Very new gardener, very decrepit old garden

I hope all you experts out there can help.
Ive recently moved to a house with a long,thin sloping garden full of weeds, brambles, bricks, 4ft high "rockery" plants and privet which once was a hedge but is now divided between straggly 15 ft trees and 6ft wide+ bushes that only the rampant ivy is holding up.
As I have four young children, I dont have much time to attend to the garden.
Ive hired a couple of maintainence men to clear the ground and possibly take out all the hedging so that I can put a strong, high fence plus gate, all round to increase available space and maintain security for the children (we're also overrun with cats and foxes)My problem is, because I dont really know anything about gardening, even when the clearance is finished,I have no idea how to achieve the low maintainence, child friendly garden I need. Any help is much appreciated :confused:

 

Hi GG
First things first - How big is the space? How old are your children & what gender are they? + you need to look at the microclimate in your garden - which way does it face? what sort of soil do you have? (acid/alkaline etc; sandy, clay, loam etc; moist, free draining?) What degree of slope is there? are there any flat areas, when & where does the sun shine in the garden?
For children you will need an area of flat grass, then depending on their ages & inclinations (& yours!) a wild area + wildlife & bird attracting features. If you are going to have play equipment, you may need to set aside a barked area (or allow room on the grass). Are your children the type who will want to get involved (raised veg/growing beds)? What space do you want for the adults. & do consider storage - as much as possible! I've just finished a garden where I put in built in seating with storage.
Also when considering surfacing, if they are young, they'll need hardstanding for trikes etc ( & possibly a sandpit - but make sure it has a lid other wise its cat litter heaven!)For plants choose touchy feely specimens such as soft grasses, Stachys byzantina etc, & avoid prickly ones & poisonous ones such as Holly, Euphorbia & Monkshood. Always teach your children what is ok to handle & what is out of bounds. Scent & sound is important too so herbs such as lavender, mint & rosemary, and rustly grasses are great - avoid bamboo in areas where they are likely to crawl around as the new shoots are very sharp & pointed. Kids also like dens, so consider a screened off area, or something like a willow tunnel or wigwam. If you decide to have water - there are some great safe features available now such as pebble pools, don't have a pond until they are older/can swim. A pond fenced off, or covered just looks ugly & defeats the point.
What ever you do, bear in mind hardlandscaping is where the costs come in, but do hire a reputable professional, to ensure safety & endurance. Don't be tempted to install patios etc yourself, very easy to bodge it unless you know what you're doing!
Hope this gets you thinking a bit - & do ask them what they want too - children have some great ideas!

 

Just what I was going to say Bayleaf!! lol


Hi GG, you will get lots of friendly advice on this site.

[ 24. August 2005, 03:12 PM: Message edited by: jjordie ]

 

Hi there,
thanks for your advice.
To answer your questions and bring you up to date, my formerly weedy wilderness is now a brown desert!! There was nothing worth keeping.Im not saying it was backbreaking, but the labourers ran off from the job before it was finished (or the last installment of wages paid)
The space is reasonable for an urban garden, a wedge-shaped 25m x5m x 10m approx. It faces south-east,most likely has acid soil and where its not completely filled with old roots and rubbish, seems to have a rich loamy soil.
There are no flat areas but the slope is fairly gentle, about 30cm from front to back and falls toward the house.
My children are very young, from 3 - 11 years old. We've bought swings, a chute, sandpit and large trampoline for them to enjoy when the garden is fixed.
I would love to put in place the sort of things that you suggested. I had originally hoped to spend about �£1500, but Ive increased that to �£2500,and that will have to cover absolutely everything.
I'm really keen to have things cracking on,so as much advice as you can throw at me will be much appreciated!
Thanks again. GG
PS I'm sorry that this is so long!

 

To Bayleaf's excellent advise I would add the following. Sounds like you have cleared the garden, so are facing a fresh canvas - and with the age range of your children - you need a plan, of what is going where - for the whole family - parents to chill, kids to explore and play. At this time of year, you got time to get it all laid out, and planted ready for spring. But the hand landscaping comes first - and thats best sorted with pen and paper and clear vision of what it should be, next year, and for a few years to come. I totally agree with Bayleaf, that the family needs to be involved in this

A trip to the library with the family to check out garden pictures - there are some great books and Dvd's that show what can be - and you and the family can select and adapt what you want for this space. Its that or shell out some money and employ a designer - who can create the design with and for you that you can work to over the next few months.

As you seem to be in a hurry - to get things going, I would suggest using a designer to provide the plan only - but critical is to make sure that they are suitable qualified and experience for the job. Don't cost all that much and could be worth every penny.