janice You al always seem to e a well thought out level headed poster
with good advice I like reading your posts. :-)

On Sat, 22 May 2004 23:54:36 -0600, Janice
wrote:

On 17 May 2004 16:20:46 -0700, (m simpkins)
wrote:

Are you in the UK, I'm thinking btinternet is a British internet
provider. My apologies if I am incorrect.

I just looked and there is a group called uk.rec.gardening which is
a very active group, over 6300 posts since 4/1/04.

Not that I'm trying to get rid of you, but there is a good chance that
you would find local answers for local growing conditions.

I know nothing about gardening, and i what to stop the wife moening
im going to do a complete makeover of our garden and i dont know
were to start, could you send any details or information or tips on
the best way to do a makeover

Thanks

m simpkins

Also, terminology differences can lead to misunderstandings. When I
hear "garden" because of my interests, I think of a patch dug up to
plant vegetables, herbs, small fruits, and perhaps a few selected
sorts of flowers.

Yard, would be the entire outside property Grass, and garden. So,
since I have friends from the UK, I'm thinking you're meaning your
lawn and shrubs..your entire outdoor property?

What you can do, depends considerably in the soil composition, the
condition it's in now, what has been done with it in the past, how it
has been used or abused. What is the layout of your property?

I used to watch Ground Force on BBC America, and the configuration of
the "Gardens" differed wildly from place to place, from long narrow
plots narrow enough that you could almost reach across them with
outstretched arms, to square or rectangular plots similar to what I
would see here in my area in the USA.

I would suggest you do some reading, check with your local council to
know what you are allowed to do, and they may even have suggestions
for help in planning, or may be able to offer you planning assistance.

Are there not gardening groups/clubs there? If so, perhaps it might
serve you well to check with some of them to see if there are people
in your area who can give you tips on what type of things to avoid, or
special soil preparation or grading tips if you are in an area prone
to poor drainage.

In the mean time, while checking out your options, generally clean up
whatever area you do have, walk over the area, pick up limbs, trash,
refuse, anything that could damage a mower or cause you to trip or
somehow have thrown back at you from a mower blade or string trimmer.
Mow, trim the area learn what plants are in the garden now, decide
what is worth keeping, if you're new to the area, or just have not
paid any attention, do so, walk the area, if you don't know what
something is, take a sample to a garden shop or other location where
you can get some assistance.

That's why I suggested you look in on the uk.rec.gardening newsgroup
to make some contacts there, get some advice about the local
resources.

Good luck!

Janice