Your garden and getting started

GARDENS are a busy place. ey need time and e ort and a little patience. ey are hard work, but so rewarding. No matter if you’re a novice, advanced learner or the master gardener you will need to put the work in. Gardening can be an all year round occupation, the more you do the more you nd needs to be done but it’s a sure way of keeping t and healthy. Like everything in life before you start you’ll need a plan, make sure it is exible because changing your mind will be part of the fun.

Very few gardens end up like they were planned. Be prepared to learn, get advice (your local garden center is a good place to start) from other gardeners, look to see what neighboring gardens have on show. Be adventurous embrace all aspects and styles from hanging baskets to containers, borders to wild areas. Your only constraint is your garden size and your imagination. Prepare your soil, cultivate and fertilise as deemed necessary (again seek advice if you’re starting out).Buy good quality tools, the will be worked hard so an investment here will pay dividends. Select areas you are going to plant, decide on location and shape. In this instance make good use of the sun, be aware of where sunlight travels across your garden, avoid shade if possible but don’t be afraid to plant in these areas as there are many amazing plants which suit shaded areas and shaded areas are often ideal areas for a peaceful secluded hideaway. ink beyond owers, think plants, bushes, hedges and trees. Broad beans, runner beans, and peas make great climbers display fabulous colour and you can add them to your meals at harvest times. Fruit trees in front gardens? e introduction of a glass house and closh will greatly improve your choice of vegetables you can grow from tomato to cucumber to peppers. Both will assist in growing plants from seeds and growing plants on before introducing them to the outdoors. ey will also o er you a sanctuary for plants to over winter.

When choosing plants be as adventurous as you can but don’t go overboard. Select what will suit your gardens style and layout; consider here what colours, space and height are most suitable.

Gardening is all about time. Getting ready early, hoping the weather plays its part (it’s never perfect and you will have to work around it). Selecting your plants and seeds is so important, this is where you have to be smart, take advice ,choose what is recommended, what your local garden center has on display is often a good indicator of what’s in season and suitable for Irish weather. e “know all guy” in the garden center will be more than happy to guide you in the right direction with selections, tips for planting and after care such as fertilisers and feeds.

Now you’ve planted the fun begins, your struggling to grow plants while the weeds are thriving. e progress your plants are making is being eaten back, yes eaten by an often unseen pest (pest gains a whole new meaning here). Again get advice and then decide the level of response you are going to engage. Remember a weed is a plant in the wrong place, and all creatures have a purpose it just might not suit yours at this juncture.

You’ve created a natural wonderment in your garden, now is the time to enjoy it and share it with friends and family. What better way to do it than sitting in a gazebo, at a patio table or on a decking area beside a log cabin, where you can overlook the splendid results of your hard graft. Sounds like a dream then it’s only your reality that’s holding you back. Once you start gardening it’s hard to stop.