Total beginner help

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I am an absolute novice at gardening, we have a lovely but no flowers, bushes or plants and I really want to make the garden more colourful. My gardener currently does the upkeep of those. I would like to start doing it myself preferably. I’m going to start off small with a couple of planters in one section of my garden that I’ve bought with the intention of entirely doing myself, and then I’d also like to do some hanging baskets.

With the possibility of sounding like an idiot, I have some questions!

Do I buy seeds and plant them, or do I buy actual plants/bushes and plant them instead? If I buy seeds, will they be ready for the summer?

Do I have to do this every year or is there some plants that will keep coming back every year without me replanting stuff?

Is there any other beginner tips I need to know? Are there any fail safe plants and flowers that will look great and I’m unlikely to kill? Anything I should absolutely avoid?

If I were to grow herbs, do I need to keep those separately to my other plants? E.g. Separate pots?

**Are there any fail safe plants and flowers that will look great and I’m unlikely to kill? Anything I should absolutely avoid?
**

id like to know this too please!

It is confusing when you start out!

Think of a garden as a circle of friends.

Trees are the anchors of life. They grow slowly, put down deep roots, and stand firm year after year. These are the people who are always there; the dependable ones who provide stability and shelter when things get rough.
Shrubs are the steady companions. They may not dominate the skyline like trees, but they form the structure of everyday life. They fill the spaces, soften the edges, and make the garden feel complete; much like the reliable people we see often and depend on without always noticing.

Perennials are the friends who come and go but never disappear for good. They retreat for a while, then return faithfully, bringing their colour and character back into the garden. They’re the familiar faces who may drift in and out of our lives but always pick up where they left off.

Bulbs are the quiet planners. Most of the time they’re hidden underground, storing energy and waiting patiently. But when the moment is right, they appear with a sudden burst of beauty. These are the careful savers, the people who quietly prepare and occasionally surprise everyone.

And then there are annuals. Bright, bold, sunny and full of life, they blaze with colour for a single season. They are the flamboyant characters; the life of the party. They may not stay long, but while they’re here they make the garden unforgettable.

A good garden, like a good life, needs all of them: the anchors, the steady companions, the faithful returners, the quiet planners, and the dazzling spirits. Together they create something balanced, lively, and beautiful.

Could you give names of plants please @brambleberries

Planters and hanging baskets need LOTS of attention in summer as you have to keep watering them (daily in hot weather), and dead-heading flowers to keep them in bloom.

I might be tempted to dig a little border so your plants can put roots down and get access to moisture more easily. Is that a possibility?

Another thought... Have you checked to see whether there's a local gardening group on facebook? Many towns, sometimes villages, have useful online groups where members will give advice and they're often a source of free/cheap plants once the growing season is underway. Good luck.

@blankcanvas3congratulations and welcome aboard.

How big are your planters?

Will your planters and hanging baskets be in the sun for at least 6 hours a day?

Can you commit to watering daily and feeding them regularly (like once every two weeks)?

what sort of flowers do you like? Or if you don’t know, what colours do you like? Can you find and share some photos of things you think look good?

Do you want annuals, which will give lots of flowers for months on end, but will die in the autumn and will need to be replaced every year, or perennials, which may not flower as much or for as long, but will come back every year and likely grow bigger and bigger over time?

The good news is that there are plants for every situation- but in order to make useful suggestions, we need to know a little more about what you can offer them.

It might be easier to make a small bed or border and plant into the ground? Less watering, particularly. What aspect has your garden?

What will be reliable will depend on your soil and sunlight/shade.

I can give them lots of attention! What is dead heading? I thought planters might be an easier option but maybe not…I can possibly dig borders, I hope there’s a YouTube tutorial for that!

@KoulibiakMy planters are 23cm x 22cm x 120cm and I have 3 at the moment

Yes, everything will be in the sun for at least 6 hours. South facing garden if that helps?

I can commit as much time as I need to! Happy to water and feed regularly. (What does one feed with?!)

Flower wise I like Hyacinths, Hydrangeas, Pansies, Petunias, Lavenders, Tulips, Bluebells, Geraniums, Roses, Daffodils. Or anything else you could recommend! As colourful as possible preferably.

Perhaps a mix of annuals and perennials? Do you have to pull up the annuals every year and replant?

Am I too late to have the planters and hanging baskets of my dreams this year? I can get everything planted this week! Thanks so much for your help xx

Definitely not too late! I will come back later with specific ideas

@blankcanvas3 Dead-heading is the removal of spent flowers which encourages the plant to grow some more flowers.

