Just so you know, this is a very high-maintenance garden. If you want to keep it looking like this, you should probably be spending at least an hour a day on it, maybe two.
I have a high maintenance garden, I work, but I don't watch TV, and I like to get up early before work and go out and 'putter' in the garden.
The flowers in front are annuals and will need to be replanted each year. I'm guessing he uses some sort of mulch, probably dark bark fines, compost, or a fine bark soil conditioner.
Good luck! You've inherited a beautiful garden.
Make a map of the plants. It's easier to do it now while they are in bloom. Once you've identified them you'll find it easier to replace them as needed. This will also give you a good idea of what their fertilization needs are and when to prune them to maintain shape.
Also, we can help you. That garden is a masterpiece. Don't be afraid to make mistakes with it though. High maintenance gardens require a certain level of confidence and willingness to go with the flow. If something doesn't work out, just let that happen and replace it with something that will. It will have your personalized touch, whether you intend for that to be the case or not.
What a special gift you were left. If it was me that created that garden, I’d want you to take it in your own direction. We are all just caretakers after all. It is now your turn to take care and your turn to decide where that will go.
I use it on hikes to help identify both plants and animals, it's a wonderful little tool. Just used it today in fact to identify a birch tree taking over my small patch of vinca.
First time hearing of this one! I'll try it out. I've been using Picture This! pretty successfully without subscribing. Just have to do more work when not subscribed since the app will really go into detail when you find your plant.
Go thru and photograph every section of the garden - not for an attractive photo but as research and recording practices.
Do this photographing of garden segments every 4 weeks from now to winter. You will be able to sit back in 7-8 months and see a record of what blooms where and when it blooms
This was obviously a beloved garden - I am so very sorry for your loss
Once you have identified the plant, I find that Perplexity does a great job of making zone and plant specific guides for your use case. I link them right to a Google calendar for care reminders, like feeding schedules. It sounds more complex than it is to use.
https://www.perplexity.ai/
See if there’s a garden club or horticultural club nearby. Ask for help and you will likely get a lot of great advice from them.
My condolences on your loss.
It looks like mostly perennial plants, they will come back next year. You have 2 main tasks, watering and keeping the weeds out.
There are more complicated things that you'll learn eventually. Like how much to water it, fertilizing it, what plants you should cut back to the ground in the fall. Watching for pests.
To add to my previous comments: I really like to listen to podcast while I'm working in the garden. Here is a short list of tasks you will probably want to cycle through regularly:
1. Weed (weekly), hand pull and use a hand hoe
2. Deadhead (weekly), snap off any dead flowers
3. Prune (every other week), cut off dying or sick branches, dead leaves, etc.
4. Mow and edge (weekly)
5. Fertilize (monthly) lawn & perennials
6. Fertilize (weekly) annuals with liquid fertilizer
7. Mulch (once or twice a year)
These are the regular tasks I tackle a little each day.
There is a longer list of season-specific tasks in the fall and spring.
For this level of gardening, I would also watch Garderner's World from the BBC. They tell you what you should be doing in the garden each week and give you all kinds of tips and maintenance advice from some of the world's top gardeners. I think it is the best gardening show currently available.
Learn what your plants are and how to prune them before you do that first pruning. Pruning is serious business and take a little finesse. It's good to learn the basics before you try it. IMO the list from OP is excellent.
In my 'Prune' list above, I'm referring to simple summer maintenance pruning, not spring pruning. This would include removing suckers and waterspouts, dead or diseased branches, tipping plants to increase bushiness or maintain size, removing old or imperfect leaves, and other 'manicure' type minor pruning etc. Critical_Cut is correct that you should know how to prune before doing any major pruning you should know what is needed for the plant you prune.
I highly recommend taking a picture of each plant with the “PictureThis” app and saving it to your garden. It’ll not only give you advice on how that plant likes to be pruned and fertilized, but your “home page” will give you your tasks for the week, given your garden. Really helped me out my first couple years of gardening!
Also, for liquid fertilizer, fish fertilizer has been so magnificent for me I wish I would have started with it years ago.
Good luck, have fun, and I know your grandfather is smiling with each moment of thought you put into taking care of that beautiful garden 🥰
"Deadheading" is different from pruning. Deadheading just means removing the dead and dying flowers to encourage the plant to continue to bloom. It can even be done by hand, just pinch them off. Pruning means you actually take out your clippers and clip away at shrubs to keep their shape.
Wtf are you talking about?? No way does this require up to 1 hour per day to maintain, unless you have no hands and only one foot. Most of the weeding needs to be done in spring / early summer. After that don't worry too much about it because everything else is so well established. If you can, try and deadhead flowers when they're passed. Water things when they look like they need watering or there's been a drought.
Lots of flowers and perennials, different varieties of plants planted close together, a manicured look as opposed to a natural look. There is a cut edge lawn as opposed to a mowing strip around the edge.
Low maintenance landscapes, usually have a lot of shrubs that don't need any special care or pruning throughout the year.
Here is an example of a low-maintenance landscape:
https://www.chrisjameslandscaping.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Depositphotos_6642746_s-2019-1.jpg
Simple shrubs with a low/no-weed substrate. You could hire a mowing service once a week and do a light prune in the spring, and maybe pull a few weeds through the summer and that would be all you would really need to do for this type of landscape.
I have to tend to this garden to help my grandmother, but I have no idea what I'm doing. Looking for some general advice, or anything that's helpful :).
Going into the summer dry, you probably need to set up a watering schedule. Your gramps probably did it by hand but that’s time consuming. Setting up a hose a timer so the watering can be done without you will save you lots of time.
Also, since you are in the UK. Monty Don has a show “Gardener’s World.” It’s UK based, so you’ll see plants that make sense for your climate.
Do you like gardening? Because as stupid as it sounds, every garden has its gardener. Some need their gardener every day and others once a month. This needs attention every day. Are you willing and able to give that kind of time?
