This is my garden - what would you do?

Hello all, I moved here a year or so ago and inherited a good sized if rather neglected back garden. I have been making a big effort to clear a lot of past-it shrubs, ivy, general rubbish etc. Time consuming but getting there!

Pictures should be attached, if I manage to upload them ok. The garden is south facing and has clay soil. Looking at the pics, on the left it is shady, generally, and on the right it's sunny. Top right used to be a vegetable patch but I have no inclination to grow veg at the moment (or if I do, it will be on a small scale, in containers). Not sure whether to turf over it and just make more lawn there, or to move the pond up there.

The rockery-shrubbery thing just below the ex-veg patch is not to my liking at all, but I fear will be very hard to get rid of.

Does anyone have any comments on what to grow where, or how to design this plot? Thank you very much indeed!

 

Hi there Catkin,

I think your solution is all down to a matter of opinion, and Im sure many people will suggest a huge contrast in ideas.

Im not sure if you are after an actual design as such, or more of just the smaller ideas for the bigger picture? A few years ago I studied garden design, and there are a whole range of questions to ask that would give the designer a bigger picture of what your requirements are for the plot.

For example, if you had children, I would suggest having a larger lawn, and NO open pond. Whereas if you dont have children, I would opt for larger borders, and a pond.

If you could give us an idea of what your likely to use the garden for (children, entertaining, eating, relaxing) and how much maintenance you want it to be (high maintenance or low), and so on... I think you will get ideas more suited to yourself

The shrubs shown in the photos dont look too big to remove, and If you dont like them, I would do so without hesitation... however, at 25, Im quite possibly more able bodied than someone in their 60s (im not assuming your age! just talking in general)... so Im afraid all I can say is, If your not keen on them, and you consider yourself able, then get them out! :D

I must say you have a very nice sized plot!

- Luke -

 

If it was used for vegetables "fairly keenly" then the soil will probably be in very good heart, so you may want to move / reuse that soil wherever else you want to make new beds.

Perhaps see if there are gardens open near you (I think its called "The Yellow Book") - there tend to be plenty of small gardens, opening for charity, but they have to pass a "test" from an assessor as to their worthwhile-ness for visitors, so won't be mickey-mouse! and may give you ideas for your size of garden.

 

Thats a good suggestion kristen. Many times ive stolen... um... borrowed :WINK1: ideas from others gardens!

- Luke -

 

[size=large]Hi Catkin, I like those bushes at the end-right and I think that secluded area at the back of it could be used for some purpose (if you don't want vegetables in it, something else). I do love the idea of the pond in the garden but the position of it from your picture seem to be very close to the wall. I think a lot more could be modified in that pond area to make sitting near the pond and looking in the water a pleasurable experience. Keep us updated![/size]

 

hi - I am a complete beginner so can't help really but your garden is similar size to ours.

I WANT to include in ours a wildlife type bit with sort of meadow grasses and wild flowers, rotting tree stump etc, a rockery area (probably in the front garden but as there are so many rockery rocks I think we might have a small one in the little wildlife bit too. next to this I plan to have an arbour seat with probably honeysuckle growing over it.
we also plan to have a lot of lawn for the children to play on and their little playhouse. our shed will be hidden behind trees at the bottom of the garden and I want to have climbing plants up the garage to make it less obvious.

we have reduced the depth (front to back not actual depth) of the flowerbeds so we don't have as much weeding issues and I particularly like hydrangeas and fuchsias so hope to put some of them in the flowerbeds

so no real help but perhaps some possible ideas you could think about

 

I think it's a fabulous garden as it is.

1) I'd leave the pond where it is.
2) I'd grass over the vegetable patch.
3) I'd plant 3 thin columnar evergreens (red, yellow and green) in your rockery area on the right.
4) I'd plant a load of shrubs up against the shed and the trellis with the intention of completely hiding them.
5) I'd make a sitting out area in the lawn on the right; preferably with patio stone not decking. A pagoda would look lovely there.