When you say you can commit as much time ... Really, how much? I know someone who spends upwards of 40hrs a week in summer on hers. Would that suit you?

Christ, I didn’t think it would be possible to spend 40 hours a week on a garden but obviously I’m wrong! I could do 3 or 4 hours per day if I needed to, more on the days DDs are at nursery.

Just to say what a beautiful way of explaining this, so lovely and so true🙂

It does depend on your garden conditions - how much sun it receives and for how long, what type of soil - clay? sandy? chalky? Is it exposed or sheltered? How big is it? Do you already have some established trees and shrubs?

If you're looking for a splash of bright, colourful flowers to complement an existing framework of shrubs and trees, I would start with annuals in the garden or in pots, and bedding plants in pots. They last one season and then they're gone. They're cheap and cheerful and showy. If they don't grow well you can just try out something else next year. I would avoid hanging baskets as a beginner - they take a lot of work!

Annuals germinate and grow quickly, flowering spectacularly within two or three months of sowing, with very little input. They will die off in the winter but they will sow lots of new seeds from seedpods so it is very likely new plants will pop up again the following spring..and the year after...Most prefer a sunny site.

Grow from a packet of seeds and sow into the soil from mid March onwards:
California poppies (Eschscholzia californica).

Cornflowers (Centaurea cyanus).
Nigella (Love-in-a-Mist).* *
English marigolds (Calendula officinalis)

Plants to buy once the risk of frosts have passed (end of May early June)
As a beginner these are best bought from garden centres and supermarkets as very small plants called plugs once the risk of frost has passed. They're cheap usually sold in packs of 4 or 6. Try supermarket ones from Aldi if you see them for sale: Some are not strictly annuals but can't survive our winter weather so they're grown in the same way as annuals and then discarded when they die off.
Plant in the garden or in pots:

Nasturtiums - climbers, trailing or upright varieties are all easy.
Sunflowers - they need full sun
Begonias - great for shady areas or part shade and flowers for a long time.
Petunias - also good in partial shadey spots.
Fuchsias - another one that likes shade or partial shade
Pansies - they like the morning sun but a bit of shade in afternoon heat. Pinch off the flowers when they start to die off so the seed heads don't form, and they will produce new flowers all summer.
Geraniums (Pelargoniums),
Busy Lizzies,
Lobelia,
Nemesia - 'Wisley Vanilla' for a lovely scented plant that will flower throughout the summer.
Nepeta (Cat mint). I like a variety called Purrsian Blue as it's not too tall for pots and has vibrant blue flowers. It's really a perennial, but in pots I find replacing it every year works best.
Aquilegias (Columbines) - these are really short lived perennials so will return each summer for a few years, but they grow well in pots or in the ground.

Easy grow herbs to buy as small plug plants: They usually prefer a sunny spot. Plant in the ground or in a pot.
Chives,
Mint and Lemon balm - always plant these in a pot as they're rampant and will take over your garden if you plant in the ground.
Thyme,
Sage,
Rosemary - choose smaller compact varieties for pots.

There are many more flowering annuals and bedding plants, but these are the ones that I found easiest to grow as a beginner.

Go to your local charity shop (or library) and purchase some basic gardening books. RHS have one that covers the basics and they will help you to develop a good foundation of terminology and the gardening basics. Get to recognise weeds, annuals, perennials and start with maintenance like when to prune, what to prune, what's toxic, dealing with pests. The RHS website has a good information section and use a free app plant identifier, so you can identify what you already have in the garden and what would compliment it. Start small and slow and enjoy the everlasting journey of learning about plants.

This is amazing, thank you so much. No idea what type of soil I have - how do I find out? We can do either exposed or sheltered, depending on what part of the garden. I have some shrubs and trees that were already there, nothing that I’ve done myself. It’s a big garden, hence why I was thinking I would just start with planters and work my way up rather than doing all the borders etc. It gets a lot of sunlight because it’s nearly all south facing.

Don't panic - You're not too late at all!! In fact, it's much too early for annuals and bedding plants. They could easily be killed off by frosts right up until late May. I never plant mine until the first week of June...

I asked a friend who works in a garden centre why they order in the bedding plants and annuals so early in the season. Her response? All the novice customers who buy them early are likely to lose them if there's a frost, and so they'll come back and buy more!

If you want to plant something, perhaps sow some seeds outdoors from the list of four I posted earlier under 'Grow from a packet of seeds and sow into the soil from mid March onwards'.

