Where to begin with a new garden

My Dos and Don’ts for year one plus some quick fixes for instant joy.

The estate agent photo of our new garden from last summer. There’s a lot of promise, but it’s very overgrown!

Have you moved house, or intend to at some point this year? If so, then you’ll either be inheriting an established garden, an overgrown mess, or the joys of a blank canvas. In all three scenarios my advice for the first year is generally the same, which is hold your horses, sit tight and do very little. But, there are some dos and don’ts and there’s also quite a few quick fixes which can make you feel more at home almost instantly.

Perhaps you’re not planning on moving, but you just haven’t really tackled your garden yet and want to know where to begin? A lot of these simple ideas could help you too.

Unless you’ve been under a rock for the last few weeks, then you’ll know that I recently moved house, hopefully for the last time. We’re still churning our way through the mountains of identical moving boxes at the moment, but I am keen to sort out the garden a little bit before the sunshine appears and the temperatures climb. By the way, when is that going to happen? It’s nearly May!

Designing a happy garden space can be such a daunting task. Where do you even begin? More often than not, that results in a ‘rabbit in the headlights’ moment where people subconsciously decide to leave it for another day. Of course, that day never comes and your outside space joins the multitude of dull, neglected, uninspiring gardens up and down the country.

I’m not a professional garden designer and I have absolutely no qualifications at all in the subject. But, I do have decades of experience and have learned through copious amounts of reading, my lovely mother and above all, trial and error. I have designed nine of my own gardens, dabbled in designing for others and can’t wait to embark on my tenth garden at home.

This is going to be a long-standing series from the very beginnings of my forever garden. It won’t be every week, as I also write about interiors and life in general. It’s more of an ad hoc series, so I’ll be popping in and out with my latest gardening job, seasonal ideas and long-term plans. I’m going to be showing you what I do, how I do it, what worked and what went disastrously wrong. Not everything I do will be the ‘correct’ way of doing things, but more, the way that it works for me. It’s a warts and all journey through my gardening life in this new garden and I want to share it with you, so that we may all learn together. Let’s create happier, more enjoyable gardens that put the people that use them first.

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Read on to find out what you can do to make your garden instantly more homely and inviting. Discover my dos and don’ts for the first year and I’ll also be telling you what my own garden plans are for 2024. On Wednesday there will be a video tour too - sorry for the delay on this.

If you have followed my shenanigans for a few years now, then you would be forgiven for thinking that my advice to take things slowly is a tad hypocritical. In reality though, I first viewed our last home and garden on a dark, miserable day in February 2021. Although I started redesigning it during the summer of that year, I didn’t actually begin the hard graft of transformation until early spring of ‘22. It gave me a full year of observation, which I think is so important for a successful design. Now, yes I did then go hell for leather and create a new garden in less than six months, but I still had that initial space and time to breathe, think and plan.

Agapanthus sprouting from the stone steps, which needs a good weed. A rose climbing against the flint wall.

I do find taking things slowly excruciatingly difficult. But, this year is going to be all about learning what we have spent our hard-earned money on. That goes for inside the house too. The last four years have been a non-stop whirlwind of moving house, crazy fast renovations and very little time for fun. I do really want to kick back and just ‘be’ for a while. No one goes to their grave thinking: “I wish I’d spent more time working and doing chores”, so it’s important to get a balance.

My No.1 rule for a new garden

It really doesn’t matter whether you have inherited a horticultural national treasure of a garden, a mass of weeds and indecipherables, or a 10x8 metre of newly laid turf over a pile of building rubble, my answer is the same: STEP AWAY FROM THE GARDEN SPADE! Erm, yes, that includes you too!

If you’re going to get the most out of your garden then you need to know what you already have. It’s imperative that you find out which way your garden faces and what soil type you have. Do you have shady, or boggy areas? Is there a reason why a now overgrown tree was planted in that corner: does it give privacy from the neighbours? There are so many things you need to discover before wielding that spade, so chill the heck out, grab a deck chair and a suitable beverage and be still!

Spending a year watching your garden, or at least from spring till late autumn, is a gift. If you have a mature garden, then winter can be misleading, as most of the leaves will have fallen and many things will be hidden under the ground. So, wait! Take your time. Breathe. You could find you have some stunning specimens throughout the year. If you take a digger to it all now, then you’ll never know! What you thought was a mass of weeds and brambles could be hiding treasure, so be patient. By giving yourself the gift of time you will also save so many plants from that botanical scrapyard in the sky.

We viewed our new house and garden a few times last summer before we bought it. I clocked Agapanthus, Day Lillies (which I already know I won’t be keeping - they’re yellow and don’t last long enough for me), Hibiscus, a mature olive tree and a very healthy fig tree. Already this spring I have discovered Narcissi, promising Peony and Japanese Anemone leaves, cherry blossom and Pittosporum to name a few.

