Not known to be green-fingered but trying hard...

[Pinkmarshmallow]

So pleased with myself. Just planted thyme and lavender in a 3-tiered herb planter and filled a salad bag ready for planting lettuces and planted seeds indoors for mint, parsley and chives. Any tips to keep them alive? (Everything usually dies on me.) Until now, my garden has only really consisted of things that thrive on neglect like red robins and bamboos and evergreen shrubs.Determined to change that....but need inspiration and tips and encouragement pleeeeease!

Congratulations and welcome to all the great peaks and troughs of the gardening bug!

Thyme and lavender both like well drained soil, so mix in a bit of grit with your compost so the composition of the soil is light.Don't overwater - these are plants that survive drought.They also like lots of sun so place the planter in your sunniest spot.

Lettuce and salad leaves, OTOH, like plenty of water and if its too hot and sunny they will bolt, so maybe choose a site with some sunshine but not too hot for them.

Keep your mint separate in a pot as it spreads like wildfire otherwise.

With the herbs, wait until the compost is no longer damp before you water. A major reason for seeds not germinating/seedlings dying is overwatering.

All the best.

Lettuces and salad leaves OTOH,

ignore the last sentence my rubbish editing

taffetacat, thanks for the reply and all the tips. Good to know about salad leaves needing to be out of the sun...at the mo I have the salad bag in a very sunny-all-day position, so will need to re-position it. Will also need to be careful not to over-water the seeds