This time of year is best for planting trees and shrubs - or even a little later but much depends on where you are in the UK. If you're a beginner I would bypass roses for now - until you're a little more experienced.
Panicle hydrangeas will tolerate full sun but other types such as mophead varieties will struggle.

If you want some flowering shrubs for full sun - how about Potentilla or Salvia? They are so easy to grow in full sun and flower profusely all summer. You could also plant out hardy geraniums.

Going back to the flowers you like, let’s divide them by categories.

Hyacinths, narcissus (daffodils), tulips are spring bulbs. This means you plant them in the autumn, they need cold temperatures over winter and will then grow the next spring. If you pick spring bulbs carefully, you can have flowers from late January until spring, and that’s very cheerful when the garden is otherwise bare and sad. Some will come back for many years, others will only flower once. Since this isn’t the season to plant them, let’s park them for now and we can revisit in the autumn. Although note, you can buy bulbs “in the green” right now from supermarkets and garden centres, and put them in your planters so you’ve got a display before planting annuals in a few weeks. Pansies, although not a bulb, can also be planted in the autumn alongside bulbs, and they will flower over winter and into spring, until you replace them with your new season bedding or planting.

Hydrangeas, roses and lavender are perennials. This means you plant them once (preferably in the ground), and they will grow bigger and bigger every year. Roses love sun and clay soil, lavender needs sun but prefer dry conditions and poor soil, hydrangeas do well in part shade. They are not necessarily plants that grow well together. I would suggest you think about setting up borders that will incorporate these plants. Because perennials can live for decades, it’s worth pausing to think about the structure you want in your garden, and not rushing to plant them now. Having said that, most perennials can be moved if they are not happy, so don’t be afraid to try different things. I move plants around in my garden all the time.

“Geraniums” commonly refer to two different types of plants: hardy geraniums, which are a perennial and will spread and grown bigger year on year, like geranium Rozanne https://www.bethchatto.co.uk/shop-by-other/plants-for-containers/geranium-rozanne-gerwat.htm, and pelargoniums https://www.jparkers.co.uk/120-geranium-f1-mixed , which are treated as an annual and do well in pots (although you can store them in a shed and bring them back the next year). Which one do you like?

Petunias are annuals. This means you buy plugs in the spring, plant them out around May (depending on where you are in the country, could be April in Cornwall or June in Scotland), and they will thrive for one summer, but die in the autumn and need to be replaced every year. They can grow really nicely and fill out a lot of space quickly, so are ideal for large planters like yours. Most of them need deadheading, but there are some varieties like Vista Bubblegum that are sterile - this means they don’t produce seeds, so don’t need deadheading. This is particularly relevant for petunias because the flowers are very short lived, so if you don’t buy sterile ones, you will need to dead head every day (or every other day) or they will stop flowering. Some people enjoy deadheading - it’s easy and meditative, but if you won’t, select a variety that doesn’t need it.

Your planters will need to be filled with fresh multi purpose compost, mixed with some grit or perlite to help drainage, maybe some water retaining granules, and slow release fertiliser. Then you should top this up with more feeding throughout the growing session - something like blood fish and bone or liquid seaweed in the spring, then Tomorite or Grow more from June onwards. Tomorite (or tomato food) encourages flowers and fruits for all plants, not just tomato plants. You should aim to feed every other week or so, or every month depending on the type of fertiliser. There are loads of YouTube videos that can help.

When planting containers, it’s good to combine three different types of plants - a thriller, a filler and a spiller. Your thriller is what adds height and showiness, the filler is what gives volume, and the spiller will cascade down, perhaps adding greenery or a different leaf shape. Again, there are tons of YouTube videos and online advice on plant combinations. Repetition is very important aesthetically, so it’s better to have fewer varieties but repeat them, rather than to have lots of odd plants.

I appreciate this is a lot to take on, but please come back if you have any questions.

And yes there are lots of other flowers you can grow from seed outdoors - but petunias aren’t one of them 😊

Also petunias need a lot more moisture than pelargoniums, so I wouldn’t put them together in one planter.

@blankcanvas3 No idea what type of soil I have - how do I find out?

You can buy soil testing kits from garden centres. This will tell you the pH of the soil - if you have alkaline, neutral or acidic soil.

If you have heavy clay soil it is more likely to be alkaline to neutral (not always). If you have light, sandy, gritty soil it is more likely to be acidic - particularly in high rainfall areas, such as Scotland.
Chalk soils, common in areas like the South Downs and Chilterns, are likely to be alkaline.

