New Gardener - help!

Hi there

I hope you're all well.

After many many many many many years renting, I've finally bought a house, and I'm lucky enough to have gardens at the front and back of my (dilapidated) property! I need some expert help with the front south-facing garden (back garden post to follow separately as it's an absolute mess and I don't know where to start).

I've done some digging and have a rough idea what to do but it's all a bit overwhelming, so I thought it would be great to have some advice from more experienced hands and minds.

I'm quite worried about the apple bush that is very close to the wall of the house (the roots may be actually growing under the house)?

Please find attached some pictures (I gave it a major trim recently). I think the following plan seems OK, but would love your thoughts:

• Pull out loose grass and weeds by hand.
• Remove dead stems and old growth at ground level.
• Rake out leaves, moss clumps and debris from slab edges.
• Use a hand trowel/screw driver to define slabs again by scraping soil and weeds out from between slabs
• Keep bulbs, and cut down later when it yellow.
• Perennials and shrubs: cut dead growth down by 5-10cm.

As it's my first time, I'm also not sure if the following tools are enough or too much to remove roots for the bigger bushes:

• Hand trowel.
• Hand fork.
• Secateurs.
• Stiff brush.
• Rake.
• Do I need anything else?

Thanks in advance!

 

Firstly congratulations on your house. The house is now yours and you can do what you want in the garden, as it’s yours.

I would suggest you will need a fork and a shovel, I would say get a good one, something like Kent and Stowe, this should cost for both between £80-£100. Also get good secateurs Felco are very good, this will cost between £50-£65. Other than that you can get reasonably priced tools and gardening equipment from Lidls.

Understand what soil you got whether it is clay/chalk/sand and the ph whether it is acid or alkaline.

Other than that just work in one small area, by clearing one small area say a meter square, once cleared, you then can plant something you like and get the rewards when it grows in your garden, then you can move onto the next metre square, it is a lot easier trying to clear a big area.

As you have a south facing garden and this is a suggestion only and can be done in a grow bag or a big pot and have a go at growing tomatos, maybe try both Gardeners Delight and Alicante/Moneymaker. On a hot day and you bite into your own grown warm tomato, there is no taste like it*. Seeds are relatively cheap.

Don’t be afraid to ask advise on here, some good knowledge here and every gardeners makes mistakes, that’s how we learn.

*quoting Monty Don.