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It's a bit personal preference, but I would go even darker - I prefer all out dark greys/blacks to the "fake wood" appearence of brown, which never seems to age as well (though I am sure others would feel differently!) This sort of thing:orFor the shed and bench, I would say completely...

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Why is there what appears to be a surface water gully grating at the back adjacent the feather edge boarded fence?As the gravel board at the bottom of the fencing would normally be level, and the slabs appear to be level with the brick courses on the left hand side and fall towards the grassy...

Good morning @Maia my friend I think it was our illustrious friend and colleague @Fat Controller ,but if it was me it was by accident

The above are good ideas. Gravel and some large pots/planters where you could keep things contained and tidy with minimal maintenance. A few climbers would soften the fence.

Right. I’ll keep a good eye out for the little critters! She’s an Australian shepherd who seems to have everything’s on the menu except what I put in front of her. mid I’m honest, she’s not a big help in the garden. More into excavation than anything useful but she is partial to a snail. I...

Welcome Mark. With the amount of growth I'd be inclined to strim the whole lot down. With Spring and new growth starting I'd leave it for a few weeks after to see how much grass if any you have there. If it's nearly all weeds you have choices. A systemic or glyphosate based weed killer will...

Yes, the aim is to help repopulate native orchids - especially in Wales. It will be slow! As compared to the tomatoes of this thread - I have just pricked out my Lidl mixed cherry toms - germination in about a week. Whereas the orchids will be 5 years to flowering...

Thanks for the response.Should i do anything in relation to the soil? Should I spike it? or just leave it alone until it dries out. Thanks

@Kim57Not many plants like heavy shade and wet ground, so think you would be better going for plants in pots which will drain better and easier to move around etc.If you search around the forum you will find lots of other posts about plants for shade, a few to start you off, as above, many...

Thanks, that’s really helpful.

Thank you everyone for the thoughts and suggestions. I'll take a little time to look into all of the plants mentioned and read through the existing thread. And maybe buy that book!The overall situation with our garden is that there was nothing at all living in it when we moved in, and it's...

If you are going perennial, I would start soon, I know in places in South Wales have sodden soil, so let it drain properly, you are just over the bridge from me, and unless your up in the valleys, I would plan the planting up, for a couple of weeks time, you want a nice week when the ground is...

A more efficeint way of doing this, is by cutting down the side of a plastic pot, then along the base and stop at the middle, place the pot around the branch so that the wound is just over 1/2 way down, place some gaffa tape over the cut part of the pot, then fill the pot with a low nutrient...

To me your problem is there is not enough light getting to your plant, with hardy bush type Fuchsia, they need to be grown in high light conditions to give your plants the best chance of basel branching, so in lower light conditions, you end up with long weak stems that do not support the...

Thank you Perki for the advice.

Fair enough. Coming from Mid Sussex, clay to me is a yellowish colour. Ideal for the local brickyard but hard work in the garden.

That's a cracking crop, Coachman, and one to be proud of

Sorry, I should have clarified - I’d put the snowdrops in the shade that the tree to the right, or the large shrub (forsythia/weigelia?) to the left, will provide in the summer.... I manage to grow snowdrops in my south-west facing and sloping sandy soil, though to be sure they are much slower...

So much depends on whether the OP is intending to create an overall 'picture' giving an impression of lush tropicality, or just to grow a few tender, architectural plants. As NigelJ said, cold winds, harsh sun and an exposed site limit the options considerably, because most true tropicals have...