So the new home is now habitable, but what about the garden? It still looks like a builders yard. The grass has been taken care of, but everything else is an overgrown mess. The weeds have taken over, and it is looking pretty grim. And even thought the builders have left, their rubbish didn’t go with them.Stop! Before you really start to work on your garden, you need to decide what you want to use it for. Do you want it to be decorative, a playground for your children, a place to entertain, do you want to grow vegetables, keep hens, or a wildlife haven.

So take some time to make yourself a list. What you don’t want is a square of grass surrounded by narrow,mean flower beds.

Provided you have a reasonable size patch, with some planning it is fairly easy to combine two or more of the above uses. You might want use some landscape design software to make this process easier. The first thing to do is measure your garden and decide where the sun rises and sets. You will then know which areas are shady and which are in full sunshine. If you want to use the garden to entertain in the evening, then you want your seating to catch the last of the rays. There are also plants which will only survive in the sun – and those which will wither given to much sun.

You now need to clear the worst of the builders rubble before you do anything else. Next test your soil PH. The PH tells you if the soil is acid or alkaline. Test several different places, since the PH may vary across the garden.

Right, so now you have the basic information you need about your garden. Time to get to work. You need to dig the garden over and clear all those weeds. There is no easy way to do this. You can try weed-killer, but the deep rooted and pernicious weeds will only come back. Whatever you decide to grow, it will do much better and save a lot of time and effort in the long run if you do this preparation thoroughly. Its boring, its tedious, its hard work, with very little to show for it. But its essential.

Next comes whats known as hard landscaping. Deciding where to put paths, garden ponds,a patio or seating area, and if you want them a potting shed and a greenhouse. A garden shed may seem unnecessary at first, but you will find it immensely useful to store all your tools (thus freeing room in your garage or utility room). If organised, it will make it much easier to find everything and can also be used to sow seeds in pots or put plants in pots. Garden sheds have had many books writen about them so I shan’t go into detail here.  However, you will want the shed to be attractive if it can be seen from the house. So be sure that you leave enough room to grow plants over it if wished, or have other ways to screen it.

Now start to draw the general plan of your garden – this is where the fun starts. Don’t get too detailed, to begin with a general outline will do. If you want a pond or other water feature, plan what you will do with the soil you dig out. What will you do with dead plants, grass cuttings etc. You need a compost heap, again plan where it will go and how you will screen it from the house. If you intend to raise hens, then think about building your own chicken house.

The actual build process should start with the major earthworks. Don’t forget any excavations you will need for the garden pond pump and pipes. Next comes paths and hard standings, then any grass. After that come plants.

All of this will take time and hard work, but you will eventually be fully rewarded with a garden which will be exactly as you want it, fulfilling the functions you want and will be easier in its upkeep than if you had not put in all that hard work.