Hi
I've just moved into a new house and have inherited a new garden with it! It's fairly plain at the moment with just a few scrubs and about 100ft long. I'm desperate to start planting borders, possibly a few vegetables and more, but am over-whelmed by starting the project. Has anyone got any recommendations of how to go about this?
Thanks.
Karen

Karen, A good plan. on paper / pc - use a grid to show size (ie/ 1 square= 1 foot square), this should let you be creative without all the hard work. The BBC has a virtual garden designing site that's fun too.This way you can see how you want it to look.

FAIL TO PLAN, PLAN TO FAIL - That's what I keep getting told.

Thanks Chris, I was fearing someone would say that! Sounds like a good job for the weekend.

Having done your all essential plan you need to look carefully at the site and take note of the aspect and what parts are going to be in sun or shade at various times of day. You also need to think about the soil. Is it sandy or reasonable or heavy clay? What areas are wet or dry? What is the pH? This will tell you what you can and cannot grow as far as acid loving plants are concerned. A simple, cheap pH testing kit is available from your local garden centre. an alternative is to look and see what your neighbours grow. If their hydrangeas are blue the soil is probably acid and if they are pink it is likely to be neutral to alkaline.
Then draw up a "wish" list of what features you would like e.g. pond, veg. gdn, fruit cage, rose garden, sand pit, shed etc and play around putting these onto your plan in the most appropriate areas. Veg need plenty of light whereas the sand pit and shed could go in shadier areas.
This approach will enable you to get a good idea of where to put things and the sizes that are appropriate.
Have fun and enjoy the planning phase.

I'd recommend keeping it simple to start with. Make sure you can get to the bin and the clothes line with dry feet, for instance. Then I'd get to know your neighbours - gardeners always have plants to give away and it's a great way to fill it up quickly, even if you clear them away in a few years as you develop your own scheme. Local "Gardens Open" (yellow book) gardens are a good source of ideas and they often sell plants too.

Being a very amateur gardener and finding myself with a 75ft garden; I had no idea where to begin. I found most garden books needed some tecnical knowledge of gardening,of latin names or terminology.
So without any pre concieved notions I just went out there one day, and spent an afternoon digging over an aera in a corner.
By the time I'd finished I had a shape like a wide slice of cake.
Each day after I spent time breaking up the clods and finanally raking it to my satisfaction. It was hard work but it felt really good. I had no idea at the time of the posistion of this bed. I didn't realise I needed to know.
In a way I'm glad I didn't. Because I think I have learn't far more through trial and error about my plants and my garden.
If a plant started looking poorly I moved it and surprisingly I lost very few plants, even though where I moved them to was just as hit and miss.
I now have my original slice of cake bordered by Lavendar with I think a Curry Plant inbetween,(I thought it was a different kind of lavender),an Albuliton, I know I've spelt that wrong but I did at some time look it up, some small shrubs and other plants plus my Japanese Quinces, one of which is the only original plant I found in the garden.
There is quite a large lawn, no grass aera,lawns do not have muddy patches, scorches left by cats and a border of moss that I ease up and put on the rocks surrounding the pond, my wild plants patch, and what I call my wooded aera.
The only truly concious decision I made in the begining was that I would do it without pesticides and chemicals.
No I'm not a fanatical gardener, I don't have the time but it is my stress buster.

So my advice is don't think too much about it, just choose a site and start digging. Gardening is like painting you can always go over it if it's that wrong.
Happy Times

I am new to this gardening lark, boy what fun i am haveing. haveing moved from Cornwall to scotland last july ive moved to a building site. though ive not been idole.

As you can imagine the builders pinch all the top soil leave me everything but a good soil. weeds up to the waist,aremed with tools and mate we cleared the lot, erected boundry fences, leveled the ground added alsorts to get a decent start, layed paths, erected a greenhouse, shed and summer house for the one who has to be obeyed.Now i can boast a good up and comeing rose bed other border beds, a greenhouse full of seedlings and young plants for the sixteen or so baskets ive planned for. Now i need help please. down the side of my new home i have an area of some 24inches by atleast 32 meters,ive got several very nice scaffold boards from our nice mr builder, so i was thinking of putting a raised bed for Veg just the basics, but i am worried during last years summer that side of the house got sun from around 11 am untill abut 4pm is this suffient?? the soil is no problem i have a local supplier who delivers it by the tonne and at a reasonable price, free draining peat free . I would welcome tips and comments and keep and eye out for the photos comeing soon before and after.