Novice Gardener

CheerLouth

So I'm only starting out my gardening journey - I have a massive garden, the size of which daunts me on a regular basis. Any recommendations on a gardening book or online sources to get me started?

I've had some success with pots over the last few years - mostly summer flowers but I'd like some year round flowers/plants & possibly, next Spring to consider a small greenhouse to grow some small fruit & veg.

I should say that our garden is very exposed & extremely windy a lot of the time so I need something that won't get skint alive by the wind

macraignil

CheerLouth wrote: »

So I'm only starting out my gardening journey - I have a massive garden, the size of which daunts me on a regular basis. Any recommendations on a gardening book or online sources to get me started?

I've had some success with pots over the last few years - mostly summer flowers but I'd like some year round flowers/plants & possibly, next Spring to consider a small greenhouse to grow some small fruit & veg.

I should say that our garden is very exposed & extremely windy a lot of the time so I need something that won't get skint alive by the wind

The RHS(Royal Horticultural Society) produce a number of good books and they also have material available online to deal with most gardening questions. You can just type in the plant or question and RHS into your search engine and there is usually a good page on the topic turns up. The book they published called RHS Encyclopedia of Garden Design is a good place to start if you want one book to cover most of the design questions you might have.


If your garden is very exposed and windy then you may need to plant a shelter belt and give that time to get established before planting anything that is not suited to growing in an exposed position. It is close now to the bare root tree season where you can buy trees that are dormant for winter with just the bare roots instead of being growing in pots and they are much cheaper to buy that way. You can also get small trees as "whips" that are still small enough to not be able to catch the wind very much and so can be planted without supports. You can often get the more common trees as whips for just a couple of euros each and I have found they can overtake more expensive trees that are planted with supports and were taller when planted.

I recently was at a talk from a professional garden designer and he also mentioned that in extremely exposed positions a young tree can be planted at an angle as if it had been blown over by the wind and it will then naturally send up a strong side branch to grow vertically in a few years once the roots have got well established and at that stage the nursery grown part of the previous top of the tree can be trimmed off to leave a strong grown tree that has been established without supports. My own garden is fairly exposed and most of the whips I planted have got established without supports but there are a couple of shelter belts/ hedges already planted nearby. Olearia traversii I have found to be particularly tolerant of strong winds with the one in the linked video continuing to grow healthily at an angle after hurricane Ophelia.



For all year round flowers I found this document from pollinators.ie to be interesting and also made some play lists from my own garden plants with those flowering at each month of the year given their own playlist.


Be careful selecting your greenhouse if you do have an exposed garden as some small ones are simply not designed well enough to deal with strong wind. A small poly-tunnel which opens at both ends may deal with strong wind better.

CheerLouth

Thanks very much - the pollinator information is really handy! I'm not sure if a shelter belt would be of much use to me as our site is also on the side of the hill so I'd be worried about what height would need to be attained from trees to properly shelter the garden. I have planted one tree as a test to see if the wind will kill it. That is how I generally roll, I buy one of a plant to see if it will survive. I've been lucky this year, my marigolds & begonias have been very nice & lasted a long time. I've also planted rhubarb in one slightly sheltered corner which seems to be thriving. I'm hoping to get some bulbs down next for some spring colour & we have planted three heathers to see if they will take. If they do, we will use them as a border for the side of the hill.

macraignil

CheerLouth wrote: »

Thanks very much - the pollinator information is really handy! I'm not sure if a shelter belt would be of much use to me as our site is also on the side of the hill so I'd be worried about what height would need to be attained from trees to properly shelter the garden. I have planted one tree as a test to see if the wind will kill it. That is how I generally roll, I buy one of a plant to see if it will survive. I've been lucky this year, my marigolds & begonias have been very nice & lasted a long time. I've also planted rhubarb in one slightly sheltered corner which seems to be thriving. I'm hoping to get some bulbs down next for some spring colour & we have planted three heathers to see if they will take. If they do, we will use them as a border for the side of the hill.

Trees can be variable between different varieties as to how tough they are and how well they will survive exposed conditions so don't be too discouraged if the one you have planted does not work out OK. You might just need to plant a hardier variety. I would not agree that being on a slope is good reason not to plant a few trees for shelter. My own garden is on a slope and it has become more sheltered over the last few years as the trees and shrubs have got bigger. Something to break the wind is better than nothing at all even if it may not be 100% effective.

CheerLouth

macraignil wrote: »

Something to break the wind is better than nothing at all even if it may not be 100% effective.

Very true - I might look into a small hedge of some description. We have an exceptional view (which helps to make the wind more tolerable) so I wouldn't want anything that would block but a small hedge would be workable!

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I'm similarly on a hill with exceptional views.
The previous owners planted a griselenia hedge 30 years ago. It's now 40 feet high and a nice break in the winter.

RiderOnTheStorm

Tips from my moth in law, that have stood to me:

Try stuff. Plant a bit of this and that. Next year, if it grows & you happy with it, then plant more. If it died that first year, then dont waste time / money trying it again. Best to keep notes when you plant as you might not remember where you put what (or what it was called!). A laptop or smartphone is great for this. You can add pictures if you want!

See whats growing nearby in fields, ditches, neighbours garden. If it grows there, it will probably grow in your garden.

DONT fall for the idea that a lawn is less work than beds! If you have a lawn you have to cut it FOREVER , (approx) weekly (more in summer, less in winter) . Think of beds (regular & raised), patio, decking, wild patches, fruit bushes, veg area, trees, etc. Once these are established you will have low to zero maintenance. A small lawn to look at, sit in or roll with (grand)kids is grand. Anything less than an hour to cut imho.

Try enjoy it! You don't have to get it right first time, every time! Gardening is a long term passion. You will be doing things now that take 10-20-30 years to fully appreciate. Dont put yourself under pressure to fix wind problems, soil quality, drainage issues straight away. Do a bit every year and you will be amazed at how it all adds up & improves.

My tip - the internet !! Somebody somewhere has had the same issues as you.... and has documented it (or even put up a video!). Boards.ie is a great resource too!

+1 on RHS