In article , H Ryder
writes
with a big
garden but have been getting cold feet about the maintenance - by large I
probably mean medium sized - i.e. at least 100 feet long, preferable more
like 200 or more, and at least 50 feet wide -
That is not 'big'!!!
A friend of mine managed a 4 acre garden with just one gardener to help
her.
however we have been looking
at places bigger. My main concern is how you mow something that size?
With a suitable sized mower. Large, and petrol driven.
long
term I'd be looking at having woodland areas (as I think that these are
lower maintenance but are they?) but how would I go about mowing the garden
until I'd got the lower maintenance bits established? All I ever done is
pushed a plug in flymo type around once a week - what do people with bigger
gardens do?
We have about an acre and a quarter. The 'field' area we mow with a ride
on mower, the 'lawns' (approx 30x100 feet) we mow with a petrol cylinder
mower. But Kay's advice re meadow bits is really good.
Where do you put the cuttings?
We compost them (they help break down the leaves, the leaves help to dry
up the clippings) but if you buy a mulching mower, you can leave them on
the grass.
Roughly how long does it take -
Depends on the type of mow we do and how long it is since we did the
last mow ie how long the grass is!!!!!!!!!!! We try to do it once a week
in the summer when the grass is growing strongly but less frequently in
early spring and autumn. Obviously, the longer the grass, the longer it
takes to cut it.
If we just give it the once over without collecting the clippings and
doing the edges it takes two of us about an hour each - one on the ride
on mower, the other behind the cylinder mower. If we collect the
clippings, load them into the compost bin and cut all the edges etc it
takes two of us about four hours each.
it is possible to manage a bigger garden without a gardener if you are on
your own?
Depends upon the type of person you are and how much you love gardening.
I used to manage a third of an acre on my own. I had a job and two small
children at the time.
Does anyone have any suggestions about low maintenance ideas? (I
hate hard landscape)
Wide borders/island beds with perennial shrubs underplanted with
herbaceous stuff plus ponds dotted about where leaves are least likely
to accumulate in them (ponds do not have to have fountains and
waterfalls - all ours are natural and clear). Steer clear of straight
lines - looks too regimented and unnatural - and lines too curved -
hellish to mow round. What you must aim for is gentle curves.
I am very keen (probably manage up to an hour a day in
garden,
If we managed an hour a day in the garden, our acre and a quarter would
be immaculate!!!!!! As it is we average about 4 hours a weekend, with
the odd couple of evening hours during the week, in the summer months.
Mind you, I need the spousal unit to do the 'heavier' jobs
((((((
sometimes with children "helping", sometimes alone) (Hubby
completely uninterested
Ah . . . what a shame
). Any advice would be much appreciated 
The best advice I can give you is - never let your weeds seed. They say
one year's seeds leads to seven year's weeds.
I generally spend the whole of the Easter break on my hands and knees
digging up every weed I see - not worth hitting the road at Easter!! By
the end of the Easter break I am fed up with gardening, and my knees and
head hurt, but the effort pays huge dividends in that the beds need very
little attention for the rest of the year. I love walking round the
garden on a summer evening and, while doing so, if I see a weed, I tend
to yank it out and throw it into the field. But, as Kay says, if you
plant densely, the weeds do not get a look in!!!
--
Jane Ransom in Lancaster.
I won't respond to private emails that are on topic for urg
but if you need to email me for any other reason, put ransoms
at jandg dot demon dot co dot uk where you see