How do I create a garden? Seven steps to becoming a gardening pro.
You’ve finally got a garden! Maybe now you are wondering how to make it your own? Creating a garden is a lot of work. But the good news is that it can be a relaxed affair. If you run through this checklist before you start, you can save yourself a lot of stress – we promise! Here are our dos and don’ts for new gardeners.
Creating a new garden: where do you start?
To create a new garden, you first need plenty of room – which is why many new gardeners tend to do a lot of clearing, cleaning and weeding. Our tip: weeds have got to go. However, you can leave large bushes and trees in place. Count yourself lucky if you have fruit – if you were to plant a new tree, it would take a long time to bear fruit. You should also leave hedges in place, as they aren’t cheap to buy. If you want to cut down trees, you’ll need a permit from the local authorities in most countries – so check out your local legal requirements before you start.
Plan your garden
To plan your garden, ask yourself three simple questions:
· What kind of garden do I want to create?
· How much time do I have?
· And what skills do I have?
A flower garden is a lot less work than a vegetable garden. If you want a vegetable garden but don’t have a lot of time or experience, we recommend that you start with fruit bushes and herb planters. These don’t need a lot of care and attention and are very forgiving of mistakes. If you start by making a plan, including what you want to plant where, you’ll find your garden a lot easier to manage.
Make a timetable for your garden
What season should you start to plant your garden? Our tip: the gardening year doesn’t begin in spring – it starts the autumn before! Here’s when you should do your different gardening jobs:
· Autumn jobs: prune hedges and shrubs, create or dig over planters, composting, plant onions
· Spring jobs: prune hedges and bushes, sow seeds, planting
· Summer jobs: planting and harvesting Winter is the perfect time to plan next year’s garden!
The ultimate garden tools
To create a garden, you need the right tools. These include:
· Gloves
· Strong shoes/Wellington boots
· Protective goggles
· Shovel
· Spade
· Rake
· Hoe/tiller
· Garden shears
· Pruning shears
· Wheelbarrow
· Lawnmower
· Hedge trimmer
You can pick up other tools as and when you need them, depending on the different projects you do and the requirements of your garden. If you’re not sure which tools to buy, we recommend you start out by hiring larger machinery. Many DIY stores offer this kind of rental service. Alternatively, your neighbour might have one or two of the tools you need in their garden shed. Either way, you’ll soon realise that creating a garden doesn’t have to cost as much as you think!
How much does it cost to create a garden?
If you plan your garden in advance, you’ll know roughly how many plants and seeds you need to buy. This can certainly cost a pretty penny, but you don’t have to buy everything. Talk to your friends and neighbours and search online – you’ll find many of the plants you’re looking for going cheap or simply being given away!
Our tip
Plant your garden – but don’t go overboard
After the initial excitement of planning a garden, you’ll often find your motivation dips – after all, it can be harder work than you might think. We suggest you tackle each patch of your garden in turn, dividing projects like building planters or manicuring your lawn into smaller steps that you can complete bit by bit.
Create a green oasis
This last tip should actually be one of the first you put into practice. When you start to design your garden, you should also plan to create a little oasis for yourself. This could be a bench or a BBQ area, or even a small pond. No matter what you choose, make sure it’s somewhere you can put your feet up after a hard day’s work weeding or doing other tedious garden chores. After all, your garden is a place for relaxing!