Getting into Gardening for the First Time

If you are someone who has a passing interest in gardening but have never actually tried cultivating one for yourself, it can seem like it’s a very complex thing to do. From the outside looking in, gardeners seem to always have their hands full with one time consuming task or another, whether they’re wedding their veg plot or trimming back their rose bushes. 

Add onto this the semi frequent maintenance work that is required to keep a garden looking its healthiest and best, then you would absolutely be forgiven for thinking that anyone with a garden is spending a good amount of their day just keeping on top of things. Now, this is actually true in some cases. The larger the garden the more work it takes to keep up with the work.

The largest gardens often need full time staff to maintain them, but luckily for most people gardens of this size are rarely privately owned and are more often associated with country homes, estates and properties owned by bodies like the National Trust. It makes sense that a very large garden takes more work, but how much work does a regular gardener need to put in to maintain their outdoor areas?

Sadly there’s no simple answer because it depends entirely on the kind of garden you want to end up with. Even a small or medium sized garden can be a lot of work depending on the aspect, location, plant species, and the overall look the gardener is going for. The first thing a new gardener will need to do is make some important decisions on just how much time they can realistically spend on their garden.

It can be tempting for a beginner gardener to believe they will be able to spend hours every week on maintenance, only for them to find that they can only keep up this level of involvement for a relatively short amount of time. Be honest with yourself about what you can actually do, because your garden will suffer if you don’t. 

Low Maintenance Gardening 

For those who only want to work in the garden now and then (one per month or so) a low maintenance garden is a must. Crucially, a low maintenance garden doesn't need to be barren and can be just as beautiful and lush as a high maintenance garden. It’s all in the type of plants you decide to grow. 

It can certainly be said that the plants you choose to put in the garden are the most important indicator of whether a garden will be high or low maintenance. This is because some plants can be left to their own devices with minimal interference throughout the year, while others are going to need frequent tasks like trimming, pruning, deadheading, pest removal, and supplemental water and fertiliser. 

If you’re looking for professional garden design in York to help you create a low maintenance garden then they’ll be able to offer you plenty of advice so you can get your plant choice right. It’s important to use a gardener that is at least familiar with your location, because even though climate across the UK is pretty consistent, each locality will have different weather conditions such as wet, dry, coastal, high winds, or more snow and colder winter temperatures. 

High Maintenance Gardens

People who want more of a challenge from their garden and have more time to dedicate to gardening as a hobby can look for trickier plants that need more maintenance. This gives you more options, but it does mean that you’ll likely be outdoors, weeding, pruning and feeding your plants more than you would with a low maintenance garden. 

Where you may have a gravel garden with grasses and structural plants like small shrubs, a high maintenance garden may have more flowering plants and plants that grow fast and require semi frequent trims. Plants such as roses, wisteria, vigorous climbers and hydrangeas are examples of high maintenance plants that will need additional care and attention. 

Whether you prefer high or low maintenance gardens, you’ll find that the hobby has a lot to offer in terms of rewards, satisfaction and building new skills. The act of gardening is also very relaxing for many people, giving them a creative outlet that reduces stress. 

Read More:

• Landscape Garden Designer

• The Joy of Gardening with Kids