landscaping advice needed

Hi everybody,
I have been doing some very amateur organic gardening for the last few years. Recently with a bit of help I have been clearing back land.
I am looking for some landscaping advice as to what I could plant. I'm more partial to shrubs/trees than bedding. But any ideas will be accepted.
I am attaching some images.
One part of the garden is enclosed by ditches which is where most of the clearing is going on.

Here it is.







It points in a V shape at the far end.

The other part is more square shaped and where I grow my vegetables. There is a septic tank you can see there. Ideas welcome for how to deal with that. And some ground around it which I have cleared. I was thinking of doing grass paths between the vegetable patches. Bad/good idea?

Anyway, here are the images of that:






The far end of the garden will be kept for the geese, and the area has an open border with the field it is beside.

If I should put up more details, by all means let me know!
Thanks
Matt

 

And this did not upload properly for some reason.

 

Looks like you have a bit of a project on there !

What is it that you want from the space ? Is it a working garden or are you looking to make it more of a 'pretty' garden (sorry - trying to think of a better word)

Anything planted near to the trees and hedges will be competing for water - bear that in mind with planting

Is the hedge on the left on the 5th picture staying at that height ? It looks like you will have shade at certain times of the day, depending on the orientation of the plot - plant to suit the conditions rather than fighting with the light / moisture levels.

The septic tanks could be shielded by planting or fences / panels. The style of the garden will determine what looks best

I would do as much of the clear up as possible before starting on putting the garden together

Good luck !

 

Hi !
Thanks for the reply. For the more sheltered garden, I was thinking something more pretty. There is a lot of roots from the trees there, so vegetables might be tough. Any ideas would be appreciated.
The hedge on the picture does not have to stay at that height, but you should know that south is behind the camera. That hedge on the left faces west. I am working as you can see, on clearly some of the trees to let more sun in.
I was thinking maybe some rosebeds? I don't know.
What kind of plants do you think might be good for the septic tank?

 

Grass paths are nice but grass does have a tendency to spread so you will be doing a fair amount of hoeing.

 

How about a foraging area in the trees. Wild garlic for instance also some of my alliums (welsh onion, chives, garlic chives) do well under my tree with partial sun and look lovely when in bloom. Possibly some blackberries/brambles.

Here's an article about fruits that might grow in shade
10 of the best fruit crops for shade

Alternatively if you want something that looks nice and is good for wildlife you could try a shade wildflower mix. Cheap, easy and quick way to fill a large area and requires little maintenance.

 

I'm not the best to advise on shade loving plants as we don't have a deal of shade in our garden. Hostas work well in the bit of shade that we do have.

To hide the tanks, something evergreen that shields the area. Laurel hedge ? It covers well and is easily managed to sensible heights

If the hedge is west facing it will shield the evening sun. I've recently cut a hedge down from 14+ ft down to 5 ft. The amount of space and light it has let in is noticeable. That said, you may want a higher hedge for privacy.

Plants - I'll struggle to advise here as my interest is more tropical looking plants