Please don’t make posts asking for mushroom identification help.

What would you do with this garden? I’ve just moved in and welcome ideas and suggestions.

The garden faces south west. I’ve sowed wildflower and meadow seeds in the two furthest beds but haven’t decided whether to keep the nearest two yet. I dont want to grow that much veg but I will renovate the greenhouse do grow tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries.

There’s a patio between the greenhouse and the beds which could make a nice seating area.

I’d also like to plant a plum tree, a fig tree and an acer somewhere. There’s a lilac in the bed to the left of the greenhouse and there are roses in the same bed closer to the house as well as Endres’s Cranesbill, wood spurge, lady’s mantle and hazel.

I’ve never had a garden this size and I’m excited by the possibilities and nervous about getting it wrong!

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We recently bought this property, and one thing I’ve never really liked is the front fence. Personally, I prefer edges which the previous owner cut down.

However, considering the money the previous owner must have spent installing the fence, I don’t really want to rip it all out and start again.

I’ve been thinking about painting it a dark grey or charcoal colour to give it a more modern look, but my wife and a friend both think I’ll regret painting it.

So, I’m looking for ideas! What would you do to make this fence look nicer without completely replacing it? Would painting it dark grey/charcoal work, or are there better options I haven’t considered?

I’d appreciate any honest suggestions, especially from anyone who has transformed a similar fence. Thanks!

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My neighbourhood is clearly run by a gang of four-legged delinquents. Every day, various members of this furry cartel saunter onto my property, strut from the front garden to the back like they own the place, and then swagger off again. No respect. No remorse. Just pure, unadulterated cat arrogance.

During these little "visits," they leave their calling card: a series of foul-smelling brown packages neatly deposited in my woodchip-mulched flowerbeds. I usually discover these little gifts when my hands are already deep in the mulch, happily planting something. My hands have not forgiven me. My nose has filed a formal complaint.

My question is this: how do I convince these tiny terrorists to stop leaving their "deposits" in my garden? Instead of using a toilet like civilised creatures, they kick mulch over their business and occasionally take out a newly planted seedling in the process. One of them looked me dead in the eye last week while doing it. I felt threatened.

Any advice welcome.

P.S if it helps, the problem is in the front garden where I have perennials planted and all flowerbeds are covered with woodchip mulch

Hello, I really want to plant a flowering shrub that spills over the edge of the raised bed like my salvia hot lips does. The salvia hot lips is really nice and big and sort of flops a bit over the side so you don't see the wooden sleepers of the raised bed.

Can anyone recommend something similar? I was thinking of a big lavender. I also have a fushia called Sarah's delta. Hopefully that will get big and spill over. Can anyone recommend anything else? Preferably summer flowering in July and August. Many thanks!

Hello, bought this a month ago and it’s now looking like this! Any chance I could still save it?? It’s still in the original pot it came in.

Thank you in advance!

I'm not quite sure if I've used the right flair so apologies just in case.

I have a disability. It makes gardens that require high maintenance difficult. We've successfully turned the back garden into a meadow that we have a guy come cut and thatch twice/three times a year scarify every third year for resowing to keep it looking it's best.

The front garden is currently a clover lawn. And I do love it. We get colour right up to the end of October.

But someone mentioned in passing that a full bulbfest would also be a low maintenance option and I'm wondering if I should try it?

I was told a couple of hundred tulips, snowdrops, bluebells, crocus, daffodils, etc etc and a scattering of poppy would be doable?

Is this true? Are bulb gardens low maintenance? How do you maintain them? Do you mow? Strim? How often?

I'm happy to dive into research myself if I think there's a point to doing it, I'm just looking thoughts and insight from you amazing lot!

TIA!

Just in case it's important! Garden is South West facing.

Gertrude Jekyll putting on a beautiful second show this year. The photo doesn't do it justice.

We usually get a couple of blooms this time of year but its gone crazy and smells fantastic.

So every year there’s a ‘drought’ or just lack of rain, a patch of grass ‘dies’ in a 1980s build ish, terraced 2up2dn house.
A family member goes (guess) ‘it’s her. & her chemicals that she throws down the sink! I bet the drain leaks!’

No. If that was the case, the whole grass would die & become a waste land.

So instead of dwelling on it, I decide to dig it up. Albeit very carefully as all our services run under this garden. Electric, Gas, water, waste, rainwater run off, Cable TV, Phone line, you name it.

For whatever reason, the previous owners decided to throw enough soil to cover the garden upto the dpc. . .
And burry all the inspection lids! Madness.