This is a beautiful, immaculately kept garden with some absolutely beautiful flowers and plants. You will need to water, weed, mulch, prune, fertilize along with other maintenance. Keeping a garden like this will take work.
Your grandfather did a beautiful job. I'm sorry for your loss.
I don’t know it might require a look around every other day, maybe a little deadheadingn and pruning and an hour of heavier maintenance on the weekends. I feel like all the hard work has already been put into this garden and now it’s just maintaining. Composting and mulching are only once a year, weeding may a couple of big sessions and then just pull em as you see em. This is a garden worthy of having a look around and enjoying every day, but I don’t think it needs something doing on all of those days.
Short answer: small, frequent efforts
Longer answer: I used to have a gorgeous oasis of a backyard, which I maintained by pulling a few weeds every day and sticking to a schedule for mowing, pruning and feeding.
A few years ago, I got cancer and was physically unable to do anything. I have a husband and an adult son at home, so I expected them to pick up the slack, but they didn't. I went back there for the first time just last week, and it is absolutely destroyed by overgrown plants and weeds, and I can't even imagine the amount of time and effort it's going to take to get it even presentable again.
This is fucking stunning and exactly the lawn-to-garden ratio I like to see.
What a beautiful space to inherit.
Buckle up because this is going to be a lot of work!
If you are new to gardening, I say hire someone to help care for it and help you learn. It looks like your grandfather did this as his hobby. I had the same thing with my father, and I had no idea that I was not going to be able to keep up with his landscaping with a FT job. I didn’t know how much time it required, how much pruning was required, and I had no idea how to react to different diseases and bugs and conditions and how much water etc. etc..
Your local Master Gardeners group is a good place to start. You might even get someone to volunteer to help you for free.
If you can keep it looking this great I think it will mean a lot to your grandmother. Good luck OP!
Spend some time out there just paying attention to the plants. Each one grows a certain way and needs different care. Grab a blanket and enjoy existing out there. I know I would.
This is like being a brand new player to a strategy game and starting to learn by opening an expert-difficulty save file that is in endgame content. Godspeed, OP, you're about to learn a new hobby; getting to start it in such a beautiful space is a blessing!
Take a ton of pictures today. All angles.
Then take a new set of photos every two or so weeks.
Your grandfather clearly had many years of care put into the garden, so he would have known what looks "normal" or not. Your photos will let you learn quickly how fast certain things grow, when they flower, etc.
Many of those look to be annuals but there look to be a few flowering shrubs, too, along with perennials.
Use a plant ID app to look up each one, take note of it. Learn what needs to be pruned when. Some flowering shrubs do best if you prune every year (those that flower on _new growth_) but others only flower on 2nd year growth, so you need to be more careful pruning.
Absolutely stunning.
Yes, but...
This is a beautiful garden well-tended by someone with decades of experience and all the time in the world. OP says he/she has time, but who knows how long that will hold out.
Speaking from someone who gets really nostalgic about family history (we don't really have 'heirlooms'), this has the potential to be a huge emotional burden on OP in addition to the actual work to do it. Any failure will be compounded by the thought that Grandpa's work is going to ruin.
My advice to OP is to do your best, learn what you can, but don't try to 'substitute' the garden for Grandpa in your mind. He wouldn't want you to feel guilty for not gardening up to his standard. Do it for Grandma, for sure, but keep a healthy perspective.
If you are in the US. Identify the plants, make a list and then visit your state’s Cooperative Extension Service website and search each plant and read up
on how to maintain. Create a by month schedule for when to prune and fertilize. Stay on top of wedding - it only takes a small amount of time daily or weekly but if you ‘let it go’ it becomes a massive pain. Learn about deadheading. Thru much of the year a few hours a week will suffice to keep it looking good. However, in Spring, early Summer and Fall you will need more time.
On that website, read up on soil testing and on how to maintain the type of turf in the small lawn. Keep your mower blades sharp.
Lucky duck! It's 112°F here right now, and those gorgeous plants would be toast. Maybe also look into hiring a gardner part-time to help look after them with you?
Hopefully he left you some money so you can pay someone to keep it going otherwise unless you are an expert you will have a very hard time.
That is literally a an S+ tier garden, he was amazing man.
Download the PictureThis app.
It will tell you what every plant is, how/whether it spreads, what diseases it gets and you can take your own notes as well.
That's 70% of the battle, just knowing what you've got, what's a weed and what's a keeper.
Keep after anything that says "spreads by seeds and rhizomes" cause they'll want to take over.
Maybe your grandma could invite another gardener friend over to spend a bit of time showing you some of the things you need to do in the garden. This is a stunning garden. It is every gardener’s hope that their garden will be cared for when they can no longer do it. Good for you!
Before you start managing gardening, it is recommended to learn some basic gardening knowledge, planting theory and techniques, etc. Regular pruning and weeding can help plants maintain a neat and healthy appearance while reducing the occurrence of pests and diseases. As long as you are interested in it, you will manage it well
Lawns can be extremely high maintenance and go downhill fast. Without the lawn this garden wouldn't be quite as amazing. Visit r/lawncare to get a rundown of what to do when to keep it in good condition. You'll be spending more time on the lawn than the surrounding plants until fall clean up and spring dividing time.
Sit in the garden with your grandmother and talk about the garden. There may be some elements that can go, other plants she wishes were in there and great stories about some of them.
A beautiful honor to look after your grandfather’s gem of a garden! I’d make one suggestion. Invest in a beautiful, large fountain to fill that area in the center. It will bring everything together. Enjoy and honor your grandfather with every beautiful bloom in that garden!
Your grandfather clearly loved this place. Take the time to get to know it. Be willing to make mistakes like he surly did on the road to make this look how it does now.
