Never had a garden before!

Well, it's upto you, of course. It's your garden! But I'd not waste money on Resolva, unless it's one of the types containing glyphosate - some don't. I've found it doesn't kill Ground Elder down to the roots, so it will come back, perky as ever. And yes, glypho will kill everything it touches, but as you were thinking of taking up your grass and having turf laid, I don't see that it would be an issue. I'm afraid when it comes to infestations of Ground Elder a 'scorched earth' policy is one of the better options.

Alternatively, you could spread thick cardboard over the entire garden, including the path, cover with horticultural grade black weed suppressant fabric and top with a few inches of shredded bark. Weigh it down with bricks, stones or pots and leave for a couple of years. And spray any GE that pops up.

Best of luck!

 

I’d go down the route of the Spanish courtyard style.

 

I have come round to thinking that and in fact sketched out a garden design this morning. I've planned beds and a little path, but keeping a small amount of grass as I don't want it completely gone. I've messaged a gardener too!

 

It is the glyphosate kind, yes. Do you reckon I should spray it on now? I'm getting rid of half the turf I reckon. I've started a sketch (with my bad art skills!) of what I envisage... this is very very rough. What do you reckon? I've got beds around three sides (there's concrete at the bottom, horizontal). Bushes dotted around. Plants around them. A little path. Does that look stupid or completely unrealistic?

Also, it's very very dry, how often should I be watering it to prep for any beds etc?

 

Show your sketch to your gardener - if he/she is good and knows about plants, is familiar with your location and climate conditions and is aware of your maintenance limitations then should be able to see whether your plan is realistic or suggest any changes/alternatives.
If you are going to spray weedkiller on some of the grass area, make sure you do it on a dry and calm day. Hope you find the ideal gardener and best of luck with your plans

 

The sketch is rough, but it looks ok, I think? I talked to a gardener today, he's popping over on Sat. Hopefully he'll know what's possible in the space and the shade/sun. I am having an issue with watering, now, however. I have no outdoor tap and none of the indoor ones are normal! Like the kitchen tap has a spray attachment (this would break off if I attached a heavy hose to it). The bathroom taps are all those newfangled square ones.

How do people water their gardens without hoses?!

 

With a watering can. Much more effective than a hose as you can better target the water and have a better sense of how much you are giving to each plant, especially in a small garden. Also if you have a handy downpipe get a waterbutt installed.

 

I have just been out with several watering cans as the sun has gone round, and as @Butterfly6 says, it's easier to make sure that the water is going precisely where it's needed. I do have a hosepipe with a sprinkler with several settings, but to be honest I can see hosepipe bans coming in before much longer.

For a garden of your size I would definitely stick with watering cans. If possible get two, then one can be filling whilst you're emptying the first. I have (almost) got the timing down to a fine art !
Also they come in handy for feeding plants, you can mix the feed in the can with the water.

 

Excellent advice! How do you know how much to water? The garden is dry as a bone now so it needs a lot, but I'm going to wait til I get the 4 in 1 and put that on first. I think a couple of weeks of watering, daily, might be needed for this neglected patch.

ALSO, a question to you and everyone: what are your favourite plants? Shrubs? Bushes? What blooms most gorgeously and grows high? In beds, should I mix plants and shrubs? Or have one side for all shrubs (the shady side) and the others a mix bc there's sun?

 

It's better to give a good soaking every few days (until you can see the water on the surface slowly disappearing), rather than a little every day. The theory is that the roots start searching for moisture further down but of course need a bit of help to start with. That's why you don't need to water established plants quite so much, generally speaking.

My favourite plants are mostly perennials so I'm not sure if that'll fit in with your plans.
I would say I'd personally prefer a mixture, but the most important thing after all the preparation has been done is to ensure "right plant, right place". Not just whether it's sun or shade, but also the type of soil (clay or chalk for example), and whether it's well drained or boggy, that sort of thing. Any gardener worth the name that you employ would look into that side of things as well .

 

If you haven’t any plants in yet why do you want to water?

 

I def am getting perennials and evergreens. What kind of stuff do you have? I've hired a gardener and had an outside tap fitted as well. So things are moving forward. I also mowed a lawn for the first time in my life! My plan is to have beds put in but keep a square of grass in the middle. But he's going to re-seed it, so I'm not sure there's any point in doing much else to the space yet. But I certainly am interested in knowing what everyone has re plants - I don't like bright and girly colours (yellows and pinks), if that helps? I was envisaging purples and blues and greens of all sorts. Dark reds.

 

Because the grass is rock hard and surely you can't plant anything or create beds until the ground has been watered properly?

 

I'd not be creating anything until you've tackled the ground elder @LizT ! Did your gardener say anything about getting rid of it?

 

Normally I would dig over the area where I want to plant something, weeding as I go. I’d dig in/folk in some compost or manure then plant what I want.
Only after planting would I water any area otherwise your only watering weeds and wasting water.
I get what your saying about it being hard but that’s why you prepare it with the folking over and putting in compost (or other soil improver).This will hold moisture for your plants to use.

If you wet the soil, it will still be hard, just wet and hard.