How to create height and separation

I adore the steps and curved walls! I bet that didn't come cheap when it was put in either

I can see pots lining those steps on either side and yes, I like the idea of an archway at the top of the steps.

An arbour on the hard standing, against the fence, in the top right would make a lovely little hideaway, so that gets a thumbs up from me too.

I quite like the little piece of trellis, but I'm not quite sure what was supposed to have been the aim of it But, you could make good use of it. Get a couple of posts and some more, taller, trellis panels and use it to create a reverse "L" shape to box off the hard standing area from the lawn area where you plan to have an arbour; then you will have created a "Secret Garden". The grass area could be dug out, at least a section of it to begin with, so you could grow climbers up the newly installed trellis. That would be enough to be getting on with for this year and the result would be quick, not hugely expensive and would then give you time to plan what you wish to achieve next year and the year after that.

In the meantime, you could look through the garden plans on the Better Homes & Gardens website. Best grab a cuppa first though, there are a good few plans to look through
All the plans fall into different categories and the plans themselves come with plant lists, drawn diagrams, grids etc. and are free. Even if you do not like the plans, they may inspire you to narrow down your focus as to which *style* of garden you would like to create in terms of plants in the space/aspect of your own garden. When you have decided which planting style you would like the chances are that someone on here has grown it and will be able to advise you on it

 

M, you have good ideas - can you come and sort out my garden please? I would love to create a secret garden corner in my garden, and pots would be perfect coming down those steps!

Sandhun, your garden is really lovely. I can see why you would like to encourage your wife to spend more time in it, although it will also be lovely to see from the balcony too. I have had your trouble finding someone to replace our garden walls and back steps. Builder number 2 just cancelled on us last week.

I think I need to clarify what I said about laying your own paths. We just laid 13 square metres of solid thick concrete slabs on which to build a greenhouse. That was really hard work, most of which my better half had to do. However, if you are fairly strong and active, and use the shallower attractive paving stones available, then it would be doable yourself.

I would also paint the wall on the left hand side a softer, more subtle colour, perhaps in something that would blend into the garden, or even as a theme colour which could be picked up by particular plants. Additionally, some garden centres have experts available to give advice on lots of aspects of gardening, including landscaping. Have you considered a small pond, as an additional area of interest?

I hope you have fun updating your garden. You have got great potential with what is already there!

 

Well sandhun, your last post reads really well as far as I can see. You have already visualised what you want to do with your garden, and I am convinced you will make a better job than those supposed landscape artists would do anyway - they are just after your money (with some exceptions of course) - nevertheless, that £500 wouldn`t go far with any of them

Which bit will you start with? I would get rid of the grass first I think. You need one of those edging tools or a spade for that....and dig it off in slices, turn it upside down and stack it up somewhere out of the way. It will then start to rot down and leave you with some nice useable soil to put on your beds. Next, I would take out the little orange trellis, although it looks a bit daft there, it will more than likely be just the job as you progress for somewhere else - so that can go with the stack of upside down turf.

When you have decided just where the arch will be, and how you are going to build the arbour in the top right corner, you could get your upright posts, and dry mix ordered, and dig the holes ready (you`ll need a spirit level for that to get them upright - don`t want them wonky)

That should keep you quite busy for a couple of days.....first things first

Later on (not yet) think about tall grasses as well as shrubs as screening...there is so much your plants will do for you if you choose the right ones.
Beware of bamboos though, some of those are very invasive.

 

As an afterthought sandhun, you can have little windy pathways the easy,cheap way, just find some broken paving slabs like I did - people throw them away - and make stepping stones through all your gorgeous flowering perennials, you can even easily move them around if you like to suit your mood

 

Thanks for the input folks, I'm liking the suggestions and am pleased to report things are (slowly) progressing - on paper at least.

I've drawn a quick sketch showing the approx dimensions of the grass area. For example, the lawn section on the left is roughly 6.2 x 2.5 metres

Here's where it gets complicated for me. If I were to rip up the lawn entirely, what would I put in it's place and where? Would I expand the existing borders and then put down a butane sheet over the rest of the soil before covering it in gravel? Or would I do without gravel and just plant things where the lawn used to be? Surely it needs some kind of structure.

