From nothing to a garden

As mentioned in my new members post earlier today (link), here is the progress on my garden so far. Me and my fiance bought a new build house back in November 2014 and to the rear of the property is where I am going to create my first garden (hopefully). Being a graphic designer, I knocked up a few ideas for the 10m x 4m space that I now had complete control over.

My previous experience with gardening was very limited as I only ever lived in apartments or basements and so never really had any opportunity to get stuck in as it were.

This is where I begin my journey...



The Plan: I needed to start somewhere so I sketched out and the mocked-up an idea for the garden.



The Start: When I bought the property, this is what I had to work with... Absolute blank canvas! Brilliant!



Initial Observations: A few flags and 10m x 4m of space to work with... Let's get to designing!



Turfed: For the time being, I thought that I might as well get the garden turfed. With it being November, the ground needed something for when the weather got slightly better!



Shed Measurements: I have a number of things that I need to keep in a shed and I'm a firm believer that every garden needs one... so here is the measurements for my 7' x 5' Pent shed!



The Shed: Shed base and shed installed... took some time to get this sorted out but we're all good now. Looks perfect and glad I went with a Pent roof.



Shed Love: Not the most inviting shed at the moment, but I'm in love with it!



Water Butt: Always handy and definitely a money/time saver.



Veg Planter: I'm definitely going to be growing some vegetables in the garden but to have them at a manageable height and with enough depth to be able to suitably grow them, I've decided to put them in a raised planter.



Decking Wood: After planning out the decking for a few weeks, the wood has been purchased and we're hoping for decent weather this weekend.



Post Holes Dug: Ready for Postcrete and some posts!



Frame Part 1: Posts are in and the frame is ready to be secured.



Frame Part 2: Weed membrane is down and it's now time for boards to go on.



Boards: Fitting the boards was a welcome task after posts and framework.



More Boards: Nearly there... just a bit of decking oil and we'll be good!



Decking. Done Looking awesome... now that awkward space at the bottom of the garden is ready to be used!



Oiled and Ready: Already love the decking!



Planter 1: Needed to add some levels and angles into the design of the garden so here is the first corner planter to be built.



Veg Planter sides: It's nearly ready to be filled with soil.



Veg Planter Tops: Added some tanalised wooden sills to the veg planter to double it up as a form of bench for when there're more people over.



So this is probably about 3/4 months work so far, everything has been done by myself with a couple of days help from friends. Next stage to get the flagging finished off, sort out the borders and get the pebble edgings down.

I've got a few idea's for plants but nothing is set in stone.

Would love to hear what people think about this so far... i plan on updating this along the way so any suggestions too would be awesome.

Thanks,
Dave

 

Veg planter back: Because the fence doesn't belong to me, I didn't want to potentially rot the wood so I've built a back to the planter that is tanalised, plus there's a fully waterproof membrane going in to stop any water leaking onto the fence.



Second Corner Planter: Another corner planter is done, levels and angles... levels. and. angles.



Fence Paint: The last couple of weeks has seen the garden come on quite quick... time to sit back and enjoy it for a little bit. I've started to paint the fence a sort of off-white colour to try and give it a little more light in the evenings and dull days.



Loving The Garden already!: My mother bought me some awesome outdoor furniture to use on the decking so I can now start sitting outside properly.



Fence Fully Painted: Fence Fully Painted



Lavender: I adore lavender and I've had this one for a couple of years now so it's now nearly found it's permanent home.



Clematis: In an aim to get some growth in the garden, I bought a Mrs George Jackman clematis to plant near the fence. Just need to get my trellis in now and watch it take over!



Lawn Circle: This garden is all about shapes and so, to make room for some borders and planting, I'm cutting my lawn into a 2.5m circle. Just big enough to enjoy but not too big to take over the garden.



Digging progress: Started to dig out the lawn.



More lawn digging: Nearly there.



Lawn. Dug. The lawn is now cut into its circular shape. It just needs the edging putting on and re-seeding to give it some fullness.



Wall and Edging: I've built a tiered wooden wall out of the rather large amount of off-cuts from the decking. It wasn't on the original plan, but it looks awesome and I knew I'd change some things as the garden evolved.



The remains: The previous lawn and sod is now bagged up waiting to be used elsewhere around the garden and then taken away.



Edged: Lawn edging is on and it looks fantastic! Really finishes the lawn off brilliantly!



Topsoil and filling: The lawn was quite ropey after a few weeks of abuse so a fresh layer of topsoil and the new seed was needed desperately to try and bring some new life back into my lawn.



Seeded: Time to leave the lawn alone for a while. No walking, no tools, just regular watering and some love and attention and hopefully I'll have a fully fledged circular lawn in a couple of months.

 

Settled: Work has ceased for a couple of weeks whilst the new grass seed beds in and starts growing.



Trellis and Planting: Decided to break up some of the white fence by adding 3 trellis panels. 2 of these have been earmarked for clematis... just trying to figure out what is best to go next to it?



Planter Plants: Started to plant up the borders and the planters with the pots that I had from the move. Can't wait for these to bed in ready for next year.



Decking Lights: I really wanted some lighting down on the decking and went for some subtle 30mm decking lights powered from the shed. Wiring is all hidden and completely waterproofed.



Lights Pt 2: Looking really nice in my opinion, can't wait to get the last bits of lighting installed next weekend.

 

Wow, massive transformation! The decking lighting is great, really nice touch.

 

Yes I agree with Anzia about the massive transformation. Over how long was this all done? I know nothing about design but it seems a good layout.

What plants are you thinking of getting?

 

Thank you... I only put the decking lights in last night. Makes a massive difference, the photo's don't really do them justice

 

Wow I wish my garden was that neat and tidy! Impressive stuff. I bet it will look amazing in bloom with pretty flowers etc

 

I took ownership of the house in November, but i only started the garden properly about 6 weeks ago.

Plant list so far contains:

Hydrangea
Box Hedging
Hosta
Clematis (different to what i have now)
Euonymous

I've not got too far with my planting ideas, the above list (minus the hedging) are all plants and flowers that have sentimental reasoning behind them.

 

I have put a plastic sheet over the inside of the sleepers anyway because there was a couple of holes in them, the other sides and the back have a weed membrane covering them. Do you think i'll need the plastic covering the whole inside of the planter?

 

Impressive work. Nicely designed. Thumbs up.

 

...What a cracking job you must be thrilled...
I'll be keeping watching

 

Thank you kindly

I've dabbled in garden design before but i lack knowledge massively in what flowers, plants etc, to put where and what grows best. Building / landscaping is a lot easier for me to understand ha ha

I suppose this is why i've joined the forum. I've already learnt a load from the 24hours i've been on here