Transform your garden by clearing, cultivating, thoughtful planting, and cutting the grass
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Instant Changes to Your Garden
A neglected garden can be transformed into a beautiful and colorful garden you can enjoy just by clearing, cultivating, thoughtful planting and cutting the grass.
MAKING INSTANT CHANGES TO YOUR GARDEN
A garden, old or new, that has been allowed to crumble into dilapidated disarray can be an uninspiring sight for any bedding gardener. Transforming this apparent wilderness into the garden you hope for may seem an impossible task, and it can be hard to know where to start, particularly if everything seems to be in an equally poor state. But take heart - the illustrations below show a neglected garden in early summer and the same garden a year later. None of the changes shown here is expensive to achieve or particularly time-consuming. clearing, cultivating, thoughtful planting, and simply cutting the grass can transform even the most neglected plot within a surprisingly short space of time. Once you have tackled the basic elements, you may feel ready to undertake more radical changes - such as adding a pond or a new border, or laying a patio or path.
The Neglected Garden
The basic structure of this neglected garden is still visible and provides a starting point. While there are established shrubs and a mature apple tree, these have been left to become shapeless and overgrown. The patch lawn has not been looked after and is full of weeds, while invasive plants have been allowed to take over the borders. The boundaries have not been maintained either - the fence is broken - and the patio and shed need cleaning up and repairing.
- Invasive Plants - Weeds and other invasive plants, including mint, are obscuring the path.
- Rotting Fence - The untreated fence is decaying.
- Soft Fruit - The neglected raspberries are full of dead canes.
- Overgrown Border - Clogged with weeds, the border contains few plants of much interest.
- Unstable Paving - Loose slabs are dangerous, and exposed ground beneath is likely to become infested
with weeds.
- Garbage - Garbage harbors slugs, rats, and other problems.
- Algal Growth - Algae and moss, often fostered by leaks or drips, leave unpleasant, green or blackish
brown deposits that are dangerously slippery when damp.
- Scruffy Shrub - This dogwood is growing poorly and is out of shape.
- Neglected Lawn - The patchy grass contains both worn and overgrown areas.
- Weeds in the Lawn - Perennial weeds, including dandelions, have become established in the lawn.
- Patchy Grass - A bare patch of ground beneath an established apple tree can detract from the tree
itself.
- Dilapidated Garden Shed - The old wooden shed is starting to rot in places.
One Year Later
The garden has been imaginatively transformed into a colorful area, with a wide range of healthy plants, including fruit and vegetables, and space to relax. Inn the summer, start with overall cleaning, removing any rubbish and cutting overgrown grass, which achieves an instant improvement and makes it easier for you to envisage the garden in the future. Plant up pots of annuals for a short-term splash of color. In the autumn, concentrate on renovating the lawn to improve its growth and eliminate large weeds. In the winter, prepare borders for new plants and dig over and fertilize the vegetable area. This is also the time to prune many shrubs and trim hedges. Structural features such as paths, steps, and patios may be tackled year-round, when you have the time or inspiration.
- Repairing a Shed - The shed as been treated and rotten areas filled.
- A Productive Plot - Cleared and sown with vegetable seeds, this area should crop well in its first year.
- Maintaining Soft Fruit - The raspberries were pruned and tied to a support in the autumn, so the current crop
should be healthy.
- Renovating A Shrub - Pruned into shape after flowering, this lilac provides masss of color and combines well
with other shrubs.
- Adding A Trellis To A Fence - Erecting a trellis on top of the fence and planting climbers creates a little
privacy. This Clematis 'Jackmanii' will blend with the scented rose 'Zephirine Drouhin'.
- Treating A Fence - Application of wood preservative and replacing damaged panels or boards restores the fence.
- Spring Interest - This compact star magnolia (M. stellata) has been planted for its beautiful spring flowers.
- Floral Edging - Lavender creates a cheerful, cottagey effect as a path edging.
- Rejuvenating A Patio - Seeds of compact annuals sown between the paving make the newly cleaned and repaired
patio less stark.
- Renovation A Lawn - Treating weeds with a suitable weedkiller and regular cutting soon restores a lawn.
Feeding and repairing bare patches may also be called for.
- A Movable Garden - Containers planted with shrubs, perennials, bulbs, herbs, or annuals have brought the
terrace to life.
- A Hanging Garden - This wall basket full of summer-flowering plants adds a splash of color above ground.
- Planting For Instant Color - Annual bedding provides a pretty stopgap if you are short of time and here allows
the newly planted verbascums, lilles, and hardy geraniums to establish.
- A Shady Retreat - This attractive seat makes the most of the dappled shade beneath the tree.
- Plants For Problem Places - Plants tolerant of shade and failry dry conditions make the most of ground
beneath trees. Groundcover plants, such as this periwinkle (Vinca), are easy to maintain and keep down weeds.
- Meadow Planting - Longer grass and a selection of wildflowers make a pretty, informal area.
- Pruning A Fruit Tree - The apple atee has been pruned overthe winter to remove any dead and diseased branches
and improve its shape. the healthy new growth should crop well.
- Year-Round Color - The dogwood moved from the patio now forms a focal point in winter and summer.