Getting to know your garden

Every garden has its own light, soil and weather. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) suggests spending time with a plot before planning it, ideally over a whole year, because gardens change a great deal through the seasons.

Where the sun falls

The RHS suggests noting where the sun is in the morning, the afternoon and the evening. A garden facing east gets the morning sun, and one facing west gets the afternoon sun.

South-facing walls and fences are the hottest spots, and north-facing ones the coolest. The RHS suggests the compass on a smartphone for checking which way the garden faces.

What the soil is like

The RHS names six main soil types: clay, sand, silt, loam, peat and chalk. Your hands can tell you a lot. Sandy soil feels gritty, falls through your fingers and will not roll into a sausage. Clay is sticky when wet, rolls into a long thin sausage and can be rubbed to a shine.

You can measure how acid the soil is with a simple testing kit. Rhododendrons, camellias, heathers and blueberries need acid soil. The RHS advice is to work with the soil you have and choose plants that suit it.

Watering

The RHS says plants grow stronger when watered less often but more thoroughly, with the surface left to dry before the next watering. It says early morning is the best time. Evening watering is acceptable, though damp leaves overnight can encourage pests and fungal diseases.

Newly planted trees and shrubs need regular watering in dry spells during their first year. Rainwater is the RHS's first choice for the garden, though it advises against using stored water on seedlings. A water butt can collect it from the roof of a house, shed, garage or greenhouse, and a close-fitting lid keeps plant disease spores out.

Room for wildlife

The RHS suggests a few small changes for wildlife. You could let a patch of lawn grow long, make a pond, sow a border with nectar-rich annuals or plant a mixed native hedge. Planting a flowering tree or a berry-bearing shrub is on the RHS's list too.

Hedges, nests and neighbours

In England, guidance from Natural England and Defra says the law protects every wild bird, along with its eggs and nest. Taking, damaging or destroying a nest on purpose while birds are building or using it is an offence. The same guidance names trimming or cutting hedges, trees and bushes among the work that can harm birds. It advises timing that work to avoid the breeding season.

The government leaflet Over the garden hedge asks neighbours in England to try to settle a hedge dispute between themselves first. If that fails, a council can look at a complaint about a high hedge. That means a line of two or more mostly evergreen or semi-evergreen trees or shrubs, over 2 metres tall, that blocks light or access. Councils can charge a fee for handling a complaint.

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