An old timers gardening tips for beginners

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Basics  Sowing   ECO  Compost  Wormery  Soil test  Healthy soil  Pruning  Climate change  Liquid fertiliser

Some different types of gardens 

To keep this page as short as possible follow the links to my other pages with more detailed information.

Container Garden

A good way to start growing plants especially in a small garden or where the soil has been completely covered with hard landscaping. Plants can be grown in planters, flowerpots wheelbarrows or barrels. If the garden is shady use containers that can easily be moved to follow the sun.

Flower Garden

Cultivated for pleasure, shape, colour and scent. Try to plant flowers for different height, spread and all year round colour.

Herb Garden

A garden style for a herbalist or cook. Grow perennials and annual herbs for cooking in a dry sunny position. Try to have the herb garden near a door or window to enjoy the scent herbs give off.

Organic Garden

Cultivated strictly without pesticides, chemical fertiliser or other non organic materials.  You will need a compost heap to feed the plants grown in organic gardens. These links go to pages on my site worth a read.  Natural pest control companion planting

Vegetable Garden

 The most common type of garden after lawns and flower borders is a vegetable garden. It used to take up all of the back garden, but from the 70s  onward a lot of the area has been paved over, in most gardens, however, this still leaves room for planting your favourite vegetables. Or if all of the soil has been covered, try planting in containers.

Water Garden or bog garden.

Preformed pools and flexible pond liners make it easy to build ponds and Bog gardens to cultivate water plants in and bog plants around a garden pond. 

Raised Garden

Most plants can be grown in raised beds, very useful if you have a garden with poor soil or getting on a bit and can't easily bend.  The extra height makes seeding planting and weeding a lot easier.

Children's garden.

A space or container set aside for kids to sow seeds, and grow plants. It's important to give ownership of the venture to the kids to let them be responsible for the successes and maybe failures. 

   This next bit may seem a bit complicated, but don't be put off. To keep this article as short and basic as possible I'm linking each section to pages on my site providing more detail if you want it that is.

What's the difference between annuals and perennials?

Annuals  grow for one season, meaning that you will have to replant each year. Perennials grow for three or more seasons in a row. 

What does Hardy or Non-Hardy (Tender) mean?

Hardiness of a plant is usually divided into two categories: tender, and hardy. Tender plants are those killed by freezing temperatures, while hardy plants survive freezing—at least down to certain temperatures, depending on the plant.

Sun or Shade tolerant plants?

Most plants prefer either full sun or shade to thrive.  So it is essential to consider light conditions in your garden.  A shade-loving plant I/e forest or hedgerow plants can’t survive in the heat of the sun, and a sun-loving plant I/E most herbs can’t survive in the shade.  

Some plants like life in the sun, some prefer shade, some won't   plants for shade

Wet or Dry soil condition.

Most plants prefer either damp or dry conditions to grow successfully. Plants that prefer dry conditions mostly have silver or grey-green leaves to reflect the harsh rays of the sun and you will notice some have fine hairs on there leaves or stems, to trap moisture around the plant tissues.  

Plants like bog plants will thrive in the soggy areas of your garden, bringing interest and colour to parts of your garden where less damp tolerant plants can't be grown.

These are extremes and some plants will tolerate a bit of both.  Dry sandy soil   Boggy soil

How big do plants grow?

Check each plant’s full diameter and height before you buy to determine where it fits in your garden planting plan.  If you are planting in borders the big plants generally go at the back, if you are planting in containers choose plants that won't outgrow the space.

Foot traffic. (being walked all over)

If you are choosing plants for pathways like Woolly thyme or Chamomile check out the plants tolerance to foot traffic (being walked on)

Some plants like to be walked all over, some crushed just now and then, some don't.    plants for pathways

Type of soil in your garden.

You can't change the soil type in your garden unless you use containers or raised beds. So choose plants whose family roots are in your type of soil. They'll be happier in their comfort zone. You can check out type of soil

You are more likely to find plants that suit you soil by buying from local growers rather than nation wide garden centers. 

Some plants root in clay some grow up and feel at home in loam.

Feeding your plants.

The essential minerals for healthy soil are  Magnesium, Potassium and Calcium explains how to keep your garden healthy. The positive effect of Magnesium, Potassium and Calcium on soil and the negative effect of a deficiency and signs to look out for and the remedial actions you can take.

This page shows how to make compost

 Gardening with Eco friendly goals in mind can greatly benefit the environment. Green lawn man with no goals in mind wastes the same amount of water in one hour as a family of four gardeners uses in a week.

Mulching is a organic gardening technique using fine sifted compost from your heap to cover seeds, feed the lawn and spread the larger stuff around larger plants. This helps stop the soil drying out feeds the plants and enriches the soil and  will help reduce water evaporation in soil by up to 70%.  Gardening also helps reduce the household waste we send of to landfill by composting coffee grounds, eggshells, vegetable scraps and more on a compost heap to use as fertiliser for the garden we not only reduce landfill waste, but produce soil that is rich in the nutrients and microbes that plants need to be healthy, strong and more resistant to disease and it's better for the environment.

This in turn reduces our dependency on factory produced fertiliser and is the main part of organic gardening.

Composting is easy you can use a basic compost heap in the garden or a worm-bin to produce liquid fertiliser, a tumbler, or homemade compost-bin. 

 How to compost  ECO gardening

 Gardening has changed a bit whereas the old cottage gardeners gardened to survive those days have mostly gone in the UK. We now grow stuff because we like to eat fresh fruit and vegetables and for our own enjoyment. You might find this article, written by an old gardener interesting and maybe helpful. It's toward the bottom of this page Cottage gardening   

Gardening  involves some design, but mainly focuses on cultivating fruit and vegetables or flowers including planting, fertilising, weeding and the best bit harvesting and eating it in season and this is the stuff I am writing about today with some basic information on this page and to keep the article short,  I have linked to other pages on my site with more detailed information.