Advice or ideas on narrow garden landscaping, partitioning and dealing with a raised patio

I definitely can't excavate the whole patio, that's way too much work/cost.

I could widen the steps, but am confused on what to aim for there and how it will look if not symmetrical.

Nice idea about excavating a plant bed within the patio itself. I was thinking about making a wooden trough planter, quite large one, to go on the patio itself along the wall, inside of the screen.

I fear though that the bamboo I've already bought would be too big to go on the patio itself. It will grow to 4-5m and it will spread too.

I was thinking other smaller grasses and a few smaller evergreen shrubs (plus flowers in summer) in the raised planter, which would then be in front of the trellis/screen at about chest height.


... I dunno...maybe the bamboo would work on the patio directly. Hmmm...

 

I like the idea.

Would it mean id have to abandon the raised planter though and plant everything into the new cavity alongside the bamboo? You don't think a 4m bamboo on the patio would be oppressive?

 

I like the idea. I'll do a mock up to try and visualize it.

The one unknown is that I don't know what will be under the patio when I start excavating. Could be hardcore, could be more older patio that's been covered over 50 years ago.

Do you think a sucken border into the patio is better than making a trough planter that sits on the patio?

How deep ideally would the sunken cavity need to be?

 

Thanks. I do like this idea. I could keep the Nigra bamboo behind, at the lower level, and get another bamboo to go on the patio so from the patio I will have smaller bamboo (2-3m) --> screening --> nigra bamboo (4-5m). That would give me some 3d volume not just a single 2d plant.

What plants go nice next to bamboo? I don't want just a screen of bamboo on its own but to mix other plants in too.

 

Can I put a spanner in the works? Looking back at the patio the steps in a central position seem to take a whole chunk out of the area. Would moving them to left or right be a possibility?



Or, make the garden end of the patio split level. Perhaps the last 4/5ft?

With so much doubt about how you want the garden to look, and with our input probably confusing you more, it might be a good idea to use this winter as thinking time. Approaching the idea again in spring you should be more settled in what you'd like. It will avoid what could be expensive mistakes in time and cash now.

 

Appreciate the comment.

I can't pay for a landscape designer and I certainly can't pay for an excavator. So anything I do I'll be doing by hand myself.

It would be possible to lower the patio partially, maybe. But a huge amount of work for one person, generating alot of waste material.

Moving the steps, yes an option but I'm not sure where they could be moved to and what the design would look like.

I don't have any other source of advice and I'm not a landscaper so this forum is really the only place I can firm up my design. I'm not sure what I'll get from just thinking about it over the winter really, I need to get ideas and possibilities that I can then consider.

 

I understand that the work will be entirely carried out by yourself and it is a big job to alter the patio.

The support and ideas will continue from our friends here but as fairygirl said there comes a point when we run out of ideas to suggest, and of course the final decision is yours.

 

I understand yes. There's hundreds if not thousands of possible routes I could go down, from huge excavation to minor reconfiguration. I need to find a middle ground solution that's doable for me, but in order to do that I need to consider all possibilities.

Moving the steps - yes it's an option. Trying to create a slightly lower level 2nd patio - yes also an option. I would however need to review some options and get some feedback on some possible designs.

If retaining symmetry is not necessary then I can try to create some designs with the steps widened to the left combined with a lower level patio on the left side. There is a sewer under there somewhere, I don't know where or how deep.

 

I'm wondering about putting in wider steps on the left, and using the spoil to create a higher section on the back right corner of the patio, which you could then build a large raised bed onto?

Perhaps one of the first thing you need to get settled in yourself with is whether you want the hard landscaping and any structures to be symmetrical.

Personally, with a long narrow plot I'd avoid symmetry...

..as others have said, take your time, don't rush with these decisions...

 

There was a suggestion earlier about a sunken patio - it does seem like a simple way to have a more private patio is to put one in just beyond/below the existing patio...
Or, and this would be a lot of work, get a mini digger in, and dig out the existing patio and spread the spoil beyond it, to raise the ground level there - you'd need retaining walls either side, I think?

 

Random thought...
.. If you dig out the patio just on the left half, would that give you a large enough sitting area?

 

The left side of the steps could be about 2m x 2m, taking into account having to build another retaining wall on the boundary and against the outbuilding. It would probably be easier to lower it but not all the way to ground level, then I'd only need to excavate half of it and build a smaller retaining course.

Where do the steps go?

Thanks, I did already try a number of large pots in that location over the summer. It just never was high enough to block any of the view. I like your idea about the sunken bed though. With trellis behind, and some large plants, that could be ok. I'm going to mock it up when I get chance.

I agree, but Im not very creative/artistic and so Im struggling to visualise how anything other than symmetrical straight lines could look.

 

Thanks, I can already tell you it doesn't. The main reason being the lack of plants. I can just see straight through fencing, or straight at the fencing, in all areas of the garden.

I like sitting on the patio in the summer, because its gets nice and warm being South facing. I don't really sit anywhere else, first because there's no seating anywhere else and second because of the bare nature of the garden. But I would prefer the patio to be more secluded. I had initially wanted to make it like a Mediterranean courtyard, hence going down the route of getting lots of pots, but it didn't work because of the openness of it and the fencing rather than walls.

 

Our steps from the terrace down to the garden are turned sideways so if you decide to go down the route of making new ones, you could do the same on the left hand side of your patio. That way you could have a slightly longer flight with shallower steps for safety.

You could then pave straight over the existing steps which I think would look better and give you more floor space on the patio for table and chairs perhaps.

 

Thank you.

Forgive the crude drawing, but something like this?