Are you wondering how to start a new garden or allotment, or looking to start over in an existing space? I am the author of the forthcoming book Grow a New Garden and these are my ten top tips for creating your garden from scratch.
How to Start a New Garden
Starting a new garden can feel like a daunting task. As you look out over your humble (or not so humble!) patch of earth, it can be difficult to picture the way that you want it to turn out. And the steps you need to take to get there.
You’re also likely to be getting bombarded with information from well-meaning gardener friends, family and neighbours. They want to help, but why are they speaking Latin and talking so much about manure all of a sudden? Let’s start from the beginning with these simple tips. And then, if you want more, you might consider buying my book!
1. Assess Your Garden
The first thing that you need to know, before you start a new garden is what you’re dealing with. Stand at the house end of your garden, looking towards the end of the garden. Then find out which direction you are facing. This will tell you the aspect of your garden. When I stand in my back door and look towards the end of my garden I am facing North. This means that area nearest to my house is quite shady, but towards the end of the garden is sunnier. South-facing gardens are the opposite. East or west-facing gardens get sun one on side more than the other.
Other things will play a role in the amount of sun reaching your garden. A small south-facing garden with another house at the end will likely be in the shade most of the time. Conversely, a very long north-facing garden will probably be quite sunny. Other things like walls, hedgerows, trees and buildings will play a part in casting shade over your garden.
Find where the sunny and shady parts of your garden are. Generally, an area is considered to be in full sun if it is in direct sunlight for at least 6 hours a day during the summer. Partial shade is any area that receives less than 6 hours of direct sun and full shade is any area that doesn’t receive any direct sunlight.
2. Assess your Soil
Time to get your hands dirty! Already? Yes, and you might want to get used to it, and maybe invest in a good nail brush. Dig a small hole in your garden somewhere inconspicuous, but away from any large vegetation if you can. The aim is to get a small soil sample. You will want to dig down by an inch or two and get a small handful of soil.
Now try and roll the soil into a ball. If it won’t shape at all, or will but falls apart easily, it’s sandy or silt soil. If it makes a solid ball, it’s clay. Most soils aren’t one or the other, but somewhere on the spectrum between sand, silt and clay. If you have a ball of anything that falls apart easily this is because it is a loam. That’s good news as it contains lots of organic matter. This means it will contain lots of nutrients and will keep its structure well.
Sandy soil is well-drained and usually a little on the acidic side (gardeners call this ericaceous soil). Clay soil can get waterlogged in winter and dry out and crack in summer, and is usually neutral in pH. Try a soil testing kit to get a better idea of the pH of your soil.
Why do I Need to do This Before I Start a New Garden?
Good question. You came here wanting to know how to start a new garden, not become a geolgist. However, you really need to understand the conditions of your gardens so that you can chose plants that will work well for you. It’s all very well choosing plants that you like the look of, but if you’re buying plants that won’t grow well in your garde, you’re setting yourself up for failure.
3. Choose The Right Plants
There is a saying in gardening that goes “right plant, right place”. You might love the look of tropical gardens, gardens brimming with cacti or lavish rose gardens, if you don’t have the conditions that those plants need, you will always be on the back foot. So if you’re just starting out, know what conditions you have and do your research into which plants are most likely to thrive.
4. Make Sure Your Space is What You Want
Whether you are dealing with a small urban garden, a new-build property or a large and well-established garden, it’s a good idea to plan your space around what you want. Start you new garden with a clear idea of what you will be using it for. This might change and develop over time, but so will your garden, so don’t get too bogged down with it. But by having a clear vision, you will be able to ensure that you are going in the right direction.
If you want privacy, incorporate trees, trellises, arbours and climbing plants. If your kids want somewhere to kick a football around, you will likely need a lawn, and if you want to entertain and host barbeques, think about creating spaces for seating.
5. Plan Before You Plant
Top tip alert; if you aren’t a land surveyor or a garden designer, plotting out your garden can be tricky. So I recommend going onto Google Maps, zooming right in on your property and using that to trace or digitally create an outline that you can use to make your plan. Then you can sketch out onto this map where you will put your beds, lawn, patio, shed, pond, gorilla statue, inflatable pub or whatever else you want in your space.
You will need to know the proportions before you start so that you can mark out where things will go, so you will need to get your tape measure out at some point!
6. Use What You’ve Got
Unless you’re working with a new-build garden, there might be some things that you can salvage and reuse. This is a great way of cutting costs when you start a new garden. Try to identify the plants that you want to keep, bearing in mind that if they’re already growing, you know they like the conditions in your garden. Most plants can be moved, but larger plants like trees and large shrubs might struggle to re-establish themselves, so consider carefully whether you want to dig them up.
7. Prepare Your Soil
What most soils want, and what will help your plants to thrive is organic matter. This is either compost or manure and will help your soil hold onto water and release nutrients to your plants.
To prepare your soil for planting, all you need to do is apply a nice thick layer of compost or manure to the surface. This is called a mulch and it will supercharge your plants. If you find you have problems with waterlogging, or you’re always needing to water, or your plants aren’t thriving, you can apply another mulch at any point. If you’re interested in learning more about soil there is “sow much more” on this in my book!
8. Start a New Garden by Planting at The Back
Start by using grasses and foliage plants to create depth, movement and a backdrop for your flowering plants. Put tall plants towards the back of your beds, and use climbing plants, trees and shrubs to create height. You can use trees, shrubs and climbers to soften corners, block out neighbours or create little sheltered areas that add interest to your garden.
Put these plants in first, as they will require some digging and you risk damaging smaller plants in the process if you save this job until last.
9. Choosing Plants
The most important thing when choosing plants is to make sure they will thrive in your garden, as we already discussed. Make a list of all the plants that you like that will do well in the conditions you have. Then work through the list.
When choosing flowers, either pick a colour pallet or just go wild, but try to choose lots of shapes and sizes of flowers to keep it interesting and cater to a wide number of pollinators. Mixing daisy shapes with flower spikes, and cup or bell shapes with pompom shapes makes for a fascinating and biodiverse garden. Make sure to think about the foliage of flowering plants and how they will complement one another, too.
I recommend making a garden mood board so you can put pictures of all the plants together and see if they work.
10. Repeating Patterns
This is a top tip from garden designers. Pick a few plants that you like, that complement one another and work in your conditions, and repeat them throughout your beds. This will make your garden planting look more cohesive and more natural. Create little groups of plants and repeat them again and again. It’s a good idea to draw out how this might work, or even place them in pots before planting them in.
How to Start a New Garden Bonus Tip:
Don’t be afraid to make changes! Everyone makes mistakes. Plants do some very unusual and unexpected things sometimes and it’s totally ok to make changes if it’s not working for you. As I said, most plants don’t mind being moved.
So, if you’re wondering how to start a new garden, don’t be afraid! Follow these simple steps and you will be fine. Most of all, try to relax and enjoy the process – and if all else fails, dig it up and start again!
Want to Know More About How to Start a New Garden?
My new book Grow a New Garden is packed with practical hints and tips about how to plan and create a space that will thrive for you. All the tips are organic, and I combine my expert knowledge of soil and ecology, with my experience of starting new gardens to create something that is truly unique.
