Where to start???

Oh that's good then. It will take a while to get your strength back and probably be tender for a while. Don't over do things!

 

Well I'm back!

After the wrist incident I lost any interest I had built up for the garden unfortunately, however I now want to get the structural stuff sorted.

I'm stuck as to what to do though as the obvious area for a raised planter would be on the right hand side of the garden but there is a raised man hole there which sits under the fence (leaving a gap on one side of 5-6 inches).

Any suggestions and ideas would be greatly appreciated!

 

Picture 3 i think u can just see it on the right had side armandii i think x

 

We have a full one in ours,which in growth months my lavatera covers..what i did notice last week when it snowed was all snow had melted above this cover(even on the roads ones)so i figure its bit warmer on them and put my cuttings on it it now has a use in winter and not as much as an eye sore
If the hatch is showing slightly on your side stephen, maybe you could build a raised cover over it within your raised bed so your compost doesnt escape if they need to access the hatch one day

 

This is what I've been contemplatin today Jools, maybe a cover over the top?

 

I would,it might be better than loosing that space but if not make your raised bed in the front of it,put a trellis behind/above(raised bed) and plant climbers either side to disguise the gaps 1st options cheaper thou and you might not want climbers.

 

And mow the weeds short. They can't spread so well if they ain't got leaves. Have you got room for a compost heap?

 

Thanks for all the advice so far

Here is a picture of the manhole

The garden is only around 3m X 5m so not really sure where I would have a compost heap.

 

Something the size of a small bin would probably be enough and it's worth it. But I see there's not much space. The lawn looks just like mine!

 

The 'lawn' is awful, just weeds and a sprinkling of dead grass in patches below it. Really need to get my ass in gear!

 

Hi Stephen

I "reclaimed" an area of my garden last summer, which I call me "Secret Garden". I've done very little with it in terms of preparation work and it is a similar size as you describe.

A "darlek" style compost bin would fit in, if you decided it was important to you.

Here are the views of my "Secret Garden". Maybe that could kickstart some ideas for you? (Please bear in mind, how it looks in these pictures is not how it will look at the end of this year. This was me moving things into the area to make it look habitable, using what I already had scattered around the main garden).

First, entrance in to the small area:
Next, a view of from within the area:



Slight turn to the right ....



Further right again ...



And the view leading back out of the Secret Garden ...



Another source of inspiration can be found by googling Pinterest + small garden ideas.

HTH

 

Thanks very much mum, that's given me a few ideas and also looking at Dalek bins.

Loofah, I'm a total gardening newbie so not sure where to start, hence the thread title. Nothing has changed since the pictures posted on the first page so I'm open to all suggestions and opinions.