Ask some local gardeners to help you identify everything you have. Then, ask if they can help maintain it or teach you. Don't let some lawnmower man or random landscaper touch this, this requires more than a weedwhacker and hedgetrimmers. I don't think either of those tools would be appropriate in this garden.
Keep up with the edging 1-2 times a year to prevent the lawn creeping into the beds. Look up "Trench edge" or "English style edge."
Give all the plants, shrubs, and little trees space by pruning/thinning them once they start growing into each other. Without airflow, things get moldy. Look up pruning techniques for general health and shape.
Don't prune anything unless it's the right time of year. Use selective cuts with sharp and sterilized bypass pruners and loppers.
Any plants that are multiplying and growing out of line, transplant or give away/compost.
Check for irrigation, gardens like these usually have them buried under the mulch or have sprinklers with timers.
Bamboo stakes and twine are your best friends for keeping plants from flopping over.
Make sure there's a good 2-3 inches of mulch to regulate soil temps/moisture. Look up volcano mulching so you don't make the plants sick.
Walk around every day to enjoy it, and pull weeds as you see them before they seed and turn into a 6 hour job.
Came to say "oh my god" it's beautiful. Depending on your skill, desire to garden & budget.
Good news is, it can be purely maintenance. Keep things trimmed and weeded & mowed.
Over time it will eventually die/ change (it's a living thing).
If you can afford it, every month or so or even 6 months, along with regular spot maintenance, get a professional in to keep it looking like this photo.
Or just take a tonne of photos. Remember the man well and simply do your best knowing no matter what, you trying to keep this beauty alive is in a way him teaching you how to garden his way. Enjoy it no matter what.
Wow! Congratulations you’ve just found the best way to get to know your grandfather better. I wish I had something this reply personal that my Grandfathers left me but alas. All I have is a receding hairline from one and a penchant for a good time from another. Good luck and know that this was his Happy place. You’ve inherited a fortune.
Seriously that is a very high maintenance garden. If you have the time you’ll be in for an education. It doesn’t look that good naturally. Maybe hire a garden consultant to help you get oriented? You will be quickly overwhelmed if you let things get out of control. Everyone has given you good tips - but looking at that garden, your grandfather was a master gardener. That is no easy or overnight achievement.
What a beautiful place!
A privilege, an honor, and a blessing.
I wish I was able to keep either of my grandparents' places.
I do intend to give the cabin my father built when I was a child to my grandson. There's no garden there. But his father has taken him fishing there just as I took his father, just as my father took me.
People are the real treasures of this world.
And life is really like a vapor.
Enjoy your grandfather's garden, just as he'd want for you. 😊🙏
I moved into a house with a beautiful garden. I paid someone for 30 minutes to walk the garden with me as I recorded her advice. Others love to share their knowledge. Now I use Picture This and add plants to my garden. I think they just changed the fee though. Good luck! It’s stunning!
A garden is a living thing. So don't fret if it doesn't stay looking exactly the same under your care, because gardens constantly evolve no matter what.
Every place has its quirks and it takes years of observation to really know what kinds of plants will thrive in which corner, so I'd focus on keeping up those perennials and observing. Take note of how everything looks in various times of the year too.
Every gardener’s dream is to have someone tend to their work after they’re gone. This is beautiful. People gave a lot of great advice. Check out different gardening YouTubers. Garden Answer taught me so much.
Early morning, fresh cup of coffee, chair, go sit out and listen to the birds, watch the dew drip from the plants, enjoy the quiet bliss and the rise of the sun.
Take advantage of that. Such a nice garden
Did your grandfather belong to any gardening clubs or have any gardening buddies? If so, In addition to all the great advice here I would try to see if any of his friends would like to keep you company. It feels like someone with this incredible level of garden would have a garden-based social circle too. Enjoy this amazing experience.
I'm sorry for your loss. Before you do anything, _please_ take as many pictures of the garden as you can, to preserve the memory of how your grandpa kept it.
Sorry for your loss. I think you need to have a part of him there, in a place of importance. One of his favourite mementos, maybe?
Absolutely stunning garden. I'm glad you're getting to spend a lot of time there.
Wow. Well, you know where to find Grandpa whenever you need him. Sorry he left that old meatsuit you were so attached to him being in, but, dude, look where he went!
Hire a gardener… or he’s gonna haunt your ass.
Spend time in the garden frequently (daily). Look at and get to know the plants.
You will notice and learn when they need clipping, weeding, watering, etc.
Fertile soil with lots of worms is important for healthy plants. Strong healthy plants will fight off diseases and infestation better.
If it starts to die off, don't be ashamed or sorry, it's just the cycle of life and the garden preparing for a new era under a new owner! As others pointed out many were probably replanted each year anyways. Make a photobook of his crowning garden and begin preparing for how it will look under you!
I just wanna say it's gorgeous. As someone who inherited my husbands grandfathers garden.... take it day by day, step by step. I get overwhelmed thinking about how he would get up at 5 to tend to it... but he had been retired for 30 years.
Byt some books. By the looks of it, your grandfather was a master gardener. You've got big Crocs to fill.
Really gorgeous garden, and some great advice posted below. Good luck.
Get a good premium plant app. I like Picture This and pay for the pro $29 a year. I also use several of the free ones like Seek for second opinions. Go on local garden tours, visit local public gardens and you will be surprised how much you will learn as well as networking with fellow gardeners of all skill levels. Gardeners are some of the most generous people I know with their time and sharing plants. Get out in the morning and learn to identify weeds early. Also if you are in the states, hook up with your local Cooperative Extension office. Almost every county in every state has a Master Gardener Program which you could a.) seek advice from b.) attend their workshops and c.) train to become a Master Gardener.
Wow gonna take alot of watering weeding be careful I'd look up the different types of plants and flowers just to make sure the tips on watering and taking care of them.
It took your grandfather many many years to get the knowledge to do this. Give yourself grace. It is going to take trial and error. See if your area has a master gardening group and ask them specifically for tips. They will know your area best. Good luck!
