Garden ideas

hello, I've recently moved home and want some guidence and suggestions as to what i can do to improve my rear south facing garden and my north facing front garden, below are pictures my garden is not square are finishes up about 12 feet wide, it also goes another 12 feet past the shed you can see, i am planningto gravel where the cars are parked and fence down the side of the house to separate the drive making my back garden a little more private, I have an old tin bath that could be used as a planter but its pink, the patio is looking old, any ideas or suggestions what I can do to improve it?

 

Wow what an opportunity, to get a nice garden from scratch
I can not help with the garden bit as I am a beginner too
First off get rid of the rubble and rubbish
Later when you have the garden sorted, or the finance
Get a more modern patio, nice flagstones and planters

I would not gravel the drive bit, the stones will go everywhere
I would lay paving wheel width and grass the rest

Jack McHammocklashing

 

Find out what type of soil you've got (soil testing kit).

On the second photo, in which direction is that taken, ie is the shed at the north, south, east or west of your garden? It would help to know so we an suggest what to plant where. If you don't know, look where the sun comes up - if it comes up behind the shed then your patio is east facing, etc.

Beds all the way round would be good, then plant up with some taller evergreen shrubs at the back, then at the front plant something smaller which is suitable for the aspect and which I'm sure you'll get lots of suggestions for.

You need to decide if you want something low maintenance or do you want to spend a bit of time gardening? Do you want evergreens, deciduous, perennials (a mix is usually nice because it's nice to see plants come to life in the spring).

I'd go for a border which allows for some height at the back of the border (for screening) and then some room in front for whatever else you want to plant (so you get an effect like the one below). I have a small garden so my borders are straight because I don't want them encroaching too much into the lawn, but wavy ones are nice as well.



You might want to decide on a colour scheme if you want stuff that flowers. For instance, mine are all pinks, purples and reds. For example you might want blues/purples or reds/oranges/yellow etc or you might want random colours. Do you want fragranced blooms or not bothered?

I like the look of an obelisk in a border with a nice climber over it. They have silver ones in Morrisons at the moment for £6.



For the patio, you could put plenty of stuff in containers, but again it depends what you want and which way the patio is facing so you can choose plants appropriately. You could have things like Rhododendrons, Camellias, small trees, fragrant plants which will smell nice when you sit on the patio, etc. I also like obelisks in planters (just planted a couple myself with some young plants so looking forward to seeing what they turn out like).

 

Lovely Blank canvass as jack said load the van do a couple tip runs will let you see wot space you have got you will get plenty of advice and guidance from GC some people will show you cad drawings wot is poss to do and wot it will look like take a look at some members Albums to give you some ideas Good luck n dont forget to post some pics of your progress all the best FollyMon

 

Thanks for your advice, the rear of my garden faces south so I have sun all day on the back which is great, however the front gets no sun at all, a problem is my garden is not square and to the shed end its only about 10 feet wide, the garden does go another 10 feet behind, I want to make my garden quite private but can not afford 6 feet fencing all way round, I do like the idea of high hedges/shrubs but the garden is about 50 feet long and 80 feet down the other side, I do want a small area for growing veg, I do 6 houses that back on my garden due to my house being a corner plot, this is why its not square too, I don't mind maintaining a garden but I need to consider I do work, have a small child and other interests. the main problem at the minute is lack ofr money but I can spend a little each month, I do intend to spend time with the family in the summer enjoy bbqs, relaxing and so on, evergreen do sound good, I did consider conifers but I think theses could be high matainance all way round but the hight they grow will give me privacy, some oth the fencing is shabby but its notn mine to replace, Please keep helping me because I know next to nothing about gardening.

Keith

 

If you can't afford to hedge all the way along, then you can do it in stages where you can spread the cost.

Firstly, concentrate on a section either side of the patio where you would probably spend most of your time when BBQing, etc. Get a couple of fast growing shrubs either side. Does your patio go right up to the fence either side, or does it have a border by the fence which you could plant shrubs in?

Also, have a look around and see where you are overlooked most. For instance, the houses at the bottom of the garden are directly overlooking you, so place some plants strategically down that end which will block those windows from view when you are on the patio.

By planting strategically it may not give you all round privacy, but it will give you privacy where you most want it.

Have a look at my other post in the ID forum for some shrubs to plant.

Another suggestion - if the fencing is not yours to replace, there is nothing stopping you putting up a 6 ft fence on your side - again, you can do this along certain sections which will be visible and cover the other bits up with planting.

