Well I started, not sure how to continue

Being a newbie around it was suggested that I tell you what my garden is like, sun direction, soil etc and what I would like to help me decide what I should do with the space.

So the back on my house faces north north west direction, standing at the back of the house looking down the garden, the right hand side is east and the left hand side is west. In the summer all but the top 6ft of garden by the house gets sun. The left hand side is lined with very tall Leylandi trees. Size wise it is about 40ft from house to fence and about 55ft side to side.

Soil wise, it is good for growing brambles and weeds, see the images in a minutes. Some years ago the back garden was built up, it had a very steep slope. We think that the back of the garden along the fence line has been raised by at least 4ft. There is a fence post buried in the ground upright we believe it is a 5ft post so that is 4ft was above the ground (when it was first put in place), we can see the top 6 inches. The soils is a sandy and very stoney.

So this was my back garden earlier this year (excuse the washing, life goes on)



Those Bramles in the far right corner (where the tree is) are over 7ft tall. After finding a man willing to take on the clearing, 8 days later and some 25 bags of trimmings (those large Trarvis Perkins 1 ton sand\stone bags), this is what it looks like now



We also found a large Wasps nest in the brambles and a Burrowing bee nest (not far from the large flower pot seem in the second image.

I have spent much of the past couple months digging out the bramble roots, to ensure they don't get a foot hold in the garden again. I am planning to lay a heavy duty plastic weed control sheet, along the bottom and up the right hand side. Does anybody know if that will kill brambles???

The Centre area has always been a grass area, but I am open to chopping it around to make flower beds. I have been toying with the idea of raised beds at the bottom of the garden for vegetables, but the cost of raised beds material is scary.

Things that you can not see in the images, there are plants along the fence at the bottom of the Garden, where the fence post is next to the two Conifers, there a plant that in the image is not showing any leaves as the guy cut it back because when he cut all the brambles out it had long spindly branches that climbed higher than the brambles that fell to the floor as the brambles were no longer there to support them. I thought it would die off but it is now covered in deep red \purple round leafs, have no idea what is is called. There are more bushes\trees along the fence and up the left hand side The only other one I know the name is for a couple of Acers tree, but these are very small.

I am going to stop hear otherwise I may get banned for writing to long of a post. I welcome any comment or suggestions.

 

Hi @Dorset-Tim

Welcome

The orientation of your garden is pretty much the same as mine. When I bought the house, there were lots of leylandii around the perimeter and grass in the main area - nothing else.

This is what I've done with it (not that it's completely done of course, and it is far from perfect anyway). This is a quick photo I took in the morning.



Some quick, top-level realisations that come to mind:

• The garden gets more sun than I originally expected, especially the bottom half.
• It helps to have something for your eyes to focus on in the middle of the garden, ideally something that has height. That was the main reason for the patio circle and the simple (inexpensive) pergola above it It's also nice to be able to sit surrounded by the garden, rather than at the edge.
• I think it's way too difficult, if you are not a garden designer, to decide on every little detail of the garden upfront. But if you have a rough plan e.g. regarding different sections, that is quite useful.
• If you are new to gardening rather than just this forum, one of the most common mistakes (that I have done myself) is to buy plants without a clear idea in mind. If there is no method to it, you might have really nice plants individually, but together they will look messy.

Enjoy the journey

P.S. I really don't think the membrane will be enough to stop the brambles from regrowing if there are roots left unfortunately. There are pros and cons to using it (though lately the majority seems to be against it). I use it under gravel only, and the main reason it works there is to stop dirt from rising, but I wouldn't use it anywhere else.

 

Welcome @Dorset-Tim ! You've given us a great view of your garden - that chap cleared a massive amount!
The Leylandii can be a pain because they'll be sucking water and nutrients. I don't know if you can get your neighbour to cut them a bit?
If the sun goes over most of your garden, then you can put veg beds practically anywhere, so don't use a prime position for them if it could take a bench! Raised bed stuff can be expensive but you could always just lay compost/manure on the soil and then go no dig - I'm sure others can advise more. As for brambles, I have been maintaining a new lawn for someone where the brambles had been just chopped by a digger levelling it. By reasonably frequent mowing, they've practically disappeared. Keep them down, and they start giving up.
This looks a great space to make a garden!

