Overgrown garden: Prepare and create a new wild garden

A plot of land, for example a house with a garden or an allotment garden, was newly acquired. However, the previous owners have left the garden to its own devices in recent years and it has now become overgrown. But with the right steps, little by little, even a completely overgrown garden can be easily cultivated again. Of course, this also means a little work.

provide overview

The first step to a new garden is that the hobby gardener has to get an overview of the wild growth. Because depending on how high the grass is and how wide the bushes have grown, any existing paths and seats are no longer recognizable. But these could also be included in the planning for the new garden. Bed borders, borders, tree stumps and even building materials or tools left by the previous owner can be hidden under the overgrowth. Therefore, the overview should be obtained as follows:

• Walk off the area by the square meter
• mark anything that could lead to tripping with a stick
• this is particularly important for the use of machines
• otherwise they could get stuck on the obstacle
• at worst be destroyed
• Put loose rubbish and materials to one side immediately
• mark laid-out paths and terraces

equipment, materials and machines

In order to bring the garden into an initial, easily surveyable state, a few tools are required. A brushcutter or chainsaw is not always available. If no purchase is planned in the near future, all machines and equipment can also be hired out on a daily basis from well-stocked garden retailers. However, the more overgrown the garden is and the longer the work takes, the more recommended a purchase is. In order to counteract the overgrown garden in the first few days, the following equipment and machines are required in particular:

• Brushcutter, for the tall grass
• Lawn mower for the finishing touch
• Scarifier to aerate existing lawn
• Milling machine for loosening soil
• Chainsaw for trees
• electric hedge trimmer for hedge trimming
• pitchfork
• wheelbarrow
• chopper
• rake

Tillers, chainsaws and scythes are also available electrically from well-stocked gardening stores and therefore do not necessarily have to be used with a petrol engine.

cleanup

Before shrubs or trees are completely removed, a rough plan for the new garden should already be in place. Because old trees, even if they look unkempt, cannot be replaced so quickly, but they can offer a nice shady spot over a seating area in the garden. In the case of an overgrown hedge, it must be ensured that, due to the Nature Conservation Act and the birds that may breed in the hedge, this should not be removed between 01.01. March and the 30th September may be radically cut. Solitary shrubs may be cut back, however. Otherwise, when cleaning up the overgrown garden, proceed as follows:

• move loose rubbish to one side in a corner
• Trim tall grass with brushcutter
• pay attention to the marked obstacles
• Rake green waste into a corner of the garden
• compost can be created directly here
• this does not need a border at the beginning
• cut back large trees
• possibly fall completely
• Feed tree trimmings through the shredder
• also put on compost

Use the pitchfork to dump the entire clippings onto the wheelbarrow and take to the corner where the compost was made. Found rubbish, such as old gardening gloves from the previous owner, flying bags or paper and other materials that cannot be reused are collected in another corner. Walk a lawn area again with the lawnmower.

style of the garden

The style of the garden should of course match that of the house. Anyone who has bought an old farmhouse and wants to redesign the garden here will certainly orientate themselves in the direction of a farmer's garden. Anything is possible with a simple detached or terraced house, but a modern designed home should also be surrounded by a modern garden. With any style, the following should be considered before planning:

• the hobby gardener wishes for useful plants
• only beds with flowering plants should be created
• the old garden design still fits into the new concept
• everything has to be changed
• or can the old design remain

Keep existing plants

Once the garden has been cleaned up, a decision can be made as to which plants, trees and shrubs are to be kept. There may also be a wild flower bed with bulbous plants and perennials in one corner. This can also continue to be used if it has been freed of weeds and the perennials have been cut back. Even an existing raspberry hedge can continue to be used after cutting. The following overview should be obtained:

• There are old fruit trees in the garden
• Are there other types of fruit that can be used?
• for example currants, gooseberries etc.
• fit existing beds into your own concept
• the existing plants correspond to your own taste

The working time is also important when deciding on the trees and shrubs. Because a raspberry or blackberry hedge grows very quickly and can therefore be a lot of work even in summer.

Looking for garden ideas

If you have never laid out a garden before, it can be difficult for you to plan a new one. If there are already paths, a terrace and other seating areas in a garden, then it is easier because after cleaning up there is already a reasonably finished picture of the previously overgrown one Garden. However, if this is not the case, then these systems must also be planned. A good tip is then not only to sift through different gardening magazines. In many communities, so-called "open gardens" are offered by private individuals, which can offer a lot of inspiration. More help can be found as follows:

• Look at plant portraits on the internet
• so many questions can be clarified in advance
• Soil and light requirements
• distances to other plants
• Width and height of desired plants

Planning of the new installation

Once the garden has been freed from all old growth, then the new planning can begin. Above all, the point in time is important here. Because there is still some construction work to be done on the newly bought house, you have to consider whether machines still have to drive through the garden to get to the house. Then it is not worth laying out a new garden. Otherwise, when planning the new garden, proceed as follows:

• the old, possibly existing paths should be used
• as well as already laid out terraces or seating areas
• the beds lie favourably
• a pond should be built
• pay attention to the position of the sun when planting
• not all plants tolerate sun all day
• even all-day shade is often not tolerated
• plan new routes or seats
• plan a lawn
• Plan a tool shed or garden shed

Not too many plants should be planted in a bed, otherwise it will quickly become confusing again. The saying “less is more” should be heeded here. Only a few different plant species, for example five or six, should be used in a larger group. Three to five plants of each variety are then cultivated. This is how peace is created in a bed.

work step by step

If the garden is to be completed after planning, then you have to work here step by step. The rough work is done first. This includes new paths, terraces, seating areas in a corner of the garden and a watercourse, pond or fountain. A barbecue corner with a bricked-up barbecue can now also be built. Next, proceed as follows:

• Now trim trees decoratively
• Plan garden fencing
• maybe plant a new hedge
• Build privacy screens for patios and gardens
• Possibly set up a pergola according to the plan
• build a tool shed or garden shed if you wish

Only after the completion of these construction measures should the finishing touches be made. If you are planning many beds around a lawn that does not yet exist, you should first stake out and delimit it. Depending on the season, the beds can now be planted with flowering and useful plants before a new lawn is sown, which will not be allowed to be walked on for the foreseeable future. Once everything is ready, planted and laid out, garden furniture and decorations can be given their place in the garden.

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