New to the world of gardening

Hello everyone.

I’m new to the world of gardening. I have had grass to cut in the past but we moved into our new build house at the end of July. Since moving in I have grown my own lawn from seed, which has got quite a few weeds in but will sort it out in the spring with some weed and feed.

I have also grabbed some wood planks from the site manager and layed out a path and seating area, which will be done using wood bark. Next year I will be putting some borders in.

Can anyone identify the plant in the attached image as I would like to find out if it is a perennial and how to look after it until I hopefully put it in a border next year

 

It looks like a Celosia Caracas. I think it's an annual, not a perennial. We have one in our reception at work.

 

Thanks for the quick reply.

I am looking forward to getting the borders put in next year and getting some plants in going to start with a small border and get that sorted first and then get going with the others

 

You have a lovely blank canvas there Paul and you've made a good start.

 

As kazzawazza says celosia, I have a red one and purple one and both are annual.

 

Thank you looking forward to seeing how it evolves

 

Thank you for the reply your plants look very nice

 

Do let us know how you get on with your garden project. We look forward to seeing how it progresses.

 

Hiya Paul Raybould
Really like how you have begun the process there and your thinking. Keep us posted please with it....we are here to help along the way

 

Thank you I will keep it updated with how things progress and I’m sure I will be asking lots of questions. My Dutch granddad was a very keen gardener and so is my mum although my mums enthusiasm has dwindled a bit since my dad passed a couple of years ago

 

Ahhhh - the joys of a new build house and the totally blank canvas that they leave you with. A friendly site manager can be invaluable in securing reasonably priced materials.

Is the wood treated ? If not I would treat before the chippings go in

Looks to be a nice square plot that you have

Have you decided on type of plants ? Its worth taking note of which areas get sun or shade and planting to suit the conditions.

 

Thanks for the reply. The wood is pressure treated so should be okay. The site manager has been great really and is actually supplying me with a bulk bag of wood chippings to finish it off.

As for plants not sure really would prefer the majority to be shrubs/perennials. I have seen some images of Alliums and quite like the look of those so I might buy some bulbs at some point to put in amongst the other plants as they become established, but I don't have much idea at the moment just learning as much as I can on here. I would like to grow as many as I can from cuttings really to try and keep the cost down as much as possible as the wife isn't really that interested in spending loads on the garden she will be happy with just the grass and seating area but I want more plants etc so it is up to me.

 

We had a great site manager at the last house. Its surprising what a few bacon butties could buy you.

Alliums are great for flower and then the seed heads give interest after the flower has gone. We are about to buy some more for the new border from Sarah Raven as they have 20% off currently (still not cheap though!)

Check out local facebook groups for cheap plants.

 

When I moved into a new build a few years ago i bought shrubs and perrenials at the end of the season when they were reduced. I managed to fill a fair bit of the borders at a fraction of the cost of new plants by October and only had to fill the gaps the following year.

 

Yeah we have been bribing him with brews etc also have a few issues with the kitchen floor and kitchen worktop so he is supplying bits for the garden as a way of apologising about the issues at the same time as making sure that the floor and kitchen fitters come back to redo their work and put things right.

That is a good shout about the end of season sales might have to nip to the local garden centre when I get paid in a couple of weeks.

When is the best time of year to take cuttings from shrubs and perennials?