PreparingYour New Garden
Friday, August 14th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed
So the new home is now habitable, but what about the garden? It still looks like a builders yard. The grass has been taken care of, but everything else is an overgrown mess. Full of weeds and plain unsightly. And even thought the builders have left, their rubbish didn’t go with them.Don’t Panic! You really need to to decide just what you want in your garden before you make a start.
Perhaps you need some of these:-
- Decorative flower beds
- Somewhere to entertain
- A vegetable plot
- A greenhouse to raise plants
- A garden pond
- A playground for the kids
It is always a good idea to make a shortlist of your needs. The last thing you want is a patch of grass bordered with narrow flowerd beds.
With most plots it is usually possible, with a little planning, to incorporate most of your wishes. You might want use some landscape design software to make this process easier. You should always start by drawing an outline of the plot together with an indication of where the sun is. This way you will know which part gets the most sun and where the shade is. If you want to use the garden to entertain in the evening, then you want your seating to catch the last of the rays. There are also plants which will only survive in the sun - and those which will wither given to much sun.
You now need to clear the worst of the builders rubble before you do anything else. Next test your soil PH. You need to know whether you have an acid soil or if it is alkiline. The PH could be different in different parts of the garden, so do more than one test.
OK. Now you know the shape, size, aspect and soil type of the plot. Down to work. You need to dig the garden over and clear all those weeds. There are no reliable shortcuts. You can try weed-killer, but the deep rooted and pernicious weeds will only come back. Whatever you decide to grow, it will do much better and save a lot of time and effort in the long run if you do this preparation thoroughly. Its boring, its tedious, its hard work, with very little to show for it. But its essential.
Now for the hard landscaping. Deciding where to put paths, garden ponds,a patio or seating area, and if you want them a potting shed and a greenhouse. A potting shed may seem unnecessary at first, but you will find it immensely useful to store all your tools (thus freeing room in your garage or utility room). If organised, it will make it much easier to find everything and can also be used to sow seeds in pots or put plants in pots. Garden sheds have had many books writen about them so I shan’t go into detail here. However, you will want the shed to be attractive if it can be seen from the house. So be sure that you leave enough room to grow plants over it if wished, or have other ways to screen it.
Now comes the fun bit. Draw a plan of what you want where. Don’t get too detailed, to begin with a general outline will do. If you want a pond or other water feature, plan what you will do with the soil you dig out. What will you do with dead plants, grass cuttings etc. You need a compost heap, again plan where it will go and how you will screen it from the house. If you intend to raise hens, then think about building your own chicken house.
When you start to build your garden, begin with any large excavations you want. Don’t forget any excavations you will need for the garden pond pump and pipes. Then your paths etc, then any grass. Finally you have the planting.
This all takes time and hard work, but you will eventually be fully rewarded with a garden just as you want it, meeting all your requirements and will be easier to manage than if you had not put in all that hard work.
Technorati Tags: No Tags
Related Tags: No Tags
Possible Related Posts
No related posts
