Garden Planning

Flowers, Trees, Lawns, Infrastructures, Maintenance & anything else!
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Effie
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Garden Planning

Post by Effie »

Hello wise people! It has been ages since I've been down the lane (December 2014 in fact)

Could anyone give me any recommendations for garden planning? Are there any good apps or websites? We have a fairly blank canvas to work with.

Thanks, Effie
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Mo
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Re: Garden Planning

Post by Mo »

From experience - give things plenty of room. Especially shrubs & trees. Then they can grow to a nice shape and/or a splash of colour. If you cram too much in it's just a mess and you can't appreciate anything properly.

So maybe start with grass, and mow round things till they fill the space, or plant annuals in the border while things grow.
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wildlifemad
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Re: Garden Planning

Post by wildlifemad »

I've not really looked at websites or apps (not great with computers!!) but I would think about what you want from the garden. Do you want easy maintenance, if so do you want shrubs or perennial plants or both. If you want more to do then plant some parts up with annuals. Also think about trying to get colour year round so there is always interest there. We always say our garden looks best in Spring but we are in the middle of a re-vamp so are trying to think year round. Bulbs are always a good starter for the year & then work from there. Perhaps think about some plants/shrubs that will be beneficial to bees,butterflies & other wildlife. May be worth a quick look in charity shops for a gardening book regarding designs, there are usually plenty in them. Hope this helps.
gammidose2
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Re: Garden Planning

Post by gammidose2 »

Hello guys, Newbie here when it comes to gardening. I am also planning to set up a garden in my backyard. A vegetable garden is what I am thinking. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance :)
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Mo
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Re: Garden Planning

Post by Mo »

Well, when I started out growing veg I read the books and tried all the things they said. Found out which get badly attacked - summer cauliflower were always useless because of caterpillars but winter caullis, sprouts etc could be saved with vigorous squishing. And the things it said but no one liked to eat - purple broccolli ugh. And went on from there.

Decide what you like, and grow that. They say potatoes are a good ground clearing crop because you have to do a lot of digging. They take up a lot of room though.

Have fun - nothing ;like eating what you've grown.
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Sunny Clucker enjoyed Folk music and song in mid-Cheshire
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KarenE
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Re: Garden Planning

Post by KarenE »

Hi

What are you thinking in the way of space and location ie how big a plot/how much sun does it get/raised beds, containers or ground? And do you know what soil you've got ie clay, sandy, loamy (ie does it hold the wet or not?) etc? Fruit as well as veg? Will you have a lot of time to devote to it?

The best way to approach it, once you know what space you've got, is to grow stuff you like to eat and tastes better home grown (tomatoes, carrots etc) and maybe either that you'll eat in quantity or that is perhaps more expensive in the shops. Then think about productivity - you can use space to produce a lot of crops, in rotation as they will have short growing seasons so when one crop ends another can be sown eg salad crops, turnips etc or crops can share space eg beans, sweetcorn and squashes or crops which will occupy space for a long growing season eg sprouts, brocolli, root crops, onions etc. Don't forget that you can use plots as in, once your onions have gone you can plant other stuf there for the rest of the year. BUT don't also forget that there are some crops you don't want to keep planting in the same place due to increased risk of disease, and soil will need a rest at some stage.

LL is a master gardener on here, she gives great advice and is very knowledgable )t'
Karen
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