1st time home and garden owner

[shibabigk]

Hi everyone
cross your fingers that my titel will actually come true... supposed to be closing in one week...
Anyway, I will hopefully have a good 3rd of an acre to call my own piece of land and I really do not know how to make the whole thing work. Right now we -hope to- have a relatively square piece of land, covered in straw by the seller so that we can sow grass next season. There is a small patch of lawn right behind sad looking concrete patio and a soon to be installed privacy fence around the whole thing.
I am not sure how much sun it gets, yet, but I believe it's pretty sunny.
I suppose my question is, how do I get started with the very basics? I am sure I was born without the tiniest talent for design or making things look pretty.

Sooo, here is what we want (hey a girl can dream):
the food section
- a vegetable garden
-some dwarf fruit trees
-food producing shrubs
space for about three chickens

We also have three rather high energy dogs who will need space to stretch their legs (I think raised beds would significantly increase the chances of plant survival), they aren't terrible diggers but will simply plow down anything in their path.

That's just the beginning though. Eventually I would also like to have pretty flower beds and make the patio look nice with containers and so on. I think for starters we'd like to focus on the functional parts.
So... who wants to draw up a plan for my garden? Just kidding, but I do need some help figuring out how to make everything work and look inviting and homey and just create a nice garden.
Any recommendations for books? Planers? Where does a newbie start?

Thanks!

[bullthistle]

Dog and chickens don't mix unless separated. Work with the existing patio if you like where it is and use it as a base for brick, stone pr more concrete. A vegey garden should be near the kitchen. Raised is fine but you may want to fence it. Figure out the dogs path and work around them. Use woody plants around the house, 3 gallon size. That's a start.

[rainbowgardener]

Fruit trees maybe at the back along the north edge so they don't shade the veggie gardens and other stuff.

Realize that this is going to be an on-going project for a long time and don't stress about getting everything done at once. Put the grass in and dog run and live there for awhile, get to know your little piece of land, where the sun comes from at different seasons, what parts are sunniest, what the soil is like. Raised beds are nice because you can build them a little at a time.

The house I bought came with a concrete patio too, just a grey concrete slab. Here's what it looks like now:

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=105961&highlight=raised+beds#105961

I didn't like the concrete, but it was too expensive to take out and the ground under it would have been terrible. So I hired a guy with a concrete cutter to cut the grooves into in, in large squares, then I stained it terra cotta. Gives the effect of very expensive terra cotta pavers. Then I built raised beds on top of it.

[tomf]

I think you need to scale down a bit, 1/3 acre is not a farm and you are already planning for a farm. I would suggest a bit of landscaping, some lawn for your dogs and if you have the space a veggie garden.
When you landscape remember the rule of 3, things look good in 3's.

[rainbowgardener]

1/3 acre is not a farm, but it's what I have and it's amazing what you can do with it. Mine is a very long skinny 1/3 acre, the back half of which is basically a cliff (anyway a steep down hill). So the hillside is native woodland shade garden. That leaves me 1/6 acre which has the house on it, a huge old black walnut tree behind the house and a huge old lilac in front of it, and the concrete patio. In that space, I have 3 large flower beds out front. with a bit of shrubbery and a 5x10" veggie bed in the middle of the front lawn. I have been known to grow squash in the front flower beds. I have flower beds in strips along both sides of the house. Behind the house is a deck, which I have filled with containers and trellis. On the deck along with lots more flowers, I grow a lot of herbs and edible scarlet runner beans up the trellis. By the stairs down from the deck to the patio is another veggie bed and on the concrete patio are two more (4x8'). Then there's a little artificial pond (just about 3x6') with a fountain, surrounded by plantings including a smaller lilac, a japanese maple and more flowers. Under the black walnut are a hydrangea, a viburnum, and a shade flower garden. Along both sides of the deck are 3 more flower beds - one on the shadier side and two on the sunnier side with path between them. The sunnier side ones are butterfly/hummingbird wildflower gardens (they are each about 3x20'), that I also stick other stuff in. Off to the side, sloping down to the neighbors is a patch that is strawberries, raspberries and asparagus. At the back of the deck is an herb garden. Then you get to the hillside...

If the back half of mine weren't so steep and wooded, I could do a lot more food growing and fruit trees, etc.

[shibabigk]

Thanks for all the advice, it is very much appreciated.
I know that I want a lot, but I also know that I can have it,if I work hard and plan right.
As I don't intend to have my chickens and my dogs play, eat, drink or take naps together, I don't see any reason why owning chickens and dogs are mutually exclusive. I am buying a house in a 'chicken friendly' district, so no worries about breaking any rules. I'll probably start them out in a chicken tractor before getting a more permanent structure. I wish I could have my dream mini farm... some dwarf goats, a mini jersey, and two pigs would be perfect, but alas realism reminds me that all that might indeed get bit too much for me personally.
I love, love, love the concrete update. That is definitly something I will look into, as that would make a huge difference.

I suppose I just need to hold out one more week before I can get to actual planning but I am getting impatient and just cannot wait to get in my house and in my graden.

[rainbowgardener]

1/3 acre is not a farm, but it's what I have and it's amazing what you can do with it. Mine is a very long skinny 1/3 acre, the back half of which is basically a cliff (anyway a steep down hill). So the hillside is native woodland shade garden. That leaves me 1/6 acre which has the house on it, a huge old black walnut tree behind the house and a huge old lilac in front of it, and the concrete patio. In that space, I have 3 large flower beds out front. with a bit of shrubbery and a 5x10" veggie bed in the middle of the front lawn...... Along both sides of the deck are 3 more flower beds - one on the shadier side and two on the sunnier side with path between them. The sunnier side ones are butterfly/hummingbird wildflower gardens (they are each about 3x20'), that I also stick other stuff in. Off to the side, sloping down to the neighbors is a patch that is strawberries, raspberries and asparagus. At the back of the deck is an herb garden. Then you get to the hillside...

If the back half of mine weren't so steep and wooded, I could do a lot more food growing and fruit trees, etc.

Sometimes I hate it that we can't edit any more. That should be a 5x10 FOOT veggie bed in the front lawn. 5x10 inches wouldn't be worth doing. And where deck is underlined, both of those should say patio... sigh, sometimes the fingers go faster than the brain.

[DoubleDogFarm]

Where does a newbie start?

We like pictures

Eric

[tomf]

You got that yard packed rainbow, you are an avid gardener. When I lived in the city I had a ¾ acre lot with lots of landscape, veggies and enough lawn to justify a riding mower, so I know one can do quite a bit on a city lot.
Shibabigk the part that makes me say look at how much room you have is the dogs, dogs need lots of room to run in. Look at the edges of your yard for places to plant, if you have a sunny spot you may try a raised garden so the dogs do not tramp it to death.

[shibabigk]

Photos should not be a problem as... drumroll please... we are getting the house! It's all a done deal and we will have our keys on Monday. I'll be sure to get some photos up, but it might be a few days, with the whole moving in, christmas and all that. Very exciting!
Putting beds to the side is a good idea, and yes, the dogs will love space to run, and I don't want to take away from that, as part of my reason for choosing the house was the dog friendly yard.
I was even thinking about dividing the spce in half with a sort of shrub hedge across the middle, using the back part behind the 'hedge' for planting and the front part for lawn... I'd still want something closer to the house with herbs for the kitchen though... Mhmm... I shall inspire you all to give me more great ideas to stew over once I give you teh visual.
Thanks for all the good luck wishes. They obviously worked