 

Hi Keith,
a garden is sth that will develop over years as things grow, sometimes a year later you think, oh I need a swing for the kids, next year you decide your shed is to small..
by the way the corner by your shed would be very suitable for a compost heap!! This will produce nice compost for free -which you will need for your planting..making compost is very simple, just mix coarse matter (leaves, flowerstalks) with wet matter (mown grass, green kitchen waste -potato peelings, apple cores) and make sure it stays moist enough -thats all there is to it
first thing before planting/put flags in etc I would decide where to put trees or shrubs, because they will have an effect on the planting around them (they might cast shade so you better plant shadeloving plants there). A tree or shrubs will enhance your garden quite a bit, give it more interest (different heights and shapes -rather than having flowers only). There are all sorts of trees, very small ones, weeping ones, some that have a very open habit so the sun will still shine through and it does not look like a dense green mass...there are many flowering ones or with autumn fruit. If you are interested just tell us and you will get plenty of advice here:-)
To save money, there are many ways, asking friends for diveded perennials.. or use seeds... and for a hedge there are a few specimens which are very likely to grow if you just put cuttings in the soil.

 

What are your thoughts on privet hedges or Buxus sempervirens?

 

I think they're fine as a backdrop and for screening.

Buxus is quite slow growing though so I'd go for privet out of those two.

If you're after some fast growing hedging, also look at Elaeagnus x ebbingei which will grow sideways as well as upwards and is quite cheap to buy (and if you are lucky enough to get fruit they are supposedly very tasty).



For any plant you need to make sure they are planted out properly to give them the best chance of establishing themselves, so if you need advice just let us know.

In my opinion you do right to concentrate on the screening for now as that is where your priority lies, so get the hedging in, then when your wallet has recovered, then you can start doing the fun bit.

We'll still be here to help

PS: If you are going to buy now, then you should still be able to get some bare root plants (have a look here) which tend to be cheaper.

 

Thanks merleworla, that's the type of shrub I'm looking for, yes ive decided to focus on the screening, I did see an hedge earlierthat looked nice but am unsure what it was, please see picture below



I was also considering Ligustrum ovalifolium what are your thoughts?

Keith

 

I do like the Oval Leaf Privet, it's lovely.

Not sure what the pic is, possibly a Pyracantha?

If I were you I'd draw up a list of what you are looking at, then visit one of the hedging sites online and do a search on each - which should then advise what the expected growth rate is so you can choose accordingly.

If you have a little one running about be sure to check the plant's toxicity as well, especially of the berries.

 

Keith, it may be a lot of work
Personally I would move the shed to the very back of the garden
Then slowly a bit at a time cultivate the garden as you want it to be
It may be a bit late now
Though I belive you can buy BARE ROOT cheaply for your fencing, The fence may not be yours but there is nothing stopping you growing up it or covering it

If you state what you wish to have in your garden, then possibly our member DIM will put up a CAD pic of what you would end up with

Well that is what I would do if only I had a garden as big as yours :-)

I am a new gardener too, only with my age and physical ability, I remember ROME was not built in a day
So I do a little at a time, then move forward to the next bit

Therefore I would first move the shed to the very back limits
Then get a small veg plot infront of it/or do the bare rooted fencing/hedging
You would then have your perimeter tidy, and know the size of your garden to plan the rest at your leisure

Jack McHammocklashing

 

That's the shed moved right up against the rear fence, any ideas what i can do with the 2feet wide gap at the side of the fence?

Keith

 

Cente the Shed so you can roller coat the sides with preservative when you need to
Use the 12" either side to store plant pots, canes, general garden stuff that can weather outside IMHO

Jack McHammocklashing

 

Keith, judging by the pics, your garden is roughly the same size and shape as mine. Its a lot of work, especially when there's the front to do too (same here). So what i've done is sectioned my back garden off into distinct sections. Mine is still a long way off, but so far I've built a patio along the back of the house. It looks like you've already go that. I've also dug a 3ft wide bed between the patio and the lawn and edged it with bricks sunk flush with the lawn. The bed curves round to run along the fence.

About half way down, I've put a cheapo metal archway marking the start of the next section. So far the next section consists of my cheap greenhouse, and a bark chipped area with various planks of wood in that my little lad uses as a play area. After that, it is still pretty much untouched, mess.

The point is, having at first decided to tackle the lot in one go, I very quickly realised that I was putting too much on myself. So I figured its best to work your way down the garden starting at the house. After all, the bit closest to the house is the first bit you'll encounter when you go out, so it will be a big motivational plus to get that bit right. Maybe have tall plants in containers at the edge of your patio before the lawn. Then you have an instant little patio garden. Even if you take a break from the rest of the garden for a while, you still have somewhere nice to sit that's kind of isolated off. I think its important to have that boundary, either plants in containers at the edge, or a trellis fence, or plants in a new bed. It just breaks it up into manageable chunks.