Complete garden novice, what can i (attempt to) grow and when?

[alicecrail]

Basically all i have ever grown are sunflowers and strawberries. We have recently had new fencing put up and had a load of rubbish removed from our garden. Dh chucked a load of seeds out in the garden a couple of years ago which decided to grow this year. So we have had random flowers growing all spring/summer and we have a couple of rose bush things and a budleigha(sp?) that have been there since we have. We have also had a raised flowerbed built down one side of the garden and i would like to grow stuff in it. Do i keep it bare until next spring, just weeding and digging it over, or do/can i plant stuff that will come up in the spring? I really want to grow some lavender too, but no idea when /how

Any help very much appreciated

you could plant some bulbs to come up in the spring whilst you take some time to do some research about what you'd like in there. Depending on what the soil looks like it might be worth digging in some manure to increase the quality of the soil. If you do this around early october it will have plenty of time to break down over winter.

lavendar you can generally buy at most nurseries but there are lots of different types so take a while to see which ones you'd like.

i'd recommend having a look on www.crocus.co.uk as they have example planting schemes as well as recommendations for which flowers go with what.

hope that's a start!

Watching with interest as I am trying to sort out my own garden.

I can say though that I got 6 lovely lavender bushes from Crocus for quite a reasonable price. They look very pretty just peeping out of the weeds flowers bordering the patio. But they must be able to get lots of sun. 2 have not fared very well because other plants have taken over and covered them up.

What sort of look are you going for? Cottage garden? Modern? Any particular colours? Edible? Attractive to bees? etc

Thanks.

My only other worry is the fact that we have some ground elder so need stuff that is quite tough. Will have a look at that website though

Joesmummy - Our house is a victorian terrace with a smallish garden that we would like to be quite traditional/cottagey. We have a DD (21mo) so the main part is grass although we are thinking of putting bark down at the end of the garden and getting a little play house for her.

We had some lovely honey suckle but it had to be cut down when the fence was replaced but i am hoping that it will grow back next year.

I want the lavender because i got quite addicted to the smell when i was pg and still get cravings now

Oh that sounds very nice. We have a Victorian terraced cottage... so we're probably going for a similar look.

I would avoid poisionous plants (foxgloves, delphiniums etc) unless they are right at the back of the border. You don't want small people eating them.

I planted some lovely bits last year... but had a baby this spring and it all went a bit to pot. That said it does mean that I know what will grow well by itself with the minimum of looking after(!)

Definitely our best buy was a mallow plant (Lavatera). Lovely pink flowers all over the bush and grows like mad without you having to do anything.

Rosemary goes well with lavender. But also needs to be in the sun or goes brown.

Crocus will tell you when to plant stuff.

For a cottage garden I am currently craving... Phlox, penstemon, verbena, alliums, agapanthus, roses, astrantia, salvias, veronicas, sweet rocket, hollyhocks and lots of herbs.

Pots with cut and come again salad are good too. Looks pretty and saves you a fortune. Grow from seed any time from spring right through. Some of our lettuce survived the snow in january and my neglect