Perhaps I need to draw inspiration from somewhere so I'll take a look at Better Homes & Gardens as per the suggestion above.

 

Sandhun, once you start planting stuff, you will need as much space as you can get. I suggest you stop looking at the whole garden now and just concentrate on the first job.
If you can get those upright posts in and the rest cleared, your garden will start to look very different, and you will find that you will start to see the whole area in a different way.

One job at a time. Trying to see it all in one go is too much, and can confuse even the most experience gardener.
Structure will happen all on it`s own when we (sorry, you) get round to choosing the right plants (that`s the best bit):spring:...I think my uprights were 9 ft. - 2ft in the ground, and 7ft above.

We haven`t even thought about where the pond and birdbath are going yet

 

Sandhun, forgive me if I suggest keeping the lawn.......for me it sets everything off. You can also cut your borders now and make further adjustments to them by cutting into the lawn if you want bigger borders or curves etc. You can always remove a lawn later if you choose to.

 

Loving the start of your project @sandhun - you can do it! I had a similar garden when I lived in leafy Fleet (although it was nowhere near as nice as your starting point)....it was surrounded by trees....west facing, very shady. My advice is keep the lawn....dont do gravel....raking up leaves off gravel is a pain in the backside....it will drive you insane.

 

I agree with Snorky about the lawn because I think lawn is lovely, but just to be devil's advocate, I use a leaf blower/ vacuum on gravel and it is excellent at lifting leaves but not gravel. However, it would be a pain to do it most days right through autumn/winter, so for that reason too I would pick lawn, at least on some of the garden.

 

Oh @Irmemac maybe my leafblower/sucker is poop....it would lift up some gravel muck sometimes as well as the leaves. Id get leaves stuck under the slate chippings etc. Luckily we dont have big trees where we are now.

 

Well mine was hardly top quality at £29 from Tesco last year, but we have a hugely prolific tree in our garden and this has been excellent on driveway for those of us (me specifically) who can't be bothered sweeping!

 

We resorted to those massive plastic rakes and several trips to the tip....we had only one oak tree in our own garden....but the neighbours gardens meant we had more than 10oaks dropping their leaves into ours. I do not miss those days lolol.

 

With my rather dusty garden designer's hat on, can I add my contribution to the above advice?

It is a great idea to consider painting the fence and walls now to something a bit softer, as once you get planting it would be much harder. I personally prefer browns on fences to green, as there is so much green in the foliage. It just might look better a more subtle shade of brown. If you want to repaint the white wall, then go for a nice subtle creamy shade.

Pleas don't dig up all the lawn at this stage. You will end up with a vast area to maintain. Lawns are actually quick to look after compared to borders, and even gravel takes looking after. They also provide the nice calming 'negative' space to contrast with the busy plant-filled borders that you will have. By all means take an edging iron and trim them to widen the borders. Keep the shapes big and sweeping, not small and fussy. Once the rest of the garden has taken shape, and you have run out of planting room, then you can rethink the borders.

Some of the ideas you have been given for arches, trellis etc sound great. But don't worry too much at this stage about visualising it all at once. Just tackle one idea at a time. It is the opposite of what a landscaper would do, but in your own garden is much less overwhelming.

The next main project is to dig some borders so that you can fill them with plants this autumn. That is the fun part!

 

I bet you don't!!

 

Master Yoda says "Do or do not. There is no try."

@sandhurn Seriously though. It's surprising what you can do. I feel I am the same as you. I have no building skills. I also don't have enough money to pay a professional landscaper. Earlier this year I started to revamp my garden by building a patio (technically it's not a patio but the same principal is involved.)

A landscaper quoted me £700 and that was using my slabs. I did it myself. The slabs were free. The rubble was free. I paid £50 for a bag of sand and £30 to hire an earth compactor. It took a couple of months and didn't always go to plan but I did it and I'm very proud of what I've achieved.

Don't be afraid. Plan what you want to do and go for it. If it feels wrong then stop, down tools and walk away. You will get there in the end.