I'm going to do my garden this year, I've been here 5 years and this is going to be the year of the garden.

Any one got any good tips. The soil is chalk. I'm a total non gardener, well I say that but to be honest I love gardening I just don't know how to do it. Would love a garden that was all done and I just had to keep up with. Our garden is 25' wide and 170' long and so far I've divided it into 3 sections with room for a couple more. The kids garden with swings and trampoline is at the bottom.

HELP!

Love Kate

"Katiequiggle" wrote in message
...

I'm going to do my garden this year, I've been here 5 years and this is
going to be the year of the garden.

Any one got any good tips. The soil is chalk. I'm a total non
gardener, well I say that but to be honest I love gardening I just
don't know how to do it. Would love a garden that was all done and I
just had to keep up with. Our garden is 25' wide and 170' long and so
far I've divided it into 3 sections with room for a couple more. The
kids garden with swings and trampoline is at the bottom.

HELP!

Love Kate


Two books by Henry Mitchell:

"The Essential Earthman"
"One Man's Garden"

If there's any shade to deal with:
"The Complete Shade Gardener"
by George Schenck

Katiequiggle wrote:

I'm going to do my garden this year, I've been here 5 years and this is
going to be the year of the garden.

Any one got any good tips. The soil is chalk. I'm a total non
gardener, well I say that but to be honest I love gardening I just
don't know how to do it. Would love a garden that was all done and I
just had to keep up with. Our garden is 25' wide and 170' long and so
far I've divided it into 3 sections with room for a couple more. The
kids garden with swings and trampoline is at the bottom.

Are you in the SE of England? Not many of us Yanks have to deal with
chalky soils. Or those long, narrow gardens ;-)

- Think big but start small. Gardening can be a LOT of work and it's easy
for a beginning gardener to get totally overwhelmed. Gardening is a
lifelong avocation, so relax and enjoy the journey. A modest and
manageable success will be more fun than a huge, ambitious project that
leaves you no time to sit back and enjoy it. Or worse, guilty because
it's gotten away from you. Gardens will do that.

- Chalky soils are alkaline and tend to be shallow and dry. You'll do
best going with nature and selecting plants that will thrive under such
conditions.

- Rely on local resources - garden centers, nurseries, libraries, garden
clubs, public gardens in your area [http://www.gardenarena.co.uk/].

- Books and more books. Ask for recommendations from local gardeners.

- When you go online, rely on UK gardening information on working with
chalk soils, for instance:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/basic...yoursoil.shtml

- If you start with trees and shrubs, they'll be growing all the while
your are learning more about growing ornamentals and vegetables.

Enjoy!

-- Karen

The Garden Gate http://garden-gate.prairienet.org
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"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need."
^and cats -- Cicero
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I have a 25' x 25' back yard. here is link to what I did.
http://weloveteaching.com/landscape/sit/sit.htm
it is now very much grown up and has a very private feeling when everything is leafed
out.

I am just in the process of designing the 23' x 42' back yard of the rental property
we recently aquired on the next block west of us.
http://weloveteaching.com/landscape/woodard.html
It is on some of the highest ground in the neighborhood with lots of overhead
electrical, phone and cable wires. It also looks out over the rooftops of the houses
to the east towards the lake. I want to preserve some of that wide open feeling. at
the same time it has nearly all day direct sun beating down and a complete lack of
privacy since we took the ugly fences down on the south side of the yard. It gets
lovely winter sun. I want some shade and privacy for sitting. the ugly hurricane
fence and unpainted wood fence to the north is already covered with a bamboo screen.
The deck is going to be gone this coming spring (it is a fall off hazard) and will be
replaced with some nice dark pea gravel kept in with a wood edging.
...raspberries are in an elevated bed. this is very much a Milwaukee thing. the
brambles will also keep the neighborhood kids from trying to climb onto the garage
roof to watch fireworks (we have fireworks every fri, sat, sun from june thru sept)
... I love dwarf fruit trees, asian pears, cherry, peach and apricot. they are under
planted with spirea.
... the grape arbor is to give some privacy from the house on the south.
... the figs are in containers that are moved inside for winter.

eventually, we would like to move to this house so I am going to do a lot of work to
get the backyard ready.

with bad soil the easiest (and best for small backyards) is to construct raised beds
and use containers with a drip watering system. even with excellent soil I built
several raised beds to vary my backyard. it gives more variety to an area and is
important for small areas.

The idea of "rooms" is good with any landscaping that isnt just lawn. Ingrid

Katiequiggle wrote:
I'm going to do my garden this year, I've been here 5 years and this is
going to be the year of the garden.

Any one got any good tips. The soil is chalk. I'm a total non
gardener, well I say that but to be honest I love gardening I just
don't know how to do it. Would love a garden that was all done and I
just had to keep up with. Our garden is 25' wide and 170' long and so
far I've divided it into 3 sections with room for a couple more. The
kids garden with swings and trampoline is at the bottom.

HELP!

Love Kate



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