Where do I start?!

Hello everyone!

I hope there is someone on here that can help me. Myself and my partner have moved into a rented property with a front and back garden. The landlord has said "as long as I dont have to pay for anything you can do what you want", which is fine, the problem is that we have no idea what to do with the pants that are already there! 

The garden is pretty well established (more prescisely, the previous tenants didnt look after the garden). There are conifers, hostas, lupins, clematis, honeysuckle, hydrangea and lots of other things I have no idea what they are, and a vegetable patch all battling for space and attention and, as the title suggests, we have no idea where to start with it all!! 

My partner's problem solving has whittled down to pouring plant and weed killer over it all and starting again... which I'm not so keen on! The other problem we face is that this is the first garden either of us has ever had to tend to, so our limited knowledge holds us back a lot. 

If ANYONE can give us any help, any whatsoever, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much in advance!

Tara & James

*Please note, I meant the plants that are already there, not pants. All items of underwear were removed by previous tenant. 

I was going to reply with something funny, but feared I would seen as sarcastic. I have no useful suggestions for you, as I am a newbie this year to gardening myself, but to veg's. But I started a similar post and had a huge, really helpful response, so someone will be along to help. Pictures of what you have to work with would also be really useful.

Tara you are lucky to have so many established plants, even if you do not like one it will be worth hanging on to it for a while to see if it serves a purpose such as winter flowers.

Plants are expensive so you do not want to kill one if you can help it. 

Does the veg patch have any veg in it, if not I would consider green manure

http://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/projects/creative-projects/how-to-improve-soil-with-green-manure/311.html

Hello Tara,sounds like you have a great garden

I would suggest having a bit of a tidy up with the plants that you have. If you need advice how on how to do this, this is the place to ask.

Sounds like you have some lovely established plants in there, Kate is right these can be very expensive. Don't think the landlord would approve of the plant & weed killer approach.

Pictures are always good not only for identifying plants that you don't know but also to remind you how the garden looked before you started tackling it. I think you will be surprised how things change.

Great advice about living with it for a year to see what happens- I'm sure you will have some great surprises

Enjoy your garden

WAIT! Watch the garden and note the plants' habits over a whole year and get used to noting light and shade areas. The plants that are there will already give you an idea of what's happy where and with books/internet you can find other suitable plants for those areas. Don't prune without checking when it's best to prune a specific plant (you might lose flowers/fruit or colourful leaves). What a lovely position to be in- happy gardening! If you can't wait to introduce your own plants use annuals or perennials in pots (the latter can be planted up in the garden at a later date)

When my daughter was in this position she hired a gardener for just a few hours to help her sort it out and name some of the plants and then she went on from there. I have found the local gardening centre or nursery centre staff are really helpful, so take some photos and ask for help. The green manure for the veg plot is excellent, I used it on my new allotment and it keeps the weeds down and feeds the soil. Autumn is a good time to plant this and again ask advice at the nursery/garden centre for what to use. Enjoy your garden.

Have a look around in your area and see if there's a gardening/horticultural club you can join.  Your local library (assuming it's still open!!) can be a great source of information.  This site is fab for asking specific questions, and people are full of great ideas when you have a problem to fix.

The best advice I have to offer is check to see if you've any typical weeds, I'm sure you know what nettles, bindweed and brambles look like.  If you've any of those, the weedkiller approach is the way to go before they get established.  Keep on top those things that are known weeds (things you really don't want in your garden, I don't think many people want a garden full of nettles, dandelions and bindweed).

If there are just the two of you, then I advocate the wait and see approach.  HOWEVER, if you've got small children, you need to check and see what's poisonous.  I would never have lupins in my garden, I've got two small children that don't listen when I tell them you only put food in your mouth (the eldest has JUST turned 4, and is still a swine for eating things he shouldn't).

Sounds like you're lucky having a big garden with some veg beds there.  If there's nothing growing in the veg garden, plant some 'green manure' such as clover or phacelia, these are plants that supress weeds and trap nutrients from the soil.  You grow them over winter, and dig them in come spring, to give your veg seedlings a good start.  buy or borrow a 'gardening year' book, or treat yourself to a GW subscription, they're good to read as general knowledge, and if you're really stumped, the collected knowledge on here is amazing!

I love the way Alys Fowler seems to garden. She doesn't differentiate between plants and veg. She just puts them all in the same beds. Mature plants mean established insects which will help you in years to come. Join the local library, read up as much as you can, see what suits your style. My husband is always talking about weed killers and pesticides. PLEASE DON'T USE THEM think of the bees, we have hundreds visiting my flowers and plants.

Hi Tara, I was in a similar position to you a couple of years back.  Be patient and you'll be surprised what comes up.  The best thing I've found is to take photos throughout the year so you know what bulbs come up and what the flowers look like etc.  It's amazing how quickly you forget even if you think you won't so it's really useful to look through them and see how the garden changes throughout the seasons so you can decide what to keep and what to plant.

Where ever I have moved there has never been anything in the garden. Neither plant, bird nor bee. So I have always had to start from scratch. But as my brother pointed out I have always left a  garden full of food for these insects and birds.7 years later, I have done it again! Also a pond for any other vertebrae that might need to eat and breed. All we could do with in Tiverton is some sunshine and warmth, but as there is a shortage of this I plant what does grow