Thoughts for starting a garden at this time of year, please

Is it ok to still ask questions on this thread? Thinking about my new build garden, I want to grow something in front of the rather bald fences between us and next door that would give height. I was thinking about whether I should just plant direct into the current soil or whether to have like raised beds, which would be open to the ground but could be filled with better soil. Is that even possible?

I am so grateful for all the kind advice. And for your information I am here Germanshepherdsmum hello [grin}- please don't accuse me of bad manners, I have replied during the discussion - are you a group administrator, by the way?

I simply am taking in the fantastic answers and may not respond as quickly as some of you would like.

Thank you, to the kind and thooughtful people - I am a bit overwhelmed by it all!!

To answer one or two points which Mawthemerrier raises the garden is south facing. Very few plants in it and I feel the soil may need improving.
I'm in NE of England, so cold winters.

I like the idea of fruit trees against the fence to 'soften' the appearance, and of course of the fruit itself.

Now - Here is a photo looking in the other direction - you'll see a big bit of decking is there. Now what I really want there is some height - for privacy but not too much to retain sun. I was thinking of fruit trees in large containers, say, with perhaps, in some way, a trestle at the end of the soil marking the decking area as a small quiet zone.

Do you mean trellis?

Trellis with perhaps a clematis growing up it?

SueDonim

Is it ok to still ask questions on this thread? Thinking about my new build garden, I want to grow something in front of the rather bald fences between us and next door that would give height. I was thinking about whether I should just plant direct into the current soil or whether to have like raised beds, which would be open to the ground but could be filled with better soil. Is that even possible?

Would the raised beds need watering or can the roots go through to the ground?

I thin there are restrictions on the height of shrubs used for fencing too.

Callistemon my thoughts are that roots could go through into the ground. It’s just grass right now. Basically, I’m trying to avoid having to dig! There are fences there already so this would be to soften the look and provide a bit of privacy.

It was something I'd thought of when I saw a property for sale with a rectangular, flat garden, SueDonim. It seemed an ideal solution and would avoid bending too.

We didn't buy the property, bad timing.

SueDonim

Callistemon my thoughts are that roots could go through into the ground. It’s just grass right now. Basically, I’m trying to avoid having to dig! There are fences there already so this would be to soften the look and provide a bit of privacy.

I think it's a great idea, but raised beds need more soil and /or manure to fill them than you'd initially imagine... Do you have a good source of topsoil and manure?

Charles Dowding is quite inspirational on the topic of 'no dig'. He's worth a google ?

Bad luck on that house, Callistemon!

We’re in a farming area and my SIL is a farmer, Maizie so soil/manure shouldn’t be an issue.

-- for some reason I've had difficulty in accessing - so I, Douglas2, have now become Douglas2b.

Sorry for any confusion this may cause.

Germanshepherdsmum

Do you mean trellis?

Yes.

However I have to say that I am disinclined to answer your questions after your rude comment about me, and failure to apologise for it. I only recently joined gransnet after hearing it was a good place to be however.... hopefully you are an exception.

A trellis with a couple of plants would give you a year-round interest - say a clematis as Callistemon suggest and also a winter flowering jasmine and possibly a star jasmine?
That would give you something to look at and something for the bees/moths for most of the year. You would need to prune them each year to stop all the interest being at the top of the trellis.

Fruit trees are available as bare-rooted plants at the moment - much cheaper than pot grown ones. In the NE you might have to protect them with fleece over the winter?

While I'm on a winter theme you might want to look at something like a winter-flowering honeysuckle (grows quite big) or a sarcococca (trim to keep its shape) bu=y the back door - both have amazing winter perfume.

For this year maybe a few pots of bulbs to cheer the corners up?
You can really have fun with this! Hope you enjoy it.
GN is great for practical advice, so just keep right on asking away!

That is so kind lixy. Thank you. The year round point you make is a very good one. At present its very plain garden - inevitably. But I don't want it to be in the winter.

As I explore this more, through the helpful comments here, I am verging more and more to a wildlife friendly garden with fruit trees / bushes too.

Best thing you can do for wildlife is to have a pond they say. I've never had one so can't comment on the practical aspects of keeping one going.

I have a 'new-to-me' garden and have spent the year seeing what grows where and where the sun/shadows are. I'm going to sit down with lot of paper and a pencil over the winter and plan things out properly.
Hope you enjoy planning yours too.

One thing I'd say, do make sure there is no builders rubble or other stuff left in the soil. After the dry spell I was aerating4 my grass and could feel lots of stones under the surface. No wonder the lawn had never been very good.

lixy I brought with me a white windsor basin to make as a pond. I'll see if I have enough energy to dig deep to put it in.
Otherwise it may stand a little proud from the ground.

I use an old jam pan as a wildlife pond Douglas2b and mine stands proud of the ground too (very rocky soil here). I stacked up a pile of stones alongside it and another pile inside so that animals can come and go to drink and paddle. It's been very successful - mainly as a hedgehog drinking station!

However I have to say that I am disinclined to answer your questions after your rude comment about me, and failure to apologise for it. I only recently joined gransnet after hearing it was a good place to be however.... hopefully you are an exception

That’s a bit goady Douglas - Gardening is hardly a contentious issue, why so snippy? .

I'm not sure I'm allowed to mention this as it's a business, but there's a website called Crocus which has a section called Inspiration. You can search under things like 'cottage garden' or 'sunny border' and it will give you plant lists and lots of information and ideas. It's very helpful.

I think Douglas2b is entitled to be a little offhand after you Maw and GSM accused them of not responding in your timeframe.
Douglad2b have a look at grasses too, ours, way down South have withstood the drought well, the taller ones provide some screening. If the idea of bamboo enters your head, be very careful, some are very invasive!

Mawthemerrier
yes perhaps it was, but justified, I fear in this case.

Richmondpark1 - thats encouraging me to pursue the idea of a windsor basin pond thank you.

I'm not sure there is ever any excuse for rudeness Jaxjacky nor indeed for interfering or stirring.

Thank you Jaxjacky - I am getting so many helpful comments here.

I remember a large ornamental grass in a garden as a child which proved incredibly difficult to remove when it began to die off! However, I will look into your suggestion, as I am tending more to a garden for wildlife - or at least a main part of my garden as such. Tall grasses must help with that.

Thank you coming to my defence. I can see that as in life there are some rude opinionated people here (one in particular). Like real life if you challenge them about their behaviour they don't apologise but accuse you of being rude!

Douglas, Here is my little garden I am posting a picture because it shows my wildlife pond. I’ve never wanted fish,it is purely for wildlife it’s been there about three years and is very successful I don’t have any sort of filters or anything like that I just have oxygenating plants. Good luck with whatever you decide to do with your garden..(I am a very amateur Gardner but pick up a lot of tips from the amazing people on here)

I think it’s a bit much to castigate a person for not returning immediately to reply to posts. Who knows what has been happening in their life? Maybe they’ve gone down with Covid (I didn’t look at my phone for days when I had Cv) or had an accident and been hospitalised, perhaps their phone broke (my Dh only today got a new phone after he dropped and broke his last one almost a month ago), their internet went down, a family emergency. Any number of reasons, in short.

Anyway, I’ve enjoyed most of this thread and I think your plot looks as though it has great possibilities, Douglas. I’m envisaging a jungly garden at the decking end, but maybe the NE doesn’t support the growth of palms etc!