Getting to grips with my garden in 2024 - how?

[Nonplusultra]

I think I’m looking for a Flylady or TOMM type system to get my garden under control. Something like 15 minutes a day or an hour a week - does that exist?

It’s a midsize garden, that’s a bit neglected . I make big plans and overwhelm myself and I think if I put those to one side, and established some regular habits m, I might get further.

I just don’t know where to start.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Five-Minute-Garden-Laetitia-Maklouf/dp/191135891X

These this book, which claims to do it in 5!

I bet if you Google, there will be a million blogs or websites claiming to show a system for 5, 10, 15 minutes.

What if you ignore the big plans for a bit, and just do the bare minimum?

Dont forget that stuff looks worse in the winter, as things are all muddy and messy, and it feels like there's never enough dry days, or even hours of light to get things done.

If you quickly run the lawnmower round every 2-3 days in summer, you don't need to bother with the grass box.

Pull up a weed or two every time you go into the garden.

Don't try to do too much at once.

If there are existing mature shrubs and plants in the garden, identify them so you can then find out how to care for them. A lot of flowering shrubs need pruning at a specific time of year and if you get it wrong, you get no flowers.

@TheSpottedZebra thank you - I’ll try my library for that one (and see what else they have)

@festivetinseling good idea to look at what we have - I could plot out a rough calendar

Keep the edge of your lawn tidy, that will always make it look neater and even if you don’t mow it, it will look intentional.

Position a few empty pots or similar around the garden, then you can pull up weeds as you wander around as you’ll have something nearby to dump them in.

Every time you have 15 or 30 minutes to spend in the garden, start to tackle the thing which will have most impact. It may help to have a list, so you don’t waste time thinking what to do.

I have that 5 minute book, bought it as a confidence boost when I took on my current garden and was a totally overwhelmed novice. It worked from that point of view. If your library does Borrowbox its on there instead of buying.

Now I section out my garden work by borders, or a particular shrub or tree so I don't get too tired and overwhelmed with it all. Quite strict with myself that when I start to not enjoy a job I stop, no matter what I'm doing, get to a set point, stop and tidy up. I love my garden but its not allowed to kill me 😂

My best find was the long handled hoe that the previous owner left behind, I leave them to fry in the sun. It can reach to the very back of my borders.

I watched a lot of youtube gardeners for advice and tips. During winter evenings its my gardening fix. A new one I've found is Rosie Hardy who has a perennial nursery and is very informative.

Good luck with your garden, its highly addictive once you start seeing progress.