free for all

I need suggestions for my garden as I am really not too creative when it comes to designing.

All suggestions are welcome and I have pics below for you to look at. The one thing I feel I must have is a corner mound for plants which would be in the top left hand corner of picture (1) so it would cover the retaining wall foundation which you can see in the picture.
Apart from that, it's a free for all, lol.

Thanks in advance for all and any suggestions.

Garden is approx 13m x 13m

 

Last pic, top of the wall deffo needs beds there with plants trailing over to soften the wall..Pots in the top left hand corner and maybe a patio in the right hand corner as a seating area, Plant wise, Next Spring is the time for planting but you could start the borders and plant bulbs and winter pansie's...
Other members will come up with ideas for you im sure.. Good Luck with your garden Stig you have Blank Canvas there and the skies the limit

 

I'm guessing from the presence of footballs and a trampoline that you have kids, so the nice big lawn would be something you'd want to keep, and also any plants you choose need to be tough enough to withstand a high speed impact from airborne footies.

Why not just go for some nice flowering evergreen shrubs round the edges? Something like rhododendrons and azaleas perhaps. Not like a hedge, just a few to give differing heights and structure to the appearance. Maybe chuck in a few of Rosemary bushes too (sorry, I always recommend Rosemary no matter what the situation - its one of my favourite plants).

On the back wall, maybe a trellis with various Clematis's growing up it, and some low growing shrubs along the bottom to soften the line where lawn meets wall.

I also think if you could find room without sacrificing too much lawn, a decked area would look really nice.

No matter what you do, I'd draw a few sketches before you start. Something might seem like a good idea but unless you can visualise it, you could end up with something you don't really want. Another thing to consider is that if you do sketch it, remember you won't be looking at the real thing in plan view, so while sketching it is a good place to start, you need to spend a couple of hours just aimlessly wandering about (your neighbours will think you've gone mad), sitting down, lying down, and all the while letting your imagination run riot so you can visualise the end result as it would look from all different angles.

 

What do you use your garden for? Do kids play in it? Do you entertain alot? Is the entertaining done outside? Do you want low maintenance, or something that there is always something to potter around with? Alot of what would be your perfect garden comes from you yourself - and how you want to envision using your garden.
If, like me, you have a houseful of kids who love to play outside - there are certain things that are just going to have to wait - as I can't take away their are for swimming pool, trampoline, playing soccer, doing bike jumps on ramps they sprawl all over the lawn. I also have to be careful not to plant things that I'm going to be forever saying 'watch for this, watch for that'.......I should've thought about that before planting my grape vine....but hey ho - it's survived not too badly!
Maybe share some thoughts as to how you want to use your garden in future years.....and then we can give some ideas

 

Thanks for all ideas so far. Already I have some great suggestions
I do have kids, but generally they play elsewhere around the estate. My son and I used to kick a ball around on the lawn but not so much now as he has regular footy training elsewhere. So now it would really be used for sitting in and enjoying the weather (when scotland eventually gets some. I can only hope). As I said I would like a big mound of dirt in the top left corner to cover those retaining foundations, and My Girlfriend has suggested a decking area in the top right of garden but i'm not 100% sure about that...I think it 'may' look a bit outta place to be honest. Also at the moment, the front of the garden gets pretty waterlogged and I assume that's why the grass looks like ****. I will need to get drainage installed but I need to get these ideas for the garden so I know what I am working towards.

Thanks folks.

 

Why not kill two birds with one stone. Dig a pond in the bit that gets waterlogged, and use the excavated soil for your mound in the top left perhaps. The around your pond, put plants that like the moist/wet soil. As for the mound, my dad did one. He's filled his mostly with Fuschias. It looks quite good.

 

Thanks clueless, that's not a bad idea. Clearly you don't live up to your username :cnfs: lol.

I meant to add that I think I would like it to be a fairly floral garden also. I dont mind putting in great big 'bushes' etc. I should also advise that the 'soil' is very much clay based so it is difficult to avoid waterlogging. Would lots of plants/bushes help a fair bit with the amount of water the top garden holds?

 

Roses, roses and roses, and perhaps some peonies.


If I could offer any design tips I have found that a "blob" of a lawn is not attractive, so choose a definite shape and plant around that.


If you google garden design there are quite a lot of websites that offer "off the peg" design plans.


Like Clueless, I see three footballs, and I think he has made some perfect suggestions.

 

Flowering shrubs don't need to be massive. My mum had a rhododendron in a container for a few years until something killed it (vine weevil we think). Also you can of course keep trimming them back to keep them in check.

On your other point, I find that lots of plants in the ground sort of regulates the water level. No plants, or just a few, and the ground bakes dry as soon as you get some sunshine. Lots of plants will obviously take water from the ground, while at the same time stopping sunshine from baking the soil.

There are quite a few thirsty plants that might help, but potentially at the expense of anything you grow near them. Willow for example drinks a lot, but it also robs nutrients from the ground, and some varieties grow at a phenomenal speed, quickly shading out anything underneath them.

Apart from generally improving drainage by digging in tonnes of organic matter (compost, manure etc) and/or sand/grit, seeing as you have a blank canvass, you could raise parts of the garden, so it is not totally flat. Personally I don't like 2D gardens (one of the reasons I don't much like my back garden - it is flat and two small to really offer many options), if you sort of terraced up areas of it, then gravity would do its thing for drainage, and it would look ace, but would be a lot of work.

 

What about his veg ???

 

Judging by the sun and the position of the sky dishes, your end wall faces south. I would suggest that you put an arbour with a seat in it, in the top right-hand corner and train some apple trees to climb up and over the frame. In fact, that lovely sheltered back wall is screaming out for fruits of some kind growing along it in fans, cherries, peaches, apples, pears etc. And directly in front of it, you could put in a raised bed for your veg... oh my goodness, now you've really got me to thinking. Good luck, Stig, whatever you decide to do.