A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2004 Advice required please

Hello. I have recently moved to a new house in the UK with my young family. We have a realsonable sized back garden which is currently all laid to lawn. We'd like to do something a little more imaginative but are very new to gardening, only having had a window box or two where we live before.
Could anyone give any suggestions for websites which offer a design service, where you can plan the layout of your garden?
Equally, can anyone suggest some nice plants that attract a minimum of stinging insects. My six year old has a phobia about bees and wasps.
Many thanks and I hope to have a long and fruitful relationship with all at www.thegardenhelper.com
Yours
A New Member

Hello Mr.I.G.Oliver

Well, First off, I'd like to Welcome you to
The Garden Helper's Forum!!
Glad you're here and you found us!!!
We have a few members from your side of the "Pond"
and hope you'll enjoy your visits here with us often.
And I'd like to tell you we have many sections here to visit, and read all the posts, from hobbies, crafts, recipes. Add one of your own if you don't see it, or make an additional posting to the ones you see that you have interests in...

I can not personally give you any suggestions for websites which offer a design service, because I don't know of one, but maybe another gardener will be thru that can help you in your quest!!

You also wrote; Not many plants that I know of don't have flowers (not to sound funny, but that's how most of them reproduce) but would it be possible to show the wonderment of some of the ones that do sting, and how desperately we need them, especially bees (honey bees) to have flowers all over the world reproduce themselves..

I can only think of my own wonderment of these creatures, oh, yes, I don't make pets out of them, but I acknowledge their part in the scheme of the garden. I love to watch the honey bee's on one of the first flowers of the year, the snowdrops, my one area is covered with honey bees, (Not the wasp's, hornet's, or yellow jackets.) I have two wee~ones my self, and even if I didn't garden, bee's and such would be in the back yard pretty much anyways, so, I've tried to teach them about those animals, how we respect them, and don't bother them, and to tell mom if they see them nesting in their swingset or something they play on... I do draw the line at them trying to nest in such area's, I will have my husband get a organic~spray (with pyrethrum and peppermint in it) to get them out of the kids toys.) I love my kids and they come first, but,
I do allow the bees in my garden as I need them, for my veggies...Would it be possible to find some kid friendly bee infomation, and pictures' or something that will help them to be more at ease with them?
I know kids are hard to convince, but if you believe, that's half the battle......

Just be diligent of the ones' that nest in your childs' play area, I would never let them stay there.

Well, I hope I've helped some!
Keep us posted on your endevour's, we enjoy hearing of everyone's out comes and what they did.
And that also helps future gardeners that come through, maybe with the same questions and thoughts.

Happy Gardening!
Weezie

ahh the land of many rainey weather.I watch ground force on BBC all the time here and a newer show garden rivals& like alot of other shows over there.The chelse garden show is comeing up over there like this month I think.I'd go to the garden show if I could.you will see many type gardens laid out& charley will be laying a out a water feature(one of her other specialitys)you would see her new books before we do cause they aren't available out of country the 1st 2 years.I get ideas from their shows& gleam plant info also.when watching ground force watch the credits and will name where plants were purchased from.Hope you hang about here.is a great place

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/tv_radio/programmes/ground_force/index.shtml
here is link to show programming and can find some info to help ya some here

Welcome!!!!! I just wanted to say Hi!!! and offer a few hints ( maybe) Well, with the lil ones, you might be able to get them involved with the whole idea of bugs and flowers if you involve them in the whole process. Of course attention spans are minimal when it comes to up keep and mainetance " what do you mean I need to help weed again!" anyhow, maybe you could start with a "fort" , play area ( maybe sand area, swings in the trees) and hammock towards the back of your yard, that would get them excited, since it's for them, and then develop around that.
Maybe, you could build, or outline an area, and ask them what they would like to see from their swing or fort? Show them all the shrubs that bloom in spring or summer and make a nice " cover" for them to "hide" from friends and what not. Then you could line a wandering path with the shrubs or which ever plants you choose that wanders through and faround the yard. Have small ( or large) "off shoots" of gardens, maybe veges in ones and herbs in another, perenials in one and a cutting garden in another. But you would still have plenty of yard to romp around in. The small" off shoot" gardens could be a simple raised bed that way they don't become part of the "running path of the kids" Hopefully, but of course, a raised bed makes it that much more desirable to get into! hehehehehehe You could put a small patio in an area of the "path" and have a sitting area maybe under a tree, for reading or retreating!
The kids ( if they like nature ) would probably love to see the birds, so maybe a few bird houses and a bath? Or some "toad houses " which basically are upside down clay pots, with a section broken out for the toads to escape the sun.!?? Maybe,you could explain "well, the toads and birds wouldn't be here if they weren't going to get dinner! and that's why t he bugs and worms are extremely important" You could have a simple trellis at the beginnig of the path with some sort of vine, to start their journey??!!
Tell us how old your kids are and maybe a lil about the lay out of your yard, you could just simply outline theperimeter of the yard with flowers beds and hopefully that will keep the insects to the perimeter and not in the middle.
Anywho.....blah blah bla!!!! I get tired of hearing my self explain what i think MY :rolleyes: perfect yard would be! But then we all know...me from experience....that what you envision, isn't always what you get, but yet it is even more than you had ever hoped for!

I was at a bookstore in Cambridge last summer when visiting friends...and I was AMAZED at the amount of HIGH QUALITY gardening books. You landed in the right country for gardening. Just snoop around the bookstores, you are bound to find a few enticing books.
I am also a fan of Ground Force. I bought some of their books for a friend of mine (the one we were visiting last summer, in fact!)
You can always keep a large amount of the grass in your yard as a play ground for the kids and do plantings around the edge of the property and do a lot of container gardening. Ground Force has a very nice book about container gardening.
Another idea for the kiddies...I don't remember where I saw it...but it was a teepee shape made out of sticks...and then pole beans were planted at the base of the sticks...and they grew up along the sticks and made a wonderful green teepee...a great hide-out for kids...with yummy eats!

~Amie