 

@Dorset-Tim

Unlikely given the verbosity of some members on here. Sometimes I think I've wherreted on for too long, never been a problem yet.
One thing is that the brown lower parts of the neighbours conifers will not green up again and if they stay you might want to grow something in front of them or put a shed down there.
I think I would get the squared paper and tape measure out, do a plan of the garden as it is now and then draw in what you want to put in and give thought to things like patio/barbecue area, paths, shed, compost bins, greenhouse, pond, washing line, veg beds, borders and lawn. Then you can think about plants. That should keep you occupied until spring.
In the meantime you can also keep chopping any brambles and other weeds as they appear.
Note somebody has nicked your washing, between the two photos.

 

Not much to add, except that the shrub with the round purple leaves might be Cotinus coggygria Royal Purple or one of the other purple-leaved forms - it grows back very well from a hard pruning. I chop mine back every spring. Google it and see if you think it's a match.

 

I have a long garden. Not as big as yours, I think. My main issue is watering. A lot of the garden is a long way from the house.
I'm sure there are solutions and ways around it but it's definitely worth considering when deciding on planting etc

 

To echo what's been said above - one of the first things we did when taking on our current garden was to remove leylandii - giving us more light, more planting space, more water in the soil, and lots of useful woodchip and firewood.

 

Hello @Dorset-Tim The change Before/After is really impressive.
Regarding the bottom part, I wouldn’t cover it with anything. The only way to get rid of weeds is by removing all.
I would observe and take out what appears in the entire garden until April/May. Once you have taken out all weeds and there is no new grow for some weeks, you can start creating your garden.
You seem to have a similar position as I have. I learned over the years that plants that accept sun and partial shade do well on my north side. It’s more about the type of soil that decides.

 

Thanks all for the support, you have certainly given me some things to think about (like not using weed prevention covering). Just to give you some more details (not a long post like last nights). We have lived in this house for 23 years, in the past few years the garden got the better of us for various reason.

We had intended to have some sort of hard standing running down the right hand side of the garden as that area gets the most sun. Across the bottom was a veg garden area (we did grow veg for the first few years). There is a border down the left hand side and along the bottom. The left corner of the garden is the yellow corner with several "Forsythiya" type plants, love the bright yellow in the April may time. I have a rough idea what I want but how I get there is another matter.

To answer some of the comments and question (sorry not going to quote you all). Yes the washing line is in the 2nd picture the rotary is out of shot. The conifers are in our garden there a small 19" x 8ft notch in that corner of the garden (there were three conifers but one is dead). I googled Cotinus coggygria, and our looks like the Royal Purple Variety. The Leylandi will get a large trim on my side in the new year and I will offer to chop down or seriously lop the tops off. For raised beds I was thinking of something in the 3ft to 3ft 6in high, but want something that is no going to rot away in 2 minutes

Short-ish and sweet. thanks all

 

Afternoon all, been a bit quiet for the past few weeks, plans are slow developing. Have decided to concentrate on the left-hand side which is planted but needs clearing and the bottom section. I will cover the right-hand side with plastic sheeting as I am unlikely have the time or funds to work on that next year and there enough with the other two areas to keep me working.

Having said that checking out one of the local garden center this afternoon, I found they had some Cotinus Coggygria Royal Purple so two of them found there way home with us. But the question is when can I replant them into the garden? The intend area would still be in the son close to our existing Cotinus Coggygria Royal Purple, is now to late in the year? Should I wait until the spring as they will be open to the frost as there will only be a fence behind them (north-ish side) in the img at the top of the cleared garden it is to the left of the conifers just past the concrete fence post you can just make out the twigs (no leafs) of the existing Cotinus Coggygria Royal Purple which has now blossom into a nice plant.

Appreciate any suggestions?

 

The one point I would make is that Cotinus Coggygria can grow very big and very fast so double check the measurements on the plant label, then add some more space!

Having said that, we had heavy clay soil so yours may not grow as tall in your sandy/stony soil.

 

Raised beds need not be raised to such height. The benefits derive from relative height, greater soil depth to overcome drainage issues, which your sandy/stony soil is unlikely to have. They can be achieved by lowering paths around, placing the soil on the bed. To this add copious (75-100mm ) of organic compost material/fym with top soil. Annually (October) add 25mm compost.
Have a look at Charles Dowding website for guidance
Charles Dowding: Home

 

Right now is a great time to be planting hardy shrubs. The Cotinus will be happier in the ground for the winter, as long as it doesn't get waterlogged. They will be dropping their leaves for the winter soon anyway. Once they are settled in they can grow very tall even from a hard spring pruning - mine was cut down to about 2 feet in march and is now about 8 feet tall, all long new branches.