Mature garden - I have no idea

[Gardeningidiothelp]

NC I prefer threads not to be linked

Last year I moved to a property that has a number of mature shrubs, hedges, flowers. My problem is I am not a gardener and have absolutely no idea what all the different 'items' are or how to care /manage them.

I do know I have

I have a grass plant that is starting to take over one area, the plant has reeds this year that we're not there last year.

Wisteria that had some very small flowers but not many

Peruvian Lillie's I think the seller mentioned

Roses

Acacia tree

Others I am not sure on but definitely look intentional and some that could be weeds.

Its starting to look very unkempt

Does anyone have any advice on how I can start to understand the garden? I have tried googling but depending on what I read the advice / instructions seem conflicting (or I dont understand). and if anyone has any knowledge on the above I would much appreciate it 🙏

Before it is suggested I have tried to get a gardener. First ended up being essentially 2 kids who openly admitted they just cut remove anything I tell them to, and the the other who has signage etc basically just cuts the grass (occasionally trims hedges). Everything else seems to be left, and when I ask he doesn't seem to know anything, so I would say he is probably isnt actually a gardener but just making money from the bits he does.

Maybe try a garden designer?
Or speak to your local garden center?
sounds like you need a mixture of advice and help.

The only one thing I know for fairly sure is that you should leave a garden for a full year...but hopefully you will get lots of good advice along in a minute...

You can use an app, like Seek, to identify plants and then look up pruning and management advice.

Mature gardens can be a lot of work but I hope you’ll grow to love it! It can be a joy. I have learned as an adult and love it.
ETA: would you be interested in watching Gardener’s World? Or there’s an RHS book called How to Garden When You’re New to Gardening which looks interesting.

it can be useful to know what kind of soil you are on (does it look sandy? Clay?) and which way it faces (is it in shade, full sun etc?).

The grass sounds like my sedge - I think it's pendulous sedge. I've found if you don't chop those seeds off it spreads like a fucker.

Do you like the plants that are there now?

Do you know if the previous owner had a gardener? Maybe ask the neighbours they might know, then maybe you can get them to visit...

Do you want to get into it, and if so how much time have you got?

It is tricky getting a proper gardener, maybe try asking on your local FB if anyone can recommend an RHS trained gardener? They generally only want to come for full days at a time, they can be picky.

Why not post a photo of a small section you'd like to deal with first and we can pitch in with what we know about the plants we can identify

You need a qualified gardener - look for RHS certification.

My friends have a gardener who maintains their garden - he advises which plants to buy for different areas, keeps things pruned properly, mulches and weeds, and also mows the grass. You'll need to actually talk to them and get them round to have a look at the garden before hiring them.

Your wisteria probably hasn't flowered well because they need pruning at least once, ideally twice, per year.

Do you use AI? If you can find out what plants you have (using an app / a helpful friend / asking on a site like this) you can put a list of them into AI and it will give you a care plan to look after them. I call mine Monty and he's very handy!

Pay for a better gardener rather than two young people doing clearance.

@StrongGirlsLift thanks for the app suggestion, will give it a go.even if it helps me know what I can get rid of it will be a major help 😀. Will also look at the book. Its east facing, soil I will have to look into. Don't think it looks sandy but then my frame of reference isnt great 🙃

@Pootles34 you are absolutely spot on. It is pendulous sedge just googled it, it is running wild. Previous owner didnt have a gardener he was very proud of it and did it himself. I dont have a huge amount of time tbh, but it isnt a huge garden and I think once its back to looking its best it won't take too much work to maintain 🤞.I just don't want to start hacking at things I shouldn't and ruin it. Again that might be showing my complete ignorance.

@IamNotaMerryMan thats a great idea. Will take a pic this weekend thank you

@BelleEpoque27 thank you RHS gardener is something I can look for now, "gardener" search doesn't seem to have had much success. Both ive tried were from Facebook recommendations, but think perhaps they were friends 🤔. At least the grass gets cut 🤷🏼‍♀️

@SpringHasSprungTheGrassIsRiz another great idea. Will definitely try this...now to think of a name 🤣

@Monty36 pretty unhelpful tbh, you obvioulsy didn't see that I moved on from the young people after one visit, and found another one. Availability is a big issue and I dont think the guy I am using is cheap at £40ph in the north west, he is just not very good.

ETA thanks for the helpful suggestions this has definitely given me a starting point. Will probably be seeing me post in the near future 🙏

Sorry didn’t mean to be unhelpful.
Good gardeners are not cheap. It can be easy to not realise it.

Good luck! You can do the “squeeze test” on your soil when you have a minute. https://www.rhs.org.uk/soil-composts-mulches/soil-types

Only really relevant if you’re buying new plants, but will save some costly mistakes!

You can find qualified gardeners on The Gardener's Guild website. Do a postcode search and ask for an hour's consultation. Will be more accurate than apps and AI.

