First time buyer house, with a second rate garden!

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ConcreteJungle
Posts: 73
Joined: Mon Dec 23, 2013 7:07 pm
Location: Greater london

First time buyer house, with a second rate garden!

Post by ConcreteJungle »

Hi All, only got into loving exotic gardening last year - but by the time i could do much about it, winter quickly came, but then whilst researching came across this gem of a find, HardyTropicals! I need alot of help this year and will pick all your tropical brains in due time. So lets start my quick story...when purchasing my first house in 2011 - the one thing i HATED about it was the garden, seeing what i saw on my first day in the property and you will agree.... Wife didn't want to buy the house due to this one reason. Garden looked small due to everything looking like a ready made jungle!

1 of 6 - Summer 2011
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BUT a YEAR later (due to concentrating on decorating the inside), with the help of a few family members we started to wade through the jungle and clear alot out - including some massive trees, blocking all our sun, grass was non existant! But gives you a first glimpse of how big the garden is. Still a big patio area from the bottom of the photo to start of the house.

2 of 6 - Autumn 2012
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Whilst moving the most of our stuff in - we decided a garage (well an outbuilding really!) was needed for storage/gym and relaxing area outside the house. In construction...Meanwhile hedges started to grow and new very bad weed grass took hold in the lawn area.

3 of 6 - Spring 2013
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I then thought first of all i need a good lawn then i can work my way outwards onto the beds (with palms in my head but didnt know where to purchase! but found 2 in homebase) So i researched how to regrow lawns from scratch and all about fertilisers and invested in my first lawn mower ever! extended sloping pathway to garage, where i hope to store half hardy plants over winter.

4 of 6 - Early Summer 2013
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As we approached autumn of last year, it was time to clear out the left hand side of the garden, this side is my south facing side, so lots of opportunities to plant on the walkway down. Currently totally bare apart from the trees i will leave to the right at the bottom. Growing on my side. Lots of rubbish piling up.

5 of 6 - Late Summer 2013
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So now we are into Early Autumn 2013, some garden furniture bought (as we had a few garden bbqs) Rubbish cleared and weed fabric placed.... all of this AND the current concrete patio will be in decking by summer next year i hope!
6 of 6
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So there you have it! All in all - No where near my end goals - let alone 10% of an exotic garden - but this is why i posted in the new section! I bought a Trachycarpus f from Nigel end of last year - i was worried it wont last winter (im a newbie after all) - but he said it would be fine, pics are not included of it - but its now planted in autumn 2013 - and looks great! - I have researched alot of nurseries online and even found out theres 2-3 near by via car. Love everything tropical - so lets hope i can have a positive start to 2014 thanks to you all.
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Dave Brown
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Re: First time buyer house, with a second rate garden!

Post by Dave Brown »

Hi Concretejungle and welcome icon_salut

Wow, quite a transformation icon_thumright and a massive, massive improvement.

Are you planning on having anything between the gardens on the right hand side? A fence would contain large plants on your side, where as if open they would grow out both sides and the neighbour might cut back to the boundary.
Best regards
Dave
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Roll on summer.....
http://www.hardytropicals.co.uk
kata

Re: First time buyer house, with a second rate garden!

Post by kata »

Welcome to the forum CJ!

A brilliant start so far, the lawn looks great.

Have a gander at the members blogs, grab a few more Ideas.

icon_cheers
Blairs

Re: First time buyer house, with a second rate garden!

Post by Blairs »

Welcome - some hard work well done already. Also some fancy lawn work going on! What are your planting plans?
dino

Re: First time buyer house, with a second rate garden!

Post by dino »

Welcome. As has been said a huge improvement already even without plants. Love the circles on the lawn. icon_thumleft
Nigel Fear

Re: First time buyer house, with a second rate garden!

Post by Nigel Fear »

A vast improvement, but do you need that big wide path on the left?

Easy for me to say, but not so easy on the back I guess. :lol:

Just imagine though, you could have much more planting space, and an even better lawn. :D
flounder

Re: First time buyer house, with a second rate garden!

Post by flounder »

This is what we all love on here, a new garden being transformed through photos!
I also love the artistic use of the mower but without my glasses on, is that a phoenix roebelenii(pygmy date palm) planted bottom right hand side? Not hardy enough outside all year but as I said, I don't have my glasses on :><:
dino

Re: First time buyer house, with a second rate garden!

Post by dino »

Nigel Fear wrote:A vast improvement, but do you need that big wide path on the left?

Easy for me to say, but not so easy on the back I guess. :lol:

Just imagine though, you could have much more planting space, and an even better lawn. :D
I think he says he's putting decking down instead or is that just over the membraned area?
It does look like a Roebbelini though!
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ConcreteJungle
Posts: 73
Joined: Mon Dec 23, 2013 7:07 pm
Location: Greater london

Re: First time buyer house, with a second rate garden!

Post by ConcreteJungle »

Hi all, thanks for the warm welcome, yes a verticutter helped transform the grass. The far end of the membrane all the way to the far left will be decking cutting some of the path away... But the wide path was due to a disabled former owner and the slope of the actual ground from house to lawn...I don't think that will change for the foreseeable future, hoping to have plants to left that sort of brush past me as I walk down, narrowing the path in a way. Yes a Pygmy date palm, and only found out after that wasn't hardy enough, still in ground under 70gsm frost cloth. With browning of leaves, but centre ones are green, will be a long struggle for it, I'll decide in summer what to do with it. Lastly, bamboo screening was erected late autumn to right fence, will post further pics in spring to show the updates I haven't shown.
GREVILLE

Re: First time buyer house, with a second rate garden!

Post by GREVILLE »

Welcome, CJ and what a great start icon_cheers

Probably wise to start off with hardier material like Trachycapus and bamboo. Spend plenty of time trawling through HTUK and go for informed choices. Being in London and having plenty of solid structures which will give some good protection against frost adds to possibilities.
jungle jas

Re: First time buyer house, with a second rate garden!

Post by jungle jas »

Welcome, a very good start made on your garden. I'm sure it will look great. given time to mature. icon_thumright
fern Rob

Re: First time buyer house, with a second rate garden!

Post by fern Rob »

welcome icon_thumleft
Delboy

Re: First time buyer house, with a second rate garden!

Post by Delboy »

Welcome to HTUK. What a difference you've made already, and your grass looks lush!!.
fern Rob

Re: First time buyer house, with a second rate garden!

Post by fern Rob »

Any plans for planting, what plants?
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ConcreteJungle
Posts: 73
Joined: Mon Dec 23, 2013 7:07 pm
Location: Greater london

Re: First time buyer house, with a second rate garden!

Post by ConcreteJungle »

Thanks, needed grass for my little one, bosch verticutter made the difference... early to buy but already got some 4x fatsia, asian wonder bamboo, robusta palm, Trachycarpus, mule palm, sikki and 2x ensete, cordy burgandy spire. Trying to get some big plants out the way. Then fill in the gaps. On my list still is cordy charlies boy, some ginger, ferns including a 2ft dicksonia only, phormium, suitable self clinging climber for one part of my metal shed, astilbe for the wet part of garden and a dwarf willow.
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