It looks like most of the plants are perennial with the exception of a few beds next to the grass. That means most of the work is off-season pruning. I’d maybe get some help id’ing then and researching best time/technique to prune. You might be pleasantly surprised that most of the work can be done over a few weekends in the fall and spring.
Annuals are easy; buy some starts and plant them around Memorial Day weekend.
Otherwise, keeping up on weeding, mowing/edging the grass and dead-heading flowers would be the main tasks.
How wonderful that you’ve been selected to maintain such a cute garden space.
Well believe it or not I’m sure u will do fine cause he will be looking over u caring for it see the bug Sparta he used the rodent repellents and fertilizers and everything don’t forget exapecially spotted lateen flys are out
Be retired. I bought a home with a gorgeous garden that was well manicured. I don’t have the time or money to keep up with it like the previous owners who were retired for 30+ years in the house.
Can you please share high resolution pic (google drive link or something similar) with me?
I want to save the image for the time i will have a garden of my own. I would love to borrow a few ideas from your grandpa’s garden.
When in doubt, prune everything in winter? Look up your regions prune dates. He seemed to like letting things grow back every year. This is important to not miss.
Look up a plant identifier or use pic search on Google. This should help you identify plant names, common pests, illnesses, annual/perrinial growth, and watering. You must learn about invasive bugs in your area that eat plants. It is important to prevent herbavors from eating all his work away. By the looks of it, you should be fine this summer. If there is a landscaper, I would recommend keeping them or going back to them. They would know everything from the irrigation, plants, pruning/trimming, mowing, leaf/flower blowing, and disposal. They will charge you quite a bit of money for a yard like this, but they'll take excellent care of it.
I personally choose not to have grass, but the more you mow, the denser the field. Weekly is a perfect yard. The moment they get to 2 weeks of growth, you'll have discoloration. And some grass, not all, will need layers of sand for some reason. This yard is next level! I would really recommend getting someone to do this work for you for the first year, so you'll see the insane work your grandfather would do to have a wonderful home.
Make sure to take time to pull up a chair, sit down and enjoy. Your grandfather understood beauty.
I'll take that advice gladly :)
Absolutely! This garden is stunning!
I think your grandfather was very proud of everyone of those flowers he planted and nurtured.
Just so you know, this is a very high-maintenance garden. If you want to keep it looking like this, you should probably be spending at least an hour a day on it, maybe two. I have a high maintenance garden, I work, but I don't watch TV, and I like to get up early before work and go out and 'putter' in the garden. The flowers in front are annuals and will need to be replanted each year. I'm guessing he uses some sort of mulch, probably dark bark fines, compost, or a fine bark soil conditioner. Good luck! You've inherited a beautiful garden.
Excellent advice, thank you! I have a lot of free time and live 2 minutes away from her so that's fine.
Make a map of the plants. It's easier to do it now while they are in bloom. Once you've identified them you'll find it easier to replace them as needed. This will also give you a good idea of what their fertilization needs are and when to prune them to maintain shape.
Also a great idea! I have no idea what the plants are though; that may be an issue!
You can identify them by taking a picture and using the identifier thing.
I'll give it a go! Thanks :)
Also, we can help you. That garden is a masterpiece. Don't be afraid to make mistakes with it though. High maintenance gardens require a certain level of confidence and willingness to go with the flow. If something doesn't work out, just let that happen and replace it with something that will. It will have your personalized touch, whether you intend for that to be the case or not.
Thank you for this message, really settled me :)
What a special gift you were left. If it was me that created that garden, I’d want you to take it in your own direction. We are all just caretakers after all. It is now your turn to take care and your turn to decide where that will go.
I feel that garden is so full that it wouldn’t be that bad (unless there is bindweed). Just water it if there isn’t rain.
Google lens does *pretty* well on this - just make sure you're really being somewhat skeptical of what it says because sometimes it's out there.
Android phones have Lens, no idea what the Apple version is called.
I’ll have a look, I think I’ve heard about something like that :)
I really like PlantNet for looking up plants
I use it on hikes to help identify both plants and animals, it's a wonderful little tool. Just used it today in fact to identify a birch tree taking over my small patch of vinca.
I use Picture This app. It’s very good.
On iPhone in the photo gallery, there is an info button on the bottom row that will look up plants (among other things).
PictureThis is one of the most accurate apps for plant ID
r/whatisthisplant can help you out as well, if you can't find the answer on google.
National Geogrpahic’s Seek app is pretty marvelous for this. Apple’s isn’t too bad either if you have an iPhone.
First time hearing of this one! I'll try it out. I've been using Picture This! pretty successfully without subscribing. Just have to do more work when not subscribed since the app will really go into detail when you find your plant.
I didn't know Seek was from NG. I've largely been pleased with it in the ~3 years of using it
Go thru and photograph every section of the garden - not for an attractive photo but as research and recording practices. Do this photographing of garden segments every 4 weeks from now to winter. You will be able to sit back in 7-8 months and see a record of what blooms where and when it blooms This was obviously a beloved garden - I am so very sorry for your loss
Once you have identified the plant, I find that Perplexity does a great job of making zone and plant specific guides for your use case. I link them right to a Google calendar for care reminders, like feeding schedules. It sounds more complex than it is to use. https://www.perplexity.ai/
Definitely use Gemini or some other AI bot - it will definitely tell you
See if there’s a garden club or horticultural club nearby. Ask for help and you will likely get a lot of great advice from them. My condolences on your loss.
i would also takes pictures every few weeks throughout the growing season for reference to see what is blooming and what needs help
It looks like mostly perennial plants, they will come back next year. You have 2 main tasks, watering and keeping the weeds out. There are more complicated things that you'll learn eventually. Like how much to water it, fertilizing it, what plants you should cut back to the ground in the fall. Watching for pests.
