I found this newsgroup with help from one of your posters - I need help
with gardening!
You see, I moved to England from South Africa 4 years ago & the seasons are
topsy-turvy now........I always knew what to plant each season, when to
prune etc & of course many plants are different.

I *am* learning though! At first we bought a house in town with a small
garden where there wasn't much I could do, so I planted up containers to
practice on. A year ago we bought a house in the country on 1/2 acre which
is next to farmland & although the previous owners kept the garden neat it
is boring, boring, boring ..... so I need help!
There are two ponds which were empty so we have started with a few plants &
goldfish in one & have been rewarded with a family of frogs in the other &
just this week the tadpoles started hatching.

I am also encouraging birds by feeding them & we had a Robin family nesting
in the ivy outside the kitchen window last year. I'm also learning what the
different birds are too!

Unfortunately, for a house which was once part of the farm it doesn't have
much in the way of interesting plants (I don't think so anyway!). There is
an awfully long conifer hedge, a couple of cherry & damson trees & a huge
expanse of lawn.
We live down a long lane which ends at the farm so it's been interesting to
see different plants growing along the lane during the last year.

Anyway, I also do flower arranging so I need the garden to be a sort of mix
between cultivated & wildlife garden - luckily we do have the space for both
& I like an informal type garden. The garden also has to cater for 2
children, 2 cats & a dog!