with lots of plants but I am a total novice when it comes to this stuff. I looked up your suggestion and it looks great, so I'm going to add it to my list. I really recognise the leaves so I'm sure I've seen one before. Half of my yard is quite shady so I think it would do well!

Sorry if this is a stupid question - so for example the alyssum and marigolds etc, can I plant these out in bigger pots once they are ready? Or do I need to be planting them in to the ground? I have a very small bed in my front garden but it gets no sun at all because of the wall next to it, and the ground is very hard. I have plenty of pots to use though.

Seeds are best down directly where you want them to grow really imo.

I can’t speak for marigolds, but if you move them when it’s not too hot and water well alyssum usually copes well with being moved.
They’ll do absolutely fine in pots.

Most plants actually do fine in pots as long as the pot is big enough and watered enough.
Alyssum and marigold don’t need huge pots.

The Wonderland series are a new variety of Alyssum, I’m not sure if these will re seed for you.
The old varieties of Alyssum self seed but a lot of the new ones are sterile and die at the end of the year without making baby replacement plants.
Wait and see!
Hopefully in Spring next year there will be loads of baby alyssums everywhere for you but if not, you’ll have to sow them every spring.

A pot of Hydrangea would do well In your garden as they like shade and flower throughout the summer.
I grow annuals both in pots and directly sown. The ones in pots are carefully replanted either in the soil or bigger pots. I use then for gap filling.
Another good self seeder for courtyards is Erigeron, it self seeds all over the place. Doesn’t suit everyone, but I like little self sown plant between my pavings.

Great, thanks everyone. I feel like there's so much I can try and do, which is very exciting!

I don't have much space to plant unless it's in pots. I do have some space in my raised bed in the yard which has a big sage and lavender bush, which gets full sun until around 2pm. The front garden is just grass with a small patch in the corner which houses a hydrangea that was here when we moved in, and a bed along the side of the path which has some bushes in and doesn't get any sun.

Ferns would be lovely on the side that gets no sun.

You can achieve wonderful things with pots
Spring bulbs like aconite, iris reticulata, daffodils, tulips etc can be planted in late autumn in them, you can have hardy perennials that live in there all year or use seasonal bedding plants.

Ferns would be lovely on the side that gets no sun
Heuchera too

@BigWolfLittleWolf

You can achieve wonderful things with pots Spring bulbs like aconite, iris reticulata, daffodils, tulips etc can be planted in late autumn in them, you can have hardy perennials that live in there all year or use seasonal bedding plants.

This is great, thank you. I need to start thinking ahead now about stuff I can plant in the future, as at the minute I've only sown seeds which are due to be sown this month. I have a long list developing on my phone with different plants and what I need to do with them

Just wanted to add, white flowers zing out on a summer’s evening, so worth thinking about.

Hi everyone, just wanted to update on how I'm getting on.

I have lots of seedlings now! Nasturtiums and sunflowers are growing tall, cucumbers are doing well and I've ended up with tonnes of tomato seedlings. Way more than I'll ever have enough space for so not sure what to do! I've transported about 20 of them to their own bigger pots now and probably still have another 50 left

Alyssum, African marigolds, cosmos and sweet peas are also growing, and my sugarsnap peas. Oh and my radishes in a big pot outside!!

I'm so happy everything seems to be growing well. I thought I was being too ambitious but it's been a breeze so far!

My friend gave me some beetroot seeds but I'm not entirely sure where I can sow them. Any advice?

Also, the nasturtiums are really tall and starting to stoop over now. I have them in very small pots but not sure what to do with them next?

Just want to thank everyone again who helped me on this thread. Having my little yard project has helped my mental health immensely and I couldn't have grown all of these things without your advice

Beebumble2

Your courtyard garden is a lovely space. Are you thinking about some structural plants in pots? A Fatsia Japonica would look lovely there“

Yes it would. Fatsia is a really hard worker. Glorious, glossy leaves, evergreen, berries and flowers. Doesn’t like full sun (it will still grow but with much paler leaves so less oomph) but will tolerate everything else and pretty much any soil.

@SnowyTigers any spare plants/seedlings you have, why not offer around? You could approach local schools & nurseries or just offer them up on local Facebook pages/groups, I expect you'll soon get rid of them & you can always ask for swaps too if there's anything else you'd like to try?
Beetroot- it depends. If you want just grow them as a salad crop, ie harvest the young leaves, you can just sow the seeds in a seed tray. If you want actual beetroot they better off in a bed & you'll need to thin them out once they germinate. Ideally you need to sow them in the place you want them to grow. Beetroot seeds are in clusters so once they germinate & seedlings appear, you'll need to prick out some of the seedlings to allow those left in space to grow. They will take a while to get to supermarket size, probably not till late summer/autumn plus they could bolt - ie form flowers instead of the beetroot bulb.