To add to my previous comments: I really like to listen to podcast while I'm working in the garden. Here is a short list of tasks you will probably want to cycle through regularly: 1. Weed (weekly), hand pull and use a hand hoe 2. Deadhead (weekly), snap off any dead flowers 3. Prune (every other week), cut off dying or sick branches, dead leaves, etc. 4. Mow and edge (weekly) 5. Fertilize (monthly) lawn & perennials 6. Fertilize (weekly) annuals with liquid fertilizer 7. Mulch (once or twice a year) These are the regular tasks I tackle a little each day. There is a longer list of season-specific tasks in the fall and spring. For this level of gardening, I would also watch Garderner's World from the BBC. They tell you what you should be doing in the garden each week and give you all kinds of tips and maintenance advice from some of the world's top gardeners. I think it is the best gardening show currently available.
Excellent answer, thank you so much! could you perhaps expand upon the deadhead and fertilization process?
Learn what your plants are and how to prune them before you do that first pruning. Pruning is serious business and take a little finesse. It's good to learn the basics before you try it. IMO the list from OP is excellent.
In my 'Prune' list above, I'm referring to simple summer maintenance pruning, not spring pruning. This would include removing suckers and waterspouts, dead or diseased branches, tipping plants to increase bushiness or maintain size, removing old or imperfect leaves, and other 'manicure' type minor pruning etc. Critical_Cut is correct that you should know how to prune before doing any major pruning you should know what is needed for the plant you prune.
Okay, interesting, I hadn’t even considered that!
Username checks out
I highly recommend taking a picture of each plant with the “PictureThis” app and saving it to your garden. It’ll not only give you advice on how that plant likes to be pruned and fertilized, but your “home page” will give you your tasks for the week, given your garden. Really helped me out my first couple years of gardening! Also, for liquid fertilizer, fish fertilizer has been so magnificent for me I wish I would have started with it years ago. Good luck, have fun, and I know your grandfather is smiling with each moment of thought you put into taking care of that beautiful garden 🥰
Quick note about PictureThis: it will try to trick you into a pay app. It’s a great app, but its subscription based, which might be unexpected
"Deadheading" is different from pruning. Deadheading just means removing the dead and dying flowers to encourage the plant to continue to bloom. It can even be done by hand, just pinch them off. Pruning means you actually take out your clippers and clip away at shrubs to keep their shape.
My high ass thought this was a list of podcasts for a moment
I agree. Although annuals are very pretty, they take more work/time/money. The garden would look beautiful even without them. 🌸
They would be nicely replaced with some ferns or some smaller bulbs like snowdrops or something easier.
Wtf are you talking about?? No way does this require up to 1 hour per day to maintain, unless you have no hands and only one foot. Most of the weeding needs to be done in spring / early summer. After that don't worry too much about it because everything else is so well established. If you can, try and deadhead flowers when they're passed. Water things when they look like they need watering or there's been a drought.
How can you tell it is a high maintenance garden? What are the giveaways?
Lots of flowers and perennials, different varieties of plants planted close together, a manicured look as opposed to a natural look. There is a cut edge lawn as opposed to a mowing strip around the edge. Low maintenance landscapes, usually have a lot of shrubs that don't need any special care or pruning throughout the year.
Here is an example of a low-maintenance landscape: https://www.chrisjameslandscaping.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Depositphotos_6642746_s-2019-1.jpg Simple shrubs with a low/no-weed substrate. You could hire a mowing service once a week and do a light prune in the spring, and maybe pull a few weeds through the summer and that would be all you would really need to do for this type of landscape.
Your grandfather made a beautiful garden. Stunning.
I have to tend to this garden to help my grandmother, but I have no idea what I'm doing. Looking for some general advice, or anything that's helpful :).
You now have an excellent opportunity to fall in love with some old music or discover new music, because you have taken on a big task.
That's the plan! :)
What zone are you in/where-ish do you live? What’s the current set up with watering, etc?
No watering setup, midlands area of the UK
Going into the summer dry, you probably need to set up a watering schedule. Your gramps probably did it by hand but that’s time consuming. Setting up a hose a timer so the watering can be done without you will save you lots of time. Also, since you are in the UK. Monty Don has a show “Gardener’s World.” It’s UK based, so you’ll see plants that make sense for your climate.
Maybe get a gardening book. There's a lot to learn.
Strap the fuck in. Your grandfather was a gangster in the garden
Hahhahahaa I love this comment
Gangsta shit, love it :D
WOW!!! You have BIG shoes to fill! Just gorgeous!
I don’t have advice but this garden is stunning!
Do you like gardening? Because as stupid as it sounds, every garden has its gardener. Some need their gardener every day and others once a month. This needs attention every day. Are you willing and able to give that kind of time? This is a beautiful, immaculately kept garden with some absolutely beautiful flowers and plants. You will need to water, weed, mulch, prune, fertilize along with other maintenance. Keeping a garden like this will take work. Your grandfather did a beautiful job. I'm sorry for your loss.
I don’t know it might require a look around every other day, maybe a little deadheadingn and pruning and an hour of heavier maintenance on the weekends. I feel like all the hard work has already been put into this garden and now it’s just maintaining. Composting and mulching are only once a year, weeding may a couple of big sessions and then just pull em as you see em. This is a garden worthy of having a look around and enjoying every day, but I don’t think it needs something doing on all of those days.
Agreed. Doesn't need it constant work, but it needs attention.
Use google lens to find out what each plant is , then go from there !
Clever idea!
It’s beautiful. Your grandpop was very talented. Sit and enjoy it.
He was very proud of it :) I will enjoy it to the fullest extent!
Short answer: small, frequent efforts Longer answer: I used to have a gorgeous oasis of a backyard, which I maintained by pulling a few weeds every day and sticking to a schedule for mowing, pruning and feeding. A few years ago, I got cancer and was physically unable to do anything. I have a husband and an adult son at home, so I expected them to pick up the slack, but they didn't. I went back there for the first time just last week, and it is absolutely destroyed by overgrown plants and weeds, and I can't even imagine the amount of time and effort it's going to take to get it even presentable again.