No charge. You can buy me a pint sometime. :D :D

 

Hi catkin. I think that trelis at the bottom of the garden is screaming out for sweetpeas

 

Hi everyone - thanks for the feedback so far!

Luke: I'm after a design for the whole garden OR separate ideas for a bigger picture. In fact, I'm not even sure which of those two options I'm after. In a way I'd like a whole design, but feel that it would be too much to do all in one go. On the other hand, it's manageable to concentrate on separate bits at separate times, but that makes me worry that the whole thing will end up looking "bitty" and have no "cohesion" if you see what I mean.

luke I do have children but the youngest is old enough and I'm ok with having a pond. the garden is to be used for relaxing/entertaining and of course pottering and gardening (me only - no one else in the family is interested). I enjoy gardening and have some time on my hands ( I work part time) so I wouldn't say I need a completely low maintenance garden - maybe medium maintenance! Oh and the shrubs in the picture on the right will be a lot harder to get rid of than it might appear, because underneath them are some absolutely gigantic rocks. The whole thing is in fact a madly overgrown rockery! Perhaps I could get the shrubs out and then grow something else over the rocks, rather than get the rocks out.

Kristen - yes the soil on the ex-veg patch is really nice - however there are a load of nettles growing in it - I'm waiting for them to sprout again so that I can go in with the Roundup! Perhaps i can reuse the non-nettly soil. And your idea of visiting other gardens is great - I know they do it round here in the spring, it's called Herts Open Gardens or something like that.

Miraflores - yes I do like having a pond - this one is so concrete-y though. I'd love a more natural one but I guess that's major work... and the position of the pond is indeed a bit problematic. I was thinking of getting rid of this one and using the space as a herb garden as it is right by the kitchen window but again, major project - time and money I don't have!

Keinnaf - great to see your ideas. A stumpery had occurred to me actually, because the previous owners left a load of tree stumps (not visible in the photo) and one of my ideas for the veg patch was to make it into a stumpery. I love the wild flower garden idea too - but feel it might look really bare in the winter (as my garden is sloping towards the house, you get a birds eye view of it from the upstairs windows).

Kindredspirit - thanks so much - I love clear statements like that and it was encouraging to see you like the garden!! Just one thing - it doesn't show in the photos but there is already a patio which goes across the bottom of the picture (if you can imagine that). So i wouldn't want a sitting area on the lawn on the right. Good to see you would leave the pond where it is!! I would love a pagoda though - perhaps on the dreaded ex-veg patch??

sorry for such a long post - I did want to respond to everyone who made the effort to give me some help! Anything else you can say will be most appreciated!

 

Nettles are a good sign - they only grow in rich, fertile, soil :thumb:

I don't find their roots hard to dig out - very fibrous, but once you've got most of them out they don't come back. But a couple of applications of Roundup / Glyphosate on strongly growing shoots should do the trick

 

I did wonder if the wildflower thing might look a bit miserable in the winter too but am going to see if I can put some stuff down there (no idea what yet) that flowers in the winter or has interesting coloured foliage.

I have been thinking about trying phlox in our rocky areas, if there is enough soil there then it might work and cover some of the rocks up. or there is something called aubretia (or something like that) which I keep seeing in gardens round here on rockery patches or walls etc and I think from the looks of things it grows very well and can cover things up. but again I really am a complete novice so you would need to look it up.

 

Takemore02 - i only just noticed your post - I LOVE LOVE LOVE sweet peas and am waiting for my sweet pea seeds to germinate. I was thinking of planting them out later against that trellis but just wondering if it will be sunny enough - can't remember from last summer whether much sun hits that border! Might put some there, and the rest along the fence on the right which is west facing.

Keinnaf yes I would be interested to know what could be combiined with wild flowers for the summer to give interest for the winter. Chances are though that whatever that would be, would also be very present in the summer therefore detracting from the wild flowers if you know what I mean. can anyone suggest some sort of evergreen perennial that would look good with wild flowers in the summertime? by t!he way I'm not keen on aubretia but i love phlox, and actually last year i grew from seed some Night Scented phlox, and believe me the scent was delicious - smelt like sugar!