Long long time away and a new project

Hello All,

It's been many years since I posted and a few different homes/gardens, but I return in need of much help and advice from you knowledgeable lot
Just moved into our forever home 4 days ago and as the whole house needs renovating, extension and dormers, I have turned my attention to garden ideas.
The previous owner was a very keen gardener and built/created everything you see but due to old age he could not maintain it anymore.
The liner for the pond repeatedly split during the sale time frame so the fish where relocated and now left empty. We have a Spaniel and children so would like to fill part of the pond but leave the area under the bridge as a feature (ideas, and how to fill would be hugely appreciated)
Hedgehogs, newts, frogs all abundant in the garden but we would prefer not to have such a large pond area.
A fence along the side is needed due to the dog finding its way into everyone else's garden and removal of some hedges to reclaim some of the garden space. Behind pond is a bit of a rockery mess and we loose around 6ft of garden. The shed will go as its no longer needed for the pond filters and another one is at the opposite end.
The pond filling is the biggest problem or how to partially fill with decorative stone. Could it be rebuilt smaller and a water feature made ?
In desperate need of ideas as I am a total novice but do not wish to destroy the garden.
Thank you all so much for any help you can offer
P.S would the paving and bridge stone clean up with a light pressure washer ?

 

I was just admiring the weathered stone with the lichens growing on it. I wouldn't clean it too vigorously if it were mine.
I can't really help on the pond either, but to reduce the size rather than fill it all in, it might be best to build some kind of wall across and put soil against it on the pond side as well as filling in the not-pond-any-more side. Filling just with soil might not be firm enough to support the liner. The round part of the pond nearest the camera would look lovely as a flower bed, or you could fill it all in and plant under the bridge as a kind of dry riverbed effect, with gravel top-dressing and a few bigger stones/boulders.

 

I love the lichen and the different colours on the stone. It would make a lovely backdrop to some bright flowers like phlox and rudbeckia.

 

I would keep the pond replace the liner and top it with a metal grate. Set just below the water surface it wouldn’t be too visible and plants/wildlife would be able to move through and digs/children kept out. Great source of fun and education for children.

If you do fill it in, you could keep the leaky liner in situ and have rainwater plants ( plants that tolerate wet and dry rather than pure bog plants)? It may in reality be too shallow but hard to judge off photos. If getting rid, I think I would fill with soil rather than stone and treat it as a flower bed. You could go for a dry riverbed effect, within the space and going under the bridge but I think they are quite hard to successfully pull off.

Re the hedges, could these be trimmed back rather than removed. Established hedges give a garden a sense of maturity and a living, green border with minimal effort and great for wildlife. Also a greater sense of privacy, in my opinion, than hedges - I think it’s the sene of space between you and your neighbours and they do absorb some sound.

Always exciting to have a new garden and I think the ideas and planning phase it’s a big part of the fun

 

I agree and would much prefer that too but the house over the back has built a breeze block wall with turrets and slabs atop. A real eye saw and in winter the hedges die back and reveal the monster

 

Could you put a trellis topper on for extra visual distraction in winter, keeping the hedges in situ? If you remove them you’ll just see the castle battlements all the time or at least for some years until any new planting matures?

 

I was thinking of removing some of the hedges, leaving others and putting a fence all along. Would then add in plants rather than the hedges. I would loose some garden as the fence would stand off due to the tops of the 'turrets' . God knows why he built that and no one objected !
Maybe he had a job lot of breeze blocks and felt the need to share

 

How old are your children? You could make a play area from the pond, like a sandpit, and the bridge could play at being a house, castle etc whatever they imagine. If your children are too old for that then order some topsoil and make a flower border.

 

Nearly 14 so past the sand pit age but did ask for a swimming pool
The flower border sounds good, maybe some lights to illuminate the bridge on an evening. I lightly cleaned the stone, mortar has been used for grouting so very solid and came up nice. Didn't go made so as to keep some of the weathering. Shed now gone to make way for a greenhouse or summer house eventually