Lay the groundwork by prioritising fences, composting and paving – and worry about the plants later
O
ne of the questions I’m often asked when I speak at events usually comes from someone – perhaps half of a couple – who seems wide-eyed with optimism and overwhelm. “We’ve just moved into a new house and it has this garden,” they’ll begin. They don’t know what to do with it; where should they start?
Invariably, I tell them to ignore the traditional advice of waiting for a year to see what comes up. Granted, you may dig up some ancient bulbs, like these grape hyacinths, but it’s your garden now and these risks are yours to take.
The last place we moved to was a pretty blank canvas but I was rather more green in my own gardening experience. After nearly a decade of balcony gardening, I went wild on the plant catalogues and the prettier corners of Instagram, manically demanding Sarah Raven-level splendour from my newly carved bed of crap clay soil in south London.