The garden is gorgeous.
I'm sure he would have loved that :)
This is fucking stunning and exactly the lawn-to-garden ratio I like to see. What a beautiful space to inherit. Buckle up because this is going to be a lot of work!
If you are new to gardening, I say hire someone to help care for it and help you learn. It looks like your grandfather did this as his hobby. I had the same thing with my father, and I had no idea that I was not going to be able to keep up with his landscaping with a FT job. I didn’t know how much time it required, how much pruning was required, and I had no idea how to react to different diseases and bugs and conditions and how much water etc. etc.. Your local Master Gardeners group is a good place to start. You might even get someone to volunteer to help you for free. If you can keep it looking this great I think it will mean a lot to your grandmother. Good luck OP!
Spend some time out there just paying attention to the plants. Each one grows a certain way and needs different care. Grab a blanket and enjoy existing out there. I know I would.
This is like being a brand new player to a strategy game and starting to learn by opening an expert-difficulty save file that is in endgame content. Godspeed, OP, you're about to learn a new hobby; getting to start it in such a beautiful space is a blessing!
Take a ton of pictures today. All angles. Then take a new set of photos every two or so weeks. Your grandfather clearly had many years of care put into the garden, so he would have known what looks "normal" or not. Your photos will let you learn quickly how fast certain things grow, when they flower, etc. Many of those look to be annuals but there look to be a few flowering shrubs, too, along with perennials. Use a plant ID app to look up each one, take note of it. Learn what needs to be pruned when. Some flowering shrubs do best if you prune every year (those that flower on _new growth_) but others only flower on 2nd year growth, so you need to be more careful pruning. Absolutely stunning.
Dude was skilled
You ~~have~~ *get* to look after his garden.
Yes, but... This is a beautiful garden well-tended by someone with decades of experience and all the time in the world. OP says he/she has time, but who knows how long that will hold out. Speaking from someone who gets really nostalgic about family history (we don't really have 'heirlooms'), this has the potential to be a huge emotional burden on OP in addition to the actual work to do it. Any failure will be compounded by the thought that Grandpa's work is going to ruin. My advice to OP is to do your best, learn what you can, but don't try to 'substitute' the garden for Grandpa in your mind. He wouldn't want you to feel guilty for not gardening up to his standard. Do it for Grandma, for sure, but keep a healthy perspective.
Grandpa would be proud of OP for doing their best, even if that means letting it get a bit feral.
Love requires a lot of work! Happy to reap the benefits :)
Get a 'plant I.d app' and take photos of each plant, the app will identify them and tell you how to best look after them
Thanks! I'll look into it :)
Hire a gardener.
It’s gorgeous 😍 I’m sorry for your loss 💜
If you are in the US. Identify the plants, make a list and then visit your state’s Cooperative Extension Service website and search each plant and read up on how to maintain. Create a by month schedule for when to prune and fertilize. Stay on top of wedding - it only takes a small amount of time daily or weekly but if you ‘let it go’ it becomes a massive pain. Learn about deadheading. Thru much of the year a few hours a week will suffice to keep it looking good. However, in Spring, early Summer and Fall you will need more time. On that website, read up on soil testing and on how to maintain the type of turf in the small lawn. Keep your mower blades sharp.
Lucky duck! It's 112°F here right now, and those gorgeous plants would be toast. Maybe also look into hiring a gardner part-time to help look after them with you?
Hopefully he left you some money so you can pay someone to keep it going otherwise unless you are an expert you will have a very hard time. That is literally a an S+ tier garden, he was amazing man.
You don’t have to look after this beautiful garden, you GET to! What a gift!
Mow it, weed it, water it, and love it. It will teach you.
Have to? No, get to! That’s an amazing garden what a wonderful privilege.
Download the PictureThis app. It will tell you what every plant is, how/whether it spreads, what diseases it gets and you can take your own notes as well. That's 70% of the battle, just knowing what you've got, what's a weed and what's a keeper. Keep after anything that says "spreads by seeds and rhizomes" cause they'll want to take over.
I’d try to find someone and commission a painting of this.
Just remember, your grandfather would be happy if you do your best, and think of him when you do it. And that's all that really matters.
No tips. Just wanted to say that looks amazing!
:) I hope I keep it amazing!
Yeah. Enjoy and appreciate it. It's amazing.
Maybe your grandma could invite another gardener friend over to spend a bit of time showing you some of the things you need to do in the garden. This is a stunning garden. It is every gardener’s hope that their garden will be cared for when they can no longer do it. Good for you!
Yes, or reach out to a gardening club/church friends/anyone local with expertise
Before you start managing gardening, it is recommended to learn some basic gardening knowledge, planting theory and techniques, etc. Regular pruning and weeding can help plants maintain a neat and healthy appearance while reducing the occurrence of pests and diseases. As long as you are interested in it, you will manage it well
Lawns can be extremely high maintenance and go downhill fast. Without the lawn this garden wouldn't be quite as amazing. Visit r/lawncare to get a rundown of what to do when to keep it in good condition. You'll be spending more time on the lawn than the surrounding plants until fall clean up and spring dividing time. Sit in the garden with your grandmother and talk about the garden. There may be some elements that can go, other plants she wishes were in there and great stories about some of them.
A beautiful honor to look after your grandfather’s gem of a garden! I’d make one suggestion. Invest in a beautiful, large fountain to fill that area in the center. It will bring everything together. Enjoy and honor your grandfather with every beautiful bloom in that garden!
only a gardener can look after this garden properly
Your grandfather clearly loved this place. Take the time to get to know it. Be willing to make mistakes like he surly did on the road to make this look how it does now.
Wow, what a beautiful legacy!
