New garden

Hi all,

New to the forum and gardening!

Recently moved into a new built property so all i got as a garden was a pile of mud. just had a pation and some block paving put in so now its time to deal with the rest of it.

Yesterday i spent several hours removing the majority of the stones and all the weeds that had popped up. Raked it over a few times which seems to have got rid of the all the weeds and im currently just watering the soil to see if anything pops up so i can remove it. Can anyone advise me on what to do next? could it be seeded or would turf be best? and what do i need to do next? would be doing it all myself so need all the help i can get.

being a new build its not the biggest of gardens and overlooked, which i didnt really consider when i brought it. along the overlooked side ive got a brick wall around the garden and wondered if there are any trees i could use to give abit of privacy?

ill try upload a pic to show the garden.

Sorry for rambling on especially on my first post, and thanks in advance for any help

 

Hello and welcome

Wow thats a proper blank canvas how exciting

I think you need to think about how you are going to use the garden and how you want to use the harden so you can plan and layout and what is right for you.

Also what kind of soil do you have and what aspect is your garden?

 

erm.....

well ive got a 4 year old and one on the way so will need to be for the kids. you cant see in the picture but ive have a raised patio area put in so the adults are sorted. id like to keep it low maintenance.

as for soil and aspect of the garden im unsure. the sun gets on the garden a far bit if thats what you meant.

ive been in my own place for the last 6 years but this is the first time ive had to do anything in the garden other than mowing the lawn.

The soil in my opinion looks ok, forgot to mention its been rotavated aswell. doesnt seem to be many stones in there.

the main thing im after is some privacy, ive never lived in such an overlooked property and if id of realised before i dont think id of moved :(

 

What i meant about the soil is it clay, sandy, loam or silt and whats the drainage like?

That will make a difference on what you can plant

And aspect wise is if its south facing, north facing, east or west

So is any of your garden in full shade at any point? Or is it partial shade and full sun

 

Sorry if its a lot of questions but knowing these things will help you massively

You can get soil testing kits and stuff to help. Knowing if you soil is acidic or not will be useful as well

I know nothing about lawns so someone else will be better on that

 

ive had alook and its a north facing garden and would say the soil is sandy. thanks for the replys

 

As its north facing you dont really want to exclude too much light so i would rule out evergreen trees personally

I dont know cause its hard to tell on pics if perhaps sticking some large trellising at the top of the wall and fence so a climber can climb over it to create a screen and block out the windows would be better than trees

 

From what you've said about how you want to use the garden, I'd start by laying a lawn (turf is quickest but also more expensive and you don't always know what type of grass you're getting) and planting a few trees along the fence for privacy. I wouldn't go for evergreen as they may be too overpowering as years go by. I'd look for something with lots of more delicate branches so you get the privacy but also still get light and movement. Something like Silver Birch, Syringa etc would be nice but you could also think about fruit trees. If you do go for trees check whether they're likely to sucker and also whether they're going to drop leaves, fruit, blossom etc. If that's constant it can be a nuisance on a lawn

 

sorry for the delayed reply, ill be looking into the trees you mentioned. thank you