Established garden with a new owner who has little knowledge, looking for advice and tips to care it

Gavin.cullen

I have recently purchased a house with a well established garden.

Looking to find out how much work maintaining it will be and to identify what I will need to do, so the garden stays looking good. Advice on improvements would go a long way also.

I’ll post up pictures tonight / in the morning so I can get help identifying what I have first. Then what I will need to try and keep on top of it all.

josusa47

It rather depends what use you want to make of the garden.  Do you want to keep it pretty much as it is?  Will it be a play space for children or pets?  Do you want to grow stuff you can eat?  Support wildlife?  Basic things you need to know about a garden are your climate, your garden's compass direction, as this will determine how much sun it gets and at what time of day, what type of soil you have and whether it is acid, neutral or alkaline.  All these factors determine which plants will thrive in your garden, and which will struggle or fail altogether.  You can learn a lot by looking at your neighbours' gardens to see what they grow, and making friends with those whose gardens look good!

Gavin.cullen

Thanks for your response. The neighbours either side have went for the most part, potted plants and a low maintenance garden.

I have no idea about half of the basic info I need to establish about the Garden but points all noted and I will need to look into learning that information for sure.

The Garden is an L shape and I believe the front is south and the back is North as the roof has moss at the back. But with the L part of the garden it would be running east to west with only natural shaded areas from trees / large hedges.

I’ll attach a few pictures of plants and hopefully once they are identified then I can decide if they are getting cut back or cut out as some are starting to over grow.

Gavin.cullen

What are both of these and when can I cut back or maintain it before they get over grown?

Gavin.cullen

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Most of the flowering plants seen, I’m assuming will come back each year? The rest is just ground cover and bush to prevent weeds?

Dovefromabove

How lucky are you!?!?  That purple leaved bush is a fabulous acer and I am very envious. It’s a gorgeous elegant slightly asymmetrical shape too ... I’m sure one of the real acer experts will be along to help you re it’s care. For now ... enjoy 😊 

Gavin.cullen

I like most of what I see here, might get moved around if possible, looking for tips and advice with these, of course again what they are.

Eglantyne

The first two are Japanese Maples, you’re very fortunate to have two large specimens as they are very slow growing and expensive.  I personally wouldn’t prune them as you open them up to diseases, and they don’t need it, other than any dead branches or branches that are rubbing.  If you’re going to prune, it’s best to do it in the dead of winter to avoid the sap running.  They are lovely trees, enjoy.

Gavin.cullen

Ground cover? Will this need maintained, Cut back etc. Flower, Will they go out of control if left to their own?

What were the flowers in the top picture, don’t think I seen them flower to know if they are nice?

Eglantyne

Top flowers along the paving are Bergenia.

B3

The previous owners loved their garden by the looks of it. You have some wonderful mature shrubs. It will look amazing when you've got it under control again.I
I'd just tackle one bit at a time.
Just cutting the grass and sharpening the edges with a half moon would make a huge difference and then you could stand back and decide which bit you're going attack first.