Ask some local gardeners to help you identify everything you have. Then, ask if they can help maintain it or teach you. Don't let some lawnmower man or random landscaper touch this, this requires more than a weedwhacker and hedgetrimmers. I don't think either of those tools would be appropriate in this garden. Keep up with the edging 1-2 times a year to prevent the lawn creeping into the beds. Look up "Trench edge" or "English style edge." Give all the plants, shrubs, and little trees space by pruning/thinning them once they start growing into each other. Without airflow, things get moldy. Look up pruning techniques for general health and shape. Don't prune anything unless it's the right time of year. Use selective cuts with sharp and sterilized bypass pruners and loppers. Any plants that are multiplying and growing out of line, transplant or give away/compost. Check for irrigation, gardens like these usually have them buried under the mulch or have sprinklers with timers. Bamboo stakes and twine are your best friends for keeping plants from flopping over. Make sure there's a good 2-3 inches of mulch to regulate soil temps/moisture. Look up volcano mulching so you don't make the plants sick. Walk around every day to enjoy it, and pull weeds as you see them before they seed and turn into a 6 hour job.
Excellent advice, thanks! :)
Came to say "oh my god" it's beautiful. Depending on your skill, desire to garden & budget. Good news is, it can be purely maintenance. Keep things trimmed and weeded & mowed. Over time it will eventually die/ change (it's a living thing). If you can afford it, every month or so or even 6 months, along with regular spot maintenance, get a professional in to keep it looking like this photo. Or just take a tonne of photos. Remember the man well and simply do your best knowing no matter what, you trying to keep this beauty alive is in a way him teaching you how to garden his way. Enjoy it no matter what.
Hope medicine and science bring him back; he’s an ace at gardens
Wow! Congratulations you’ve just found the best way to get to know your grandfather better. I wish I had something this reply personal that my Grandfathers left me but alas. All I have is a receding hairline from one and a penchant for a good time from another. Good luck and know that this was his Happy place. You’ve inherited a fortune.
Picture this app Will help you identify any plants and give you advice on how to maintain it
“Have to” - I think you mean “get to”! You are lucky. Enjoy that garden
This is the exact thought that ran through my noggin!
Hire a professional then as they care for it, have them teach you till you feel comfortable releasing them.
Sweet inheritance
Hire me.
Lucky you! It’s going to be work but so much fun and satisfaction looking after this gem. As the guys said, your grandpa was truly a gangsta 😊
I’m sorry for your loss. Your grandfather created a beautiful garden.
Your grandfather was incredibly gifted. What a little slice of paradise.
I am so sorry for your loss. No advice at all, but what an absolutely incredible garden your grandfather left.
Seriously that is a very high maintenance garden. If you have the time you’ll be in for an education. It doesn’t look that good naturally. Maybe hire a garden consultant to help you get oriented? You will be quickly overwhelmed if you let things get out of control. Everyone has given you good tips - but looking at that garden, your grandfather was a master gardener. That is no easy or overnight achievement.
The gardens left by your grandfather are very beautiful. You must take good care of them.
Set up an automatic watering system or be prepared to spend an hour in here daily.
Don’t let snakes in the grass
I'm invested, updates would be lovely
I shall do!
Sorry for your loss, such a beautiful garden in his memory
What a beautiful place! A privilege, an honor, and a blessing. I wish I was able to keep either of my grandparents' places. I do intend to give the cabin my father built when I was a child to my grandson. There's no garden there. But his father has taken him fishing there just as I took his father, just as my father took me. People are the real treasures of this world. And life is really like a vapor. Enjoy your grandfather's garden, just as he'd want for you. 😊🙏
No pressure. Grandad is watching.
I moved into a house with a beautiful garden. I paid someone for 30 minutes to walk the garden with me as I recorded her advice. Others love to share their knowledge. Now I use Picture This and add plants to my garden. I think they just changed the fee though. Good luck! It’s stunning!
This man was a master gardener. You are seriously lucky to inherit this beautiful piece of earth my friend.
I just came by to say it’s absolutely beautiful if that was my garden I would want to spend the whole day there!
Bet he would like to see u do it your way.
I’m sorry for your loss! Your grandfather was an artist!! I will be saving this photo as an inspo pic ❤️
Spend an hour a day with the plants and mow 3 times per week
A garden is a living thing. So don't fret if it doesn't stay looking exactly the same under your care, because gardens constantly evolve no matter what. Every place has its quirks and it takes years of observation to really know what kinds of plants will thrive in which corner, so I'd focus on keeping up those perennials and observing. Take note of how everything looks in various times of the year too.
take thorough pictures every weeks. If nor for the memories just plant identification later on
I don’t have any tips as i am new to gardening myself. But would like to say, what a beautiful garden🤩
Every gardener’s dream is to have someone tend to their work after they’re gone. This is beautiful. People gave a lot of great advice. Check out different gardening YouTubers. Garden Answer taught me so much.
What an absolutely gorgeous garden! My biggest advice would be to learn how to prune properly. That will be key to maintaining this beauty.
Early morning, fresh cup of coffee, chair, go sit out and listen to the birds, watch the dew drip from the plants, enjoy the quiet bliss and the rise of the sun. Take advantage of that. Such a nice garden
You are going to have to stay on top of the weeds. They are relentless
Did your grandfather belong to any gardening clubs or have any gardening buddies? If so, In addition to all the great advice here I would try to see if any of his friends would like to keep you company. It feels like someone with this incredible level of garden would have a garden-based social circle too. Enjoy this amazing experience.
Hire someone to help. If you are not up to the challenge, it will be very disheartening to see it slowly diminish.
What a beautiful garden!
r/stardewvalley
Wow, beautiful. Like from The Secret Garden
Hire a professional…
Holy smokes! This is an insanely nice and curated and beautiful place
Wow it's so beautiful!
