Where to even start??

Hi Everyone, Just found this fantastic and informative site, looking forward to getting to know you all.

I've never had a garden before, though have successfully grown herbs on my windowsill (including basil that lasted for 4 years!). I've now moved into a house with a small very overgrown garden which I've cleared, now it looks so bare! I have a number of questions which I'll post seperately so to attract the attention of those who might be able to help me.

Basically I'd like some simple idea's about what to do next, and where to get advice from (my local garden centre is staffed by spotty 16 yr olds who haven't a clue!). Would it be OK for me to post pictures of how it looks now on here? (or is that being too cheeky)? The garden is basically a square piece of concrete with about a metre thickness of soil all around it (is this called a bed?).

My main question here though is when should I plant daffodils and tulip bulbs, and what other bulbs are good for a spring flowering garden? If I put these at the front of the garden (next to the concrete square) what should I out at teh back that would be taller?

Many thanks
Fi

 

hi, there,
i think now is the time to start planting bulbs for the spring, i have got tulips, daffs and crocus to plant, you can plant hyacinth now or the next few weeks if you want them indoors for christmas or you can also put thoes outside but wont come out till spring!
you could always visit the garden centre theres a lot of different variety of all of the above and it does normally state when the best time is to plant! hope i helped a bit, not to clued up myself yet!

 

Visit your garden centre - and take a look at the books - the photographs of gardens will give you a feel for the kind of garden you want it to be - and that will then lead you to the plants you need. Autumn is a great time for planning and planting for your garden next year. Not only bulbs but perrennials, shrubs and even container grown trees. You have a blank canvas - so exciting :D :D -

Annuals can be used as fillers in.

 

Yeh, with you there, Fran!

Tip - do a Titchmarsh - start with a pencil and paper and a good manual of garden plants. Make lists of things that appeal to you, what their requirements re: sun, shade and soil are and where you'd like to put them.

Mind you, I did that - I ended up with a buddleia, a spirea, a cotoneaster and a caeanothus (all med to large shrubs) all crammed into a 4 foot square patch! Who knew they'd grow so BIG!

 

Another tip - I would plant or plan where you wanna put your shrubs before you plant your bulbs - can save you having to replant and reposition your bulbs later - and if you have a lot of bulbs, this can become a somewhat tedious task.