Bit overwhelmed !

[Elasticatedwaist]

I’ve bought a garden that just happens to have a house attached 😃 I’ve always wanted a garden but I know nothing about gardening ( yet )
The Previous owners have halved the garden with a fence and gate. The closer half has a flower bed to the right that you can just see in the pic and overgrown privets to the left that are obscuring the path . There’s a shed then the fence separating the two halves.
The far section is really overgrown with mounds of dead grass and is full of spiders .

Yesterday dh decided the privets should be cut back and went at them with a hedge trimmer. He quickly stopped as he had made a bald patch that looked a mess 😳
Realising that we need advice I’ve asked him to wait before he wields the darn thing again !
We won’t be able to afford a regular gardener and I do have the time to do some myself but I’m just clueless.
Any advice re the privets ? Or anything else ?
The house has been empty a year so it’s at least that long since anyone trimmed them.

I'm sorry to heve to say this but this isn't the right time of year to be chopping hedges as there may be nesting birds in it.

Ok , so when is ?

The first advice of any new garden is to wait a year and see what you’ve got already, but I’d never have the patience for that.

What do you want your garden to do for you, do you want borders, a cutting patch , a bbq hut, hot tub, veggie patch or little heavily planted pathways leading into pretty secret spaces.

From my point of view I probably wouldn’t keep the fence dividing it.

If you have birds nesting, it’s usual to wait until around August before cutting back hedges, but you could have a real good look as there might not be any. From a non bird point of view, now is a good time to cut back as it’s likely to recover quickly with lots of new growth.

I'd dig In Some beds next to the fence.

Maybe move that first shed down to the bottom

Use your green bin for all the clippings and garden waste... start moving it all out now. Don't worry about the spiders you face bigger issues with slugs!

The privet will recover quickly but as pps have said wait until later in the year before having another go at it.

Which direction does the garden face in (i.e. looking away from the house)? That will give you an idea of how much sun it gets and you can plant accordingly (which bits are shady and which bits are sunny throughout the day). The end might make a good veg patch if you are into that but it will be a fair bit of work to get it dug over and prepared and you are probably too late for this year.

Grass is not a given - we are just replacing some lawn in ours after years of just having bark chip paths and beds. And the borders don't just have to be round the edge.

Start watching Gardeners' World or look up old ones on Youtube. They are a mine of info. for novices. Good luck!

I’ve always wanted a garden
Why?
As Billy said, the very first thing you have to decide is what the garden is for. What is important to you? - lawn, borders, children’s play area, seating area (for different times of the day: breakfast, midday sun, midday shade, etc), pergola/arch, entertaining area, BBQ/fire pit, water feature, hot tub, summerhouse / garden office, fuit&veg, herbs, greenhouse, shed, bins, compost heap, washing line, chickens.

Don't get carried away with plants as a first port of call (OK, I'll let you do annuals but nothing permanent yet). Do structural stuff first.

I’ll also second the gardeners world advice, I think all of this year and last are on iPlayer and if you have the Readly app all the old magazines are also available.

I would like to sit outside and see something pretty. A cottage style garden appeals to me. Maybe a strawberry patch. My children are adults now so I don’t need to be putting anything like slides or swings out there really. I don’t want to go too mad just to be able to see something pretty.
I have a small dog so need to keep to safe plants. Would like to get rid of the separating fence and have one long run with a man cave at the end for dh.

Can I let dh loose with the hedge trimmer on the privets ? I mean, is there any way he could kill them or ruin them ?

Can I let dh loose with the hedge trimmer on the privets ? I mean, is there any way he could kill them or ruin them ?
Here's the Gardeners World page. TLDR: it's fine (as long as you promise us that he will do a visual check first for birds' nests).
You could take cuttings, as a precaution, to replace any missing bits of hedge. The GW page says you should have done it in autumn (hardwood cuttings) but I have seen others say that you can do it now (google softwood cuttings). Give it a go - you have nothing to lose and you will learn a new skill!

I'd leave the hedges for now as it really is prime nesting season. Just nip off any really straggly sticky-outy bits with secateurs innthe meantime, and be ready to give it a hard chop in the winter.

Instead I'd focus on the rest of the garden - and you have loads to be getting on with! Have you figured out which way the garden points, and therefore where the sun is at different times of times of day?

Then have a think about where you might want to sit -eg for coffee in the morning, for a BBQ, for evening drinks - whatever 'occasion' you like to enjoy your garden. And do you want shade, or sun? Then plan planting places, so you're looking at nice things. I always like to have a good view when standing at the kitchen sink also.

I also echo the idea of filling your garden waste bin each week. Make it your mission. Rake up all the old grass from the end. And start a compost heap!

Thanks for all the advice. I definitely don’t want to be disturbing any birds.

You need to slow down! If you rush you may make changes you regret.

I've just taken over a house and garden, I am doing nothing with the back and focusing on a few small areas at first.

It would not be unusual for it to take a few years to sort things out. Agree with watching Gardener's World.

You can't kill a privet, it needs tough love. Mine got all straggly so I cut to ground level and started again with a much smaller hedge. I can do it in 10 mins now.

Privet is evergreen and any frost will nip where you've cut it. Leave it until after the frosts have finished and yes, check for birds nesting.

Watch your garden made perfect & garden rescue etc. You have a beautiful space with a lot of potential, especially for something a bit quirky. Good luck!

I would like to sit outside and see something pretty. A cottage style garden appeals to me.
Have a look at The Middle Sized Garden. Alexandra has loads of videos with many hints and tips. This is the one on .

You may find that you want an "English country garden" rather than a "cottage garden". Strictly speaking a cottage garden is sort of open-plan, very maximalist, no lawn, practical. English country is more 'separate rooms', borders, with lawn(s), pleasurable.
Of course IRL nobody sticks rigidly to one concept - do your own take on things, do a pick & mix.

I would start by measuring and draw up up a little plan.

Put in things like a a patio, other seating further down the garden (make sure it's in a good spot where the sun lands regularly), a shed, a border, etc. I'd plant some fruit trees at the bottom of the garden, maybe an ornamental cherry nearer the house, some flowering shrubs and a border of perennials. Maybe a few pots of annuals. Lots of bulbs to go in in autumn.

We have a privet hedge too which gets cut in autumn (and you can go quite hard back on it to bare wood then) - it's sprouting it's green shots now and will look great by May.

Good luck! You have a blank canvas!

I'd actually think about taking out and replacing the privet hedge - you'd gain so much more garden