Hello from Denmark

[LadyDay]

Hello everybody.

My name is Christina. I'm 34 years young and from Denmark. That also explains my imperfect English.
My boyfriend and I are buying our first house, with our first garden, so I'm a complete gardening novice. It's a reasonably small garden, with a creek running through it (it marks the border of the garden on one side). It's going to be a challenging garden too, since the ground water is high and the soil not draining very well. So I imagine that I'll learn how to do raised beds and a bog garden. Right now the garden is just an uneven, very soft lawn and a couple of big, beautiful trees at the edges of the creek. I hope we can somehow make something beautiful and natural looking, despite the water. Some kind of gardening would be very good for me!

Thanks for having me.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Hello and welcome, I have not been here very long, but it seems to be a friendly place. An "Uneven, very soft lawn" makes me suspect there may be a lot of moss in it, it does like wet ground, and if the garden is small the trees may add quite a bit of shade. I do envy you a creek, most of us have to make do with an artificial imitation.
Think what you want from your garden. If there are particular things that you wish to grow raised beds may well help with drainage, but they can be a lot more work than choosing things that fit naturally into the surroundings, if I had a creek it would definitely get flag iris and king cups growing next to it, and blue bells are lovely under trees.
Of course this is the time of year it is tempting to get stuck in to a garden and do lots, rather than planning as you might in long winter evenings, but don't be too hasty. Firstly gardens are long term things that develop with patience. Secondly, if you are new to it you may not know the full extent of what is there until you have been there for a year and given it the chance to show you.
Good luck, I hope your garden brings you much pleasure, and don't worry too much about your English. As a long term member of a writing forum I can tell you it is a lot better than many who have it as their first language

 

[LadyDay]

Thank you for the welcome.
I didn't notice moss, but maybe it's there under the grass. I didn't look closely. I worry it might be a very difficult garden to do gardening in!
The big trees are to the east, so they will definitely shade in the early part of the day, but I think the garden will get sunlight from about 1 pm. Unfortunately it's been cloudy and miserable weather both times we've seen the house, so I don't know exactly how much shade they'll cast. I really hope we will get sufficiently sunny areas! I'm not chopping down the big, beautiful trees. That would be a shame!
I definitely want it to fit into the surroundings, particularly the parts closer to the water. I've read about 'bog gardens'. I already thought of irises and I really like ferns! There seems to be a lot of plants that are happy with wet-ish soil, but still want it well drained (makes sense). I hope the garden will be well drained enough to grow something, it was rather soggy when we were there, but it had been raining earlier that day.
We will be moving in in early August, so the most tempting part of the year for trying to plant stuff will be over. We will naturally need to observe how the water behaves, where the sun is and all that. And get to know what's already there. So I will try to be patient (I'm not good at that).
I am really worried it might be hard to grow things there (too waterlogged, too shaded, too something). My mum said she didn't think anything would.
Thank you for the compliment on my English and for the well wishes on my gardening journey.

 

[zigs]

Welcome to the forum

 

[Oliver Buckle]

I hate to contradict a parent, but if there is water something will grow there, and if you like ferns that is a good start. I had not grown any until a couple of years ago when a friend gave me an umbrella fern, and I have it under the oak at the bottom of the garden. It can get a bit knocked about by wind and tatty looking later in the season, but this time of year when it is just erupting it is beautiful, regular and verdant.

 

[LadyDay]

Zigs:
Thank you for the welcome. I appreciate it.

Oliver:
In this case I'm happy that not even parents are right 100% of the time. It makes sense that something will grow if there's water, after all I have happy plants in my aquarium.
I am so looking forwards to having a garden, it's been a dream of mine for a long time, so hopefully we can make this one work.

 

[Luis_pr]

Welcome. Have you taken a long walk by the creek to observe what is already growing in there?

 

[LadyDay]

Welcome. Have you taken a long walk by the creek to observe what is already growing in there?

Thank you
We haven't really had the chance yet. We haven't moved in yet (I tend to get ahead of myself) and have unfortunately only been there during miserable weather, that didn't inspire long walks. But we plan on doing just that, it's a really good idea and a way of finding plants that are happy in the local soil. On the lot itself it's lawn all the way to the water's edge at the moment, but we will be able to walk somewhere with more wild plants that we can bring in.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

I don't know about Denmark, but we have pretty strict laws about disturbing wild plants, be careful and thoughtful.

Another waterside plant I have always wanted to grow is sweet rush, lovely fragrance. The root is hallucinogenic, hence the scene in 'Alice through the looking glass'.

 

[LadyDay]

I don't know about Denmark, but we have pretty strict laws about disturbing wild plants, be careful and thoughtful.

Another waterside plant I have always wanted to grow is sweet rush, lovely fragrance. The root is hallucinogenic, hence the scene in 'Alice through the looking glass'.

Good point. I didn't even think of that. I don't want to hurt the local flora!
Lovely name for a plant, sweet rush. Is it legal to grow them if they are hallucinogenic?

 

[Oliver Buckle]

I bought some years ago when I had a pond, but we moved soon after. Your question made me look. Like a lot of common names there are several things called that, it's acorus calamus, and yes you can get it from several pond plant specialists. Another common name is 'rat root', the roots resemble rat's tails, don't think you would get far offering them on the black market
It is surprising what plants do have that sort of property, one of my favourite patio plants is a datura with beautiful white trumpet flowers and a most amazing smell in the evenings, I am told that is too, though I think it is poisonous if you simply eat it, and it would not be any sort of commercial proposition, it spends the winter in the green house, grows quite slowly, is hard to propagate and a gross feeder.
I don't think there is any realistic future in growing any of these things for illegal use, it was just the 'Alice' connection made me mention it.

 

[Tetters]

Hello @LadyDay and welcome to the forums

As a long term member of a writing forum I can tell you it is a lot better than many who have it as their first language

@Oliver Buckle, I second that remark, and think LadyDay has very very good English!

Maybe when you have a chance we may get to see some photos of your new garden - we shall look forward to that I think.

 

[LouisFerdinand]

Hello, @LadyDay!

 

[LadyDay]

Hello @LadyDay and welcome to the forums

As a long term member of a writing forum I can tell you it is a lot better than many who have it as their first language

@Oliver Buckle, I second that remark, and think LadyDay has very very good English!

Maybe when you have a chance we may get to see some photos of your new garden - we shall look forward to that I think.

Thank you for the warm welcome.
I'm glad you too think that my English good.

I am very happy to show photos of the garden and really want to hear what you all think! Maybe you guys can give me some tips to how to approach it.
As you can see, it's very open to the outside world. In the forth photo, with the bridge, you can tell that there's a slope down from the road. The stream is to the east and it's hardiness zone 8a. The ground water is very high and the soil doesn't drain very well. The former owners made this round hole, with gravel at the bottom, you can see how high the water is standing in it. It had rained a good deal that day, though for the first time in a while.

Hello @LouisFerdinand . Nice to meet you.

 

[Tetters]

You have posted some very good photos, and I`m sure you will be able to make a lovely garden there. My very first thoughts though are regarding possible flooding. Have you double checked if there have been any previous issues ?
In a village near here where we live there is a stream similar to this one in your garden, and sometimes it floods and causes problems in homes that are close by. That hole made by the previous owners indicate that they may have been rather worried about this.