Anyway, wtf is this concrete slab. I can’t work it out & nor can my neighbours.
Soak away? Too close to the house.
Services cap or waste water man hole?
It’s about 1 brick above the DPC?

Any and all suggestions would be welcomed before I decide to hammer it. . .

Oh yeah, & it’s solid. Can’t hear or feel an echo anywhere on it.

Hand Garden fork for scale.

Anyone have any workarounds to extend the life of this polytunnel by a couple of years to get around the door zips both having failed.

Here is the next one. Converting an area into a herb garden

Hi everyone,

I’ve worked in IT for almost 10 years now and I’m currently an IT Operations Manager at a company. I work Monday to Friday, 8am–4:30pm, and while I’m good at what I do, I’ve come to realise I have absolutely no passion for IT. It pays the bills, but I don’t particularly enjoy it or find it interesting.

On the other hand, I’ve always really enjoyed gardening. I’ve spent years looking after my own garden, my parents’, my auntie’s and other family members’ gardens. Whether it’s mowing lawns, trimming hedges, weeding or general garden maintenance, it’s something I genuinely enjoy doing. I find it quite satisfying, especially seeing the difference after a few hours of work.

Recently, I’ve been considering starting a small gardening business alongside my full-time job. I’m not looking to build some massive company or eventually quit my job. Ideally, I’d like to have around 8–10 regular customers whose gardens I maintain throughout the year, offering things like grass cutting, hedge trimming, weeding and general garden tidy-ups.

Obviously, working full-time means most of my availability would be evenings after 4:30pm, potentially working until around 7–8pm during the lighter months, along with the occasional Saturday.

My main question is, would people actually be interested in employing a gardener who primarily works evenings?
I’d like to keep things relatively small and manageable so it doesn’t take over my life.

One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that some gardeners seem to rush through jobs to get to the next customer. I’d rather take my time, charge a fair price, turn up when I say I will and make sure the customer is genuinely happy with the work. I’m not interested in squeezing as many jobs into a day as possible.
I appreciate there’s a difference between enjoying gardening for family and doing it for paying customers, but I’m keen to give it a go.

So, I’d love to hear people’s thoughts, particularly from anyone who’s started something similar alongside a full-time job!

Here is something of the back garden renovation

What should i do now thanks everyone?

This corner by our front door gets zero direct sunlight. It would be great to have something tall or evergreen in a pot to liven it up a little.

What plants might survive here and what would you do?

Hello to the hundreds of years of experience we have on here! Do you think it’s important to sow Autumn sweet peas in root trainers or do you think it works just as well in normal 9cm pots? Yours, a knackered gardener who has been at it since 730 dividing and digging in the compost heap a

My first garden. I didn't realise the quality of what was under the slate was going to be so poor!

I don't have a budget, I prefer spending money once and for all, could you guys reccomend an auto retracting garden hose reel please, wall mounted, swivel, it would be 30 meter length. From what I gathered one of the most common reason for failure is the spring getting rusty, so perhaps one with a spring that doesn't rust? Stainless steel perhaps? I'd be often using it with a pressure washer too. The only thing I don't care about is the quality of the gun itself, as lomg as the retracting mechanism is solid and the hose won't kink easily and it's robust, I can change the gun for whatever later on. Also I would be leaving it outside during winter. Thanks!

such nice contrast one of my faves for sure

I’m tired of walking on plants. How many would you use. I thought 3 would be enough but I’ve had a real sort out and the space now seems bigger!

As the title, just moved into a new house, grass has been unmantained for a year. I have managed to cut it down, but not looking good.

I have also applied a 4 in 1 moss and weedkiller, but can still see loads of weeds.

I thought about seeding, but not sure if it is a good time. Should I wait until next year?

Any advice is welcomed. Thank You!

I've got an old dry stone wall in my garden, probably a few hundred years old, and a portion collapsed recently collapsed and another portion has started to go. Some of the wall appears to be traditional dry stone and some has mortar (possibly cement), but it's been repaired over the years with differing approaches, some areas are overgrown with vines.

I’m a complete novice when it comes to gardening and definitely dry stone walls, but I’m strong and willing! I'm just a bit clueless as to how to approach fixing it... I've googled it a bit but I’d love some advice before I get stuck in, main questions in my head:

Should I use mortar (lime stone mortar) or go traditional dry stone?

Should I get rid of surrouunding folliage, there are a few plants on and around, do they need to come out out before rebuilding?

How deep/wide should I strip back the collapsed section before building back up?

Any advice, golden rules, or common pitfalls to avoid for a beginner would be massively appreciated!