@Gardeningidiothelp Take photos of all the plants you want to identify and walk round a garden centre till you find the same thing. If you have no luck with some of them, ask someone working at the garden centre to help you.

Yes, you can put these photos through a plant app, but you learn a lot more by seeing them in the flesh so to speak. Garden centre plants will have a name label on and basic care instructions too.

I'm in the same position. Mature garden and beautiful shrubbery/Rose garden sections. I haven't a clue. I have downloaded (and am paying for) the picture this app which so far has identified all in my garden correctly. I'm following the do nothing for a year but I really wanna be able to keep this shrubbery, it is divine. Every week since we have moved in a different plant blooms.

Is there a close neighbour you can ask...tell them it's a lovely garden but you're not sure how the previous owner kept it looking so well.
Always worth watching neighbours if they work in their own garden, exactly what they are doing and when. I often look what is growing well locally

The RHS is such a good website giving cultivation info on most plants. Garden centres often have an information desk where you can take sprigs of your plants for identification.
You mentioned Peruvian Lily - they are pretty easy to look after. They come up in spring, flower for much of the summer, then die back in winter. Clear away all the dead growth in winter. Pull up spent flowering stems , don't cut the stems, and it will encourage more flowers. Similarly, if you want them for a vase in the house, pull up each stem. There will be a video on youtube showing you what to do.

There may be a gardening club locally which you could contact and ask if anyone would be willing to give you a a little guidance.

Grasses become invasive so dig out clumps to keep them manageable and remove the flower stems before the seeds drop. Or remove the grasses completely and have something else.

Do remember, a garden is supposed to give you pleasure. If the previous owner's choice is not to your taste, change it.

You shouldn’t need to pay for a plant-identifying app; just photograph the things you want to identify and search with google lens. It’s always worked for me. Then you can look for care advice (the RHS is useful for pruning guides etc.) Gardeners’ World is useful for reminding you of jobs that currently need doing (I often scroll through the unnattainable posh stuff).
If I could afford it I’d get a decent garden designer to do the layout I’d like plus a planting and care plan Then I’ll have a gardener to carry out the future maintenance please.

We moved in to mature gardens though the lady before was in her 90s so they had become somewhat overgrown. I use the RHS plants website which gives details on every plant and how to look after when flower etc. I also did the garden in sections to start with until had everything done. It can be a lot of work depending on size - ours needs once a week in winter and two times a week with two of us for rest of year just for maintenance. Though we love it and good exercise.

You absolutely don’t need to fork out on a gardener. It’s the time of year when most gardens are absolutely blooming but a lot of it will die back and be very sparse in the winter months.

My advice is this:
Don’t panic.
Keep the grass mown.
Most mature shrubs will cope with being bolshed annually and will still come back.
Perennials will die off in winter but come back next year.
Anything too unruly that you don’t like, just dig it out and get rid.
See which plants you actually like and can live with.
Enjoy it and don’t be intimidated. Everything can be removed/replaced but give it some time. A mature garden is a lovely precious thing.

If there is a local gardening group on facebook, or a real life group, put out a call for help. Some nice person will volunteer to look round your garden and give you help. (If you lived near me I would be round like a shot. We gardeners love a good nosey at other people’s gardens).

If you have the previous owners details and he was a keen gardener then it maybe worth asking him. Just say something like the gardens you created here are beautiful. I don't know much about gardening but would love to keep the gardens as you made them. If you have time would love to ask your advice.

When I plant new things now I try to keep the labels next to them. Though the chickens remove them so doesn't help here.

Our neighbour is a man whose very into gardening (has his like an RHS garden) and he was asking to see our garden so I think people who are dedicated and skilled at gardening especially if retired may be happy to help.

Op my gardener left in January so I decided I could do it on my own.

I started by taking photos of all of the significant plants and getting chat gpt to identify them. I’ve put them in a word document and been gradually looking up what I need to do to every plant - when it needs to be pruned etc and bought a long lopper to do some of the larger bushes, secateurs etc. It’s a lot of work but next year I’ll have a list of each plant and when I need to do stuff to it.

I’m really enjoying it and I’ve never done any gardening before.

That reminds me, a few years ago I did a similar thing but put everything in my calendar; when to prune roses/split perennials/clean the pond/windows for sowing etc. I’m not saying it all gets done by any means but it helps to know the right timings for all the jobs.

i am in the same boat and maybe not too far from you. watching replies with interest.

i echo advice re gardeners. i have employed various in the two and a bit years. mostly they will strim mow and weed and take away waste.but not a clue about plants in detail. good to know about gardeners guild.

mine is very big with lots of mature trees and shrubs and a large pond.

apols for typos hurt arm and typing one handed!

How big is the garden?
Leave the trees - you can’t replace ?15 years of growth.
Weed round the roses but don’t dig down and damage the rose roots
Make a note of what is flowering when
Try not to let weeds get out of hand.

i would be careful about gardeners - they might ‘tidy up’ by just hacking everything back