Top tips for a new build garden

Having a new build garden is both a blessing and sometimes a pain!

A blessing because you have a blank slate and don't have to un-do other peoples gardening mistakes, and can design and choose your own look and feel. On the other hand, new build gardens are notorious for having some of the worst soil possible to start a garden. Often filled with rubble, sand, wires and the odd Quavers crisp packet too!

So my number one top tip is: to not rush into planting your garden before updating the ground with organic matter. By organic matter I mean adding things like compost, and mulch to help break up the soil and add nutrients to plants. This was my biggest mistake I made with my garden. I filed borders up with plants and I didn't give them anything to help them grow. By summer, my garden was a baked hot mess; the ground was rock solid and the plants really didn't grow very well. Compare that to this summer where I put down a thick layer of compost on top of my borders in the winter, and the flowers have flourished. I can't stress the importance of getting the soil right first.

My next top tip is to create bigger borders than you think. Often I see people with a tiny thin border all around the fence. But don't be afraid to make them nice and thick and wide, it will make the garden feel more full. Plus, you don't have to follow the fence- I created a circle in the middle of my garden and created my borders around these. This is a good idea if you are new to gardening as it is so simple to do. The bigger the borders, the more full and bigger your garden will seem. (I'm making mine even bigger for this summer coming!)

Grow plants from seed, rather than buying fully established plants. Thinking ahead means you can save pennies and enjoy being part of the process. The garden centres charge far more for a fully established plant, instead look for plug plants or grow the flowers you want from seed. It can be overwhelming when you have lots of empty borders, but by planning ahead and sowing from seed you can save so much money.

Privacy... often on new builds your garden can back onto others and you may find it hard to find a space in your garden that is private. If you feel like this, then create your own space. Put up some trellis and grow a rose up it, put up a rose pergola that may block the nosey neighbours view, or plant trees to soften the mass of bricks that can be seen. 

If you would like more tips on new build gardens then head to my instagram @therosepressgarden