Dump/hill

We have just moved into this house (feb) and have been taming and planting the garden to make it our own. We have an area at the back which we have screened off where we have been dumping all of the soil/chalk/plants which we have dug up or moved. There's a lot of soil in there too, as the flower beds seemed overfilled with soil and actually mounded up!

What can we do with it, as we will never get rid of it all because we only have a small family car and my other half doesn't drive, so I couldn't do it all on my own. We don't want it to be our eventual compost site.

The obvious choice is a rockery, but aren't they a bit old hat?

It is in shade from about 1pm and is in the corner of two hedges which meet. The garden goes uphill slightly so it is in full view of sitting room and dining room.

Does anyone have any ideas? I would be grateful for any ideas at all.
View from the direction of the house

The potatoes will be gone soon and don't really want veg that side next year - so veg not a permanent feature


View from the side

 

I love a good rockery! :thumb: but with out a photo its difficult to advice. If you really want to get rid of the mound you could hire a mini skip.

 

It's the expense though, I don't mind the idea of the mound becoming something else - just not as it is at the moment. Will try and post photo

 

Make it a talking or focal point in the garden - a sort of suburban folly!

 

Could it be shaped into a sort of arm chair and put some top soil down and grass it and it could be a living seat

 

Or a reclining figure - like at Chelsea Flower Show three years, or so, ago.

 

From http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/5015710.stm

"Among the designer gardens was a reclining grassy woman in the 4Head Garden of Dreams by designers Marney Hall and Heather Yarrow."

 

I have now updated with pics.. see original post. Not sure how I can update the post title though

 

I see it. A rockery would look good I think, but I know zero about building one!

 

See when I think of a rockery I think of dusty little rock piles clipped to perfection. Maybe unfairly but I there was one outside a house near my childhood home, and it has obviously put me off. Can you inspire me with photos of the kind of thing you mean? (asking a lot :wink

 

Once the Potatoe's are dug up, you could drag the soil down to level that border, then you will see exactly how big a space you have to work with.. What do you like? Have you any idea's at all Vicki, maybe if you could give us a clue we could start from there

 

Well I think it would be nice to make it quite a feature. Nothing ridiculous, the feel of the garden is pretty, practical, delicate (WHERE POSSIBLE) and definitely flowers rather than just foliage.

I think it would be lovely to have a little height because of the position in the garden... also there are some big bits of conctrete buried at the bottom which we dug up from elsewhere in the garden, so if I try to level it I'm going to be back to square one. I did think about building a raised bed there, but that's not really grabbing me because of the money it would cost to buy timber etc

I'm really not sure. I just can't seem to think of anything that inspires me!

 

Are you planning to fill the whole border? will there be a Shed, Ghouse etc? Its a BIG border to fill with Flowers.. if you spread the soil down onto the border how about a small tree up there or even an Apple Tree, A mixture of evergreens and Perrenials will be best, are you looking for a theme? Cottage garden, Tropical, Hot colours Cool Colours?

 

I definitelt have a cottage garden feel to the garden - working with what was already here when we moved in. Lots of well established perennials which had been left to go a little mad when they came up this spring (the previous owner was 94!)

I like the idea of a tree of some kind, maybe a smallish one (we have huge lime trees behind) I now wish I had bought that lovely silver birch that was reduced at the garden centre three months ago

I would happily seed some of that current veg patch infront. Have just seeded the central area of the garden as it was just three giant veg beds! I like the idea of moving the path from a straight line to a meandering path or curved in some way. Even breaking it up, some grass path, some stepping stones. So really whatever I decide to do with the 'heap' I can build the rest of my plan around it