Plants such as rhododendrons, camelias, azaleas, pieris, Japanese maples, caluna heathers, prefer acidic soils.

Plants such as lilac, lavender, buddleia, forsythia prefer alkaline soils,

Many plants thrive in neutral soils, (roses, for instance), and some of those plants with preference for mildly acidic or mildly alkaline soils will nevertheless tolerate neutral soils.

Some plants are very versatile and can thrive in a range of soil types.

Don't over think!

Grab a handful of soil and squeeze it.

Open your hand - does it stay in the same shape? You have clay!
Does it completely fall apart? You have a sandy soil!
Does it do something in between? You have a loamy soil!

Don't order a pH testing kit this year. If you plant in containers it doesn't matter.

Get some peat free multi-purpose compost and a bag of horticultural grit from a garden centre. Mix it in maybe a 3:1 ratio in your container.

For a container in a south facing garden plant mediterranean herbs (Thyme, Rosemary, Sage) and lavender. They are very simple, don't need excessive water and do better if you don't feed them. They don't get pests or slug damage and are useful. They will flower and smell lovely and it is very satisfying to cook with your own produce.

I would even consider buying supermarket herb pots (usually £1.50 or so). They are generally sold as many cuttings to a pot so you can tease them out from each other and plant them individually.

Thyme is happiest when it is regularly lightly trimmed back so use it! Trim back Lavender and Rosemary after flowering but don't cut into the woody bit of the stem.

The worst thing for beginner gardeners is to do too much too soon. It goes wrong and then you lose hope and enthusiasm.

I am a SAHM so I have time, but for my modest garden I currently spend maybe 90 minutes a day in the garden pottering about. In the summer that easily doubles. Start small, and build it up slowly.

You can design a garden to be as high or low maintenance as you wish.
Trees and shrubs are generally the easiest to manage if you choose wisely, as once planted they often don't need much care once established - perhaps a trim once a year for the shrubs - and they are in place for many years.

I love my garden but I don't want to spend all of my time tending it. I have an easy, low maintenance planting scheme that allows me to add a few pots throughout the summer for additional pzazz if I need it.
I have seasonal interest all year round, choosing plants that flower over a long period of time over the summer, and careful selection of evergreens, seed-heads with architectural interest, and berry producing plants in winter.

Do I buy seeds and plant them, or do I buy actual plants/bushes and plant them instead? If I buy seeds, will they be ready for the summer?
In theory both/either, but as a beginner buying plants/bushes and planting them out is generally much easier and more reliable. You can scatter seeds around but it can be very hit and miss.

Do I have to do this every year or is there some plants that will keep coming back every year without me replanting stuff?
Lots will come back every year. Some (evergreens) will never go away; some will lose their leaves but leaf up again next year, some (perennials) will die back completely but spring back into life next year. Some will die at the end of the year but before that will scatter their seed around for you and their babies will grow next year for you.

Are there any other beginner tips I need to know?
Bare earth attracts cats and weeds. Don't make a planting space and then leave it empty.

Are there any fail safe plants and flowers that will look great and I’m unlikely to kill?
Perennial geraniums/cranesbills. They are lovely, come in a dazzling range of colours from subtle to vibrant, and are pretty much indestructable. You may also just get chunks of them from friends/neighbours as they split very easily. Daffodils - bulbs will become available in the autumn and they are the most reliable spring bulbs.

Anything I should absolutely avoid?
The ones I wish I hadn't planted are Acanthus/Bear's Breeches unless you have a huge garden. Dramatic but impossible to get rid of. Also beware of Japanese anemone, if they are properly happy they can be right thugs.

If I were to grow herbs, do I need to keep those separately to my other plants? E.g. Separate pots?
Nope, they are just plants. But like all plants different ones like different conditions so you can't always grow all of them in the same way and same place.

Keep asking. Gardeners love sharing their knowledge.

If you have set borders already, you could look at Dig Club, I had some borders and areas built in my garden and I bought a ready made set from them. You just put in what facing your garden is, how much sun it gets and size of area to plant and they will send you plants and a diagram of what goes where. I had some really lovely borders from them that came back year after year and learned a lot on the plants too. I was sad to move house and leave that little garden behind!

This is all so helpful, thank you! I’ll go to the garden centre this week and hopefully in the next few months I’ll have some lovely planters to show you 🤞🏻