I wish i knew a bit about gardening.

no, but in vancouver the 'community garden' thing has really taken off..

got put in for the olympics to convince the world how 'green' we are, and now it's basically reached farming levels

Yeah, We are Naturally Greened Thumbed Out Here.

A couple of days of sun and all of a sudden we all want our gardens looking good - It will over by next week - Don't worry about it...

any mexicans around?

Probably. It would be nice to have it done this year though, then it was just be a case of maintaining it after that.

It's never great when your neighbours gardens look good, but yours isn't up to much...

Naw.

Plenty of Polish people around though...

its easy enough to do yourself. it just takes some time depending on what you want to achieve.

No pics, but the wife has garden beds all over the place. They are great because they can really define your space. The best investment is a lawn edger. makes it easier to keep grass out of the beds.

Building your bed is the first step.. Mark it.. strip the sod, add topsoil or manure etc, depending on your soil make up. You want soil that will keep its shape when moist if you squeeze it in your hand.. but will crumble quite easily. Mound the soil, since raised beds have better drainage, and also give you a quicker start in the spring.

Start with something like this (no idea what sort of scale you are working with but here's the general idea



A great start are Shrubs. Pyramidal cedars and boxwood are nice because they add structure, and are also low maintenance Next you will want some perennials, so they come back every year. Just take note of how big everything gets once it matures. Keep a bit of room open for some annuals since it allows you to change the colors up from year to year. If you don't want to plant everything really close together, mulch is your friend. It saves you from having to weed your garden all the time and keeps it all tidy. It's pretty easy all in all, and a good work out.

Oh.. and buy good tools (spade, shovel, fork, edger etc) and take care of them and they will last you a lifetime.

Some favorites in our gardens are:
Peonies (quite dramatic, but short lived huge blossoms)


Allium


Also.. you could always just buy some huge flower pots and make container gardens.

Yup, bought most of that stuff today.

Like has already been said though, no doubt i'd start some sort of project, and the weather would change. Summer over.

That's kinda how it always goes here. Enjoy it while it lasts. Which isn't long, at all...

Good gardening channels on youtube. I only grow veg though. The rest of the garden is a wild flower meddow that looks after itself, you just cut it twice a year.

My only tip is ask at your garden center what grows well in your climate, no point trying to keep anything exotic alive, until you know what you´re doing.

As you´re in Scotland, stick some raspberry canes in, the grow really well in that climate.

Don't listen to my miserable ass - I was just being grumpy - Make your garden look good...

Start small. One managable bed. Next year, expand it or make another. The biggest mistake homeowners make in home improvement projects is starting out too ambitious. A small bed will take an afternoon at most. When done you can admire it and reflect on what you would do the same or differently next time. A good time to start one is in the fall. Weather is cooler. Perennials and shrubs on sale, and you can plant spring bulbs

Instead of trying to deal with grass and roots... Just pick a spot and create a box and fill with dirt about 6 to 8 inches. Otherwise it is a bitch because grass roots love to keep poking up blades all over the place. Do several boxes. 4 feet long, 2 feet wide. Spaced out 2 feet apart. Then you have a much more manageable space. Less to weed. If you remove 6 feet by 4 feet of grass you have to weed the 2 foot space between the boxes. That is where all of your time will go. Keeping those areas from taking over the garden ones. So much easier to just build those boxes and only have a small area to work on.