So much to do, but this year is just about taming, learning and chilling out.

New Build Garden

If your house is brand new, then the chances are, there is nothing in your garden. So, you’ll be thinking this entire exercise is pointless, but that’s not true. It’s still important to workout the sun’s journey in your garden throughout the day and year. It’s also worth spending time working out what you want to cover up or muffle! Perhaps you are rather overlooked? It’s also not always immediately apparent which neighbours are noisy, or nosey. You may find there’s a dreaded trampoline with incessantly bouncing, hollering brats, sorry, I mean lovely children, next door. A trellis above the fence might be in order with a fast-growing climber, or perhaps that’s where you place the shed?

I would also look to temporarily remove a stretch of turf and find out what lies beneath. So often with new builds the contractors hide the mess underneath. You could find a mass of building rubble and hardly any soil. That’s worth knowing before you spend money on expensive plants that won’t thrive. Potentially, you may need to have top soil delivered where you want plants to grow successfully, or create raised beds.

My multitude of plants in pots. I have no idea where they are going yet!

Taming a garden

This is my first job. I don’t mean razing it to the ground, just some general pruning and weeding. Yes you want to wait and see what sprouts from the earth, but at the same time you don’t want the weeds to take over, or not be able to see the woods for the trees. I’m going to be tackling some of our very overgrown shrubs and trees. So many of them have outgrown their space and are blocking a lot of natural light. Our walled garden is south-facing, so it should be sunny most of the day.

We have a few quite ugly trees on the perimeter, but they do serve the purpose of making it a very private garden. I’m going to be looking into crown-lifting a lot of them, by cutting off a lot of the lower branches, revealing their trunks. This allows a lot more light in and creates space where you need it, without losing privacy.

There’s also a few shrubs that I really just don’t like. I have never been fond of anything spitefully prickly. I don’t mind it on roses because they provide such beauty and scent, but a shrub with no blooms that just draws blood every time you saunter past is no friend of mine!

As far as the weeding is concerned, most of ours are blaringly obvious: nettles, dandelions, brambles, etc. I’ll be removing them all forthwith. If you’re not sure whether something is a weed or a useful plant, then take a photo of it and then google it using the photo. Or, just download a plant identifying app.

Things you can do for instant joy!

Symmetry

I think symmetry is one of the most underrated ways to create an instantly pleasing look. Just two pots planted with the same blooms either side of the back door can make even the most miserable of scrooges have a concave smile. I adore identical boxwood balls or spirals, but alas there are so many diseases and pests now. I’ll be talking about that in a few weeks time. Perhaps try Ilex Crenata, or half standard bay trees? I saw them recently underplanted with white petunias and trailing variegated ivy.

Solar lighting and water features

Create instant magic at night with solar lighting. Try string lights on shrubs and around a parasol. Use stake lighting along a border, or pathway. You can also buy amazing rechargeable lights and lanterns for outdoor dining areas and patios to create an outdoor room. I would definitely look at a solar water feature too. It creates a focal point and adds instant serenity and a sense of calm.

Bedding plants/herbs

In your first year I really would concentrate on pots. It’s an easy way to get colour into your garden without investing too much into long-term planting. Why not consider annual bedding plants or herbs in pots, raised beds, or hanging baskets? Bedding plants will give you instant colour and all summer long happiness. I don’t think you can beat Hidcote lavender in planters and they will last for years to come.

Use paint!

The easiest way to make your garden feel like it’s yours is to paint the fences, or walls. Adding a splash of colour that suits your personality can do wonders for the soul. Buy a spray painter it’s so much faster.

Movable trellis planters for screening

To provide pretty, yet practical screening that can moved around the garden, why not try trellis planters? It’s a great way to screen a shed or an eyesore that can’t be removed yet. You can also use them to create zones for a play area and entertaining. When you do eventually start your garden design you can move them elsewhere. Here’s a lovely one from Robert Dyas.

Buy or make a bird box

Inviting nature into your garden can do wonders for your soul and the environment. Add a well placed bird box and perhaps a bee hotel too. They’re easy to find online and you won’t regret it.

….and finally - A place to just be

Whether it’s lawn, or a ready made patio area, invest in some comfortable garden seating. Create a space where you can unwind, be with friends and relax. It might be temporary, but it will make you want to sit out there. Fill it with cushions, throws and everything you would normally have inside to make it as cosy as possible. Surround your entertaining area with pots willed with herbs, roses, lavender and anything else that’s scented. When you brush past them you’ll be transported to holidays in Tuscany.

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