Never had a garden before!

He suggested I buy a sprinkler, so I have done that. I can do that for a week or two. But once the big watering is done... the question is how often do I have to water? Twice a week? I know some ppl water every day but can you overwater? I want it all to grow nicely, ofc. I guess I need an idiot's guide to how to make this garden stay beautiful?

 

Congratulations to you and your gardener @LizT . Hope you manage to get the Bird feeder sorted but may be worth thinking about a water supply for them too. Even a bowl/saucer sitting on a pot or similar would be better than nothing.

 

To find some information about caring for the plants just go on google and input beginners guide to gardening and some links will come up. There will be a RHS guide too.
Other posters will hopefully steer you in the right direction to get a book on the basics of gardening. ( I do know there is a gardening book for dummies …their word, not mine )
Keep an eye on all your new plants for drying out. Water the shrubs and plants well at the base of the plant, not from above.

 

I have no idea which one to buy so nowhere near that! Bowl of water ofc I would put there.

 

It's been raining all day, is it possible to overwater? I guess we have no control over the weather! No chance of them drying out. Gardener said to water 1 hour each evening for 2 weeks. I'm not planning to spend an enormous amount of time in the garden, I just want to keep everything alive and watch it grow. I know I will have to prune a bit. But my commitment is not going to be like you guys.

 

Unless it piddles down with rain every day I'd do exactly what your gardener says. He seems to know what he's talking about. The turf can certainly take that amount.

 

If you type Squirrel Baffles for sale into Dr. Google it will bring up a list of companies, with pictures, where you can order the baffles from. I have never seen them for sale in Garden Centres. Also the feeders, although if you have a GC near you I am sure they will have feeders with cages displayed. They are more expensive but it is very satisfying to see magpies and pigeons etc. being thwarted. The small birds just go through the bars to reach the food.

 

Looks terrific. To keep the lawn weeds down use lawn weed killer or you can buy a weed extractor on line which looks like ye old pogo stick. Not sure how it works but my one works. A hoe to keep border weeds down or again buy weed killer the ones that neutralise when in contact with soil.

 

Hi @LizT, sorry not to respond sooner re squirrel proof bird feeders but I had a job to remember the name of mine. It's a Pest-Off feeder from www.roamwildproducts.co.uk and although quite expensive, really does the job. I've had two for a number of years now and they're still good. The smaller one is now £31.99 and you can also buy a wall bracket for £14.99 from the company (I have no connection).

If you don't want to hang it on your fence, you can get freestanding poles with up to 4 feeder hooks, which is what I've got.

Please note however that a really determined agile squirrel has been known to occasionally hang upside down in nearby branches to access the feeder holes. They normally have steel, drop down, weight activated plates to deter pests but he managed to circumvent it - the b....r.

Hope this helps and that you enjoy your beautiful new garden.

 

Oh it's like a little cone to stop the squirrel climbing up, that's clever! But first, I need a feeder. There are thousands out there! Can you recommend a couple I could look at? How much should I be paying, on the cheaper side?

 

I bought a prong thingy, it's great but ofc it does involve a lot of bending down! Which is fine now but as I get older... how do, well, old people get weeds out if they can't bend easily? Wouldn't weed killer kill the plants as well?

 

This is hugely useful, thank you! I'd place it far enough away from the fence that the squirrels can't jump, i.e. they would have to climb up (and then I'd get a baffle). I think a freestanding pole would be great. But at that link I only see ones you hang? Bird Feeders

 

It seems to me that I need to buy 2 things. A pole for the ground and a feeder. There is no cheap way to do this! LOL.

Here, the feeder, 32 quid:

Roamwild PestOff Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder - Compact OR

Cheaper option: Brussels Guardian Bird Seed Feeder

And here, the thingy in the ground, 15 quid.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shepherd-Outdoor-Adjustable-Feeder-Prongs/dp/B0DCP7PP3H

Am I on the right track?

 

You have to watch the squirrels with the cheaper feeder you have linked as they soon learn to take the lids off. I have put plastic colanders over the top of my feeders

 

Looks lovely, what a nice view you have now to look out on, enjoy it!