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Hello all.

Welcome to URG Steve

I'm new on the forum, so apologies if I'm going over old ground here.

No problem.

a new house, and the garden hasn't been touched for a year
bring the garden back into shape

Front garden:
Garden is not especially large. Lawn in the middle, needs a mow. medium
sized trees and large shrubs ( none yet identified ) which are badly out
of shape. climbing roses are in some of the tree's, very straggly and
twiggy.

This is probably a good time to prune most shrubs as they will be going
dormant. Try to find out what they are - or post some photo's for us to look
at.

Soil is very poor. No light seems to get to the bottom of soil itself.

Compost Compost Compost :~)))


Back garden:
Windswept. Small piece of grass needs a mow and a scarify. borders full
of tatty and stragly small perenials, all over grown. A few climbing
roses that have grown up the garage wall and now right over the top of
the garage and spreading along the roof. Small plastic pond that is 90%
full of mud and plants - no fish. Needs completely re-starting from
scratch. Hedges ( various species ) don't seem to have been cut for two
years. Hugely overgrown. Soil seems much better quality.

Trim all de dead stuff and maybe wait to see whats what next year?
Clear out the pond or make a bog garden ?


I have two main desires:
1) Get the garden into reasonably tidy shape, so it's not annoying me
over winter

Tidy and prune ......

2) carry out any preperation/planting that's needed so that I can start
a spring "campaign" to make it start looking good.

Get some compost and spread it on the borders - start your own compost heap
for all the trimmings you'll be producing

If some one could also provide some advice on the sorts of
plants/bulbs/seeds etc that I should be thinking of getting in at this
time of year, so as to get at least some colour in the spring, I'd be
eternally greatful.

GREAT time to plant bulbs !! - you can always plant them in pots and put
them in the soil after flowering when you have got everything a bit sorted.
I'd also plant some winter pansies in pots and any oteh flowering stuff they
mighyt have at the GC. Put the pots near the front door and where you can
see them from the hosue. That way you'' have a something nice to look at
while you waiting for spring to arrive :~)

You can plant all sorts of trees/shrubs/perennials NOW - best time of year
to do it !!

Jenny