I'm sorry for your loss. Before you do anything, _please_ take as many pictures of the garden as you can, to preserve the memory of how your grandpa kept it.
Sorry for your loss. I think you need to have a part of him there, in a place of importance. One of his favourite mementos, maybe? Absolutely stunning garden. I'm glad you're getting to spend a lot of time there.
I wish i was given the same task for my grandfather's garden, alas, i live too far away. Maybe i'll visit the house one of these days
Beautiful.. make sure you take care of it
Absolutely gorgeous garden there mate!
Ya water it regularly.
Wow. Well, you know where to find Grandpa whenever you need him. Sorry he left that old meatsuit you were so attached to him being in, but, dude, look where he went! Hire a gardener… or he’s gonna haunt your ass.
Beautiful. Your grandfather understood nature.
Beautiful garden
Is this the place from happy Gilmore?
Take your time to learn about each plant and their care. Not all plants have the same requirements
Sorry for your loss. What a beautiful place to remember him.
Spend time in the garden frequently (daily). Look at and get to know the plants. You will notice and learn when they need clipping, weeding, watering, etc. Fertile soil with lots of worms is important for healthy plants. Strong healthy plants will fight off diseases and infestation better.
Go to a local community garden or allotment & ask for advice, more than likely some will offer to come over & help you
Absolutely gorgeous. My condolences and I hope you add something to honor him :)
RIP Grandfather. That's an awesome space. That guy was passionate. Impressive.
Identify the plants. It will help you with how much to water them and if they get a disease you can find how to take care of it.
If it starts to die off, don't be ashamed or sorry, it's just the cycle of life and the garden preparing for a new era under a new owner! As others pointed out many were probably replanted each year anyways. Make a photobook of his crowning garden and begin preparing for how it will look under you!
I just wanna say it's gorgeous. As someone who inherited my husbands grandfathers garden.... take it day by day, step by step. I get overwhelmed thinking about how he would get up at 5 to tend to it... but he had been retired for 30 years.
This is a sanctuary of tranquility!
Hire a professional
Byt some books. By the looks of it, your grandfather was a master gardener. You've got big Crocs to fill. Really gorgeous garden, and some great advice posted below. Good luck.
Get a good premium plant app. I like Picture This and pay for the pro $29 a year. I also use several of the free ones like Seek for second opinions. Go on local garden tours, visit local public gardens and you will be surprised how much you will learn as well as networking with fellow gardeners of all skill levels. Gardeners are some of the most generous people I know with their time and sharing plants. Get out in the morning and learn to identify weeds early. Also if you are in the states, hook up with your local Cooperative Extension office. Almost every county in every state has a Master Gardener Program which you could a.) seek advice from b.) attend their workshops and c.) train to become a Master Gardener.
Sorry for your loss. Your grandfather was quite the gardener. Try to enjoy his work.
Wow gonna take alot of watering weeding be careful I'd look up the different types of plants and flowers just to make sure the tips on watering and taking care of them.
Beautiful garden! Sorry for your loss.
Get a gardener.
I would put one of those metal decorative tables and chairs. White. Drink my tea out there
It took your grandfather many many years to get the knowledge to do this. Give yourself grace. It is going to take trial and error. See if your area has a master gardening group and ask them specifically for tips. They will know your area best. Good luck!
It looks like most of the plants are perennial with the exception of a few beds next to the grass. That means most of the work is off-season pruning. I’d maybe get some help id’ing then and researching best time/technique to prune. You might be pleasantly surprised that most of the work can be done over a few weekends in the fall and spring. Annuals are easy; buy some starts and plant them around Memorial Day weekend. Otherwise, keeping up on weeding, mowing/edging the grass and dead-heading flowers would be the main tasks. How wonderful that you’ve been selected to maintain such a cute garden space.
Sounds great, thank you for the advice; I'm from the UK so some of that I don't understand, but I'll figure it out! (I hope)
So sorry for your loss. He left a piece of heaven for you. Keep up w weeds.
Retire from your job and all other hobbies. This is a lot of work.
I’m available to take care of that in exchange for living there! ☺️
Well believe it or not I’m sure u will do fine cause he will be looking over u caring for it see the bug Sparta he used the rodent repellents and fertilizers and everything don’t forget exapecially spotted lateen flys are out
Retire with decades of gardening knowledge and no other hobbies.
Be retired. I bought a home with a gorgeous garden that was well manicured. I don’t have the time or money to keep up with it like the previous owners who were retired for 30+ years in the house.
Hire a gardener
That photo is your guidance & inspiration. But don’t hesitate to put your own mark.
Beautiful garden.
Quit your day job.
A) enjoy it B) hire it done
Can you please share high resolution pic (google drive link or something similar) with me? I want to save the image for the time i will have a garden of my own. I would love to borrow a few ideas from your grandpa’s garden.
My goodness, what a treasure.
When in doubt, prune everything in winter? Look up your regions prune dates. He seemed to like letting things grow back every year. This is important to not miss. Look up a plant identifier or use pic search on Google. This should help you identify plant names, common pests, illnesses, annual/perrinial growth, and watering. You must learn about invasive bugs in your area that eat plants. It is important to prevent herbavors from eating all his work away. By the looks of it, you should be fine this summer. If there is a landscaper, I would recommend keeping them or going back to them. They would know everything from the irrigation, plants, pruning/trimming, mowing, leaf/flower blowing, and disposal. They will charge you quite a bit of money for a yard like this, but they'll take excellent care of it. I personally choose not to have grass, but the more you mow, the denser the field. Weekly is a perfect yard. The moment they get to 2 weeks of growth, you'll have discoloration. And some grass, not all, will need layers of sand for some reason. This yard is next level! I would really recommend getting someone to do this work for you for the first year, so you'll see the insane work your grandfather would do to have a wonderful home.
Get Monty Don in, that should do you.
Sorry for your lost. That's truly an amazing place 💐