Designing our garden - what to do

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

I'm usually fairly good with designing layouts and coming up with ideas, however I am somewhat stumped what to do with our garden.

As is stands, the grass is mostly moss and needs returfing. The Silver Birches and Beech need to go and the decking needs replacing as it is rotten (looking for smooth decking).

We both quite like modern gardens, and we're not really gardeners so hardly plants with raised flower beds etc are on our minds.

Unfortunately, we're limited by budget, but this is only for materials as the labour will be done ourselves. We have an outdoor plug and there is already a switch in the kitchen to power outdoor lighting. In addition, I think replacing the fencing is out of the question as it is too costly - I'm tempted to put trellis in front of it, along with bamboo and uplighters, but I'm afraid that the fence will ruin the appearance of it.

Has anyone got any suggestions are to layout, design elements etc. I do quite like water features too that are incorporated into the landscape.

Dimensions

The garden itself is almost a square, it comes in a 9m wide by 8.9 deep. The bit behind the outside room is roughly 3.5m wide by 2m deep.

Sunlight

These photos were taken at 10am in April. In the summer, the sun moves left to right across the read of the garden, setting somewhere behind the bushes behind the garage.

In the winter, the sun moves more along the left side of the garden

Planting

Personally I like the more hardy tropical plants like bamboo, palm etc. The plant growing across the back of the house is a Wisteria. Whilst not my favourite plant due to mess it makes, i

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Mark Lane Designs

7 years ago

This is a great space and there are many considerations. Firstly, where in the UK are you, what type of soil do you have (I know you're thinking of raised beds, but these can be costly), what do you want to use the garden for, you mention Tropical plants but do you have any other styles in mind. If the grass is mainly moss then I'm guessing that the rest of the garden gets little sunlight so I would lift it. Depending on budget you can then either sow shade-tolerant seed (depending on the time of year) or lay turf, but if grass and regular mowing is too much to think about then you could either have a gravel garden with borders - gravel is relatively cheap, looks good and will last a long time (but make sure that sufficient weed membrane is put down before the gravel), or add to the paving, broken up by borders and/or features, or lay good artificial turf. Replacing a deck is also costly. What is below the decking? Bamboos can look stunning, but make sure they are clump forming types and not spreaders, otherwise you will spend most of your time removing suckers. If you like modern lines then you could consider formal straight lines coming off the house. I have seen a wonderful garden where dwarf bamboos have been used for path edging. They grow to c.70cm in height, move with the wind, and add an interesting vertical (albeit on the shorter side) element. Then you could plant Callistemon citrinus 'Splendens' with red bottlebrush flowers, scented of lemon (depending on your location, these may need lifting and stored in a frost-free place over winter), Melianthus major which has serrated soft leaves and is a stunning architectural plant, Fatsia japonica for its large glossy leaves, Cordylines for their spikey leaves, evergreen ferns, Hostas for big leaves (in a multitude of colours, shapes and sizes), Mahonia x media 'Winter Sun' for bright yellow winter flowers, Rodgersia podophylla which is a handsome foliage plant, Phormium tenax for large architectural strappy leaves, Crocosmias for bright tropical looking flowers, Euphorbias, Cannas and Colocasia - and while some are hardy you will probably have to get into a winter regime of protecting the plants. For the walls of the house you could grow Trachelospermum jasminoides with scented yellow flowers or from seed Cobaea scandens which is an annual in this country, but the flowers are headily scented. There are many plants, but a good search on the Internet will reveal which ones grow in shade and which ones require sun. If you live in my area, which is Kent, I highly recommend Great Dixter where the late Christopher Lloyd turned the rose garden into an amazing tropical paradise. Looking at the layout of your house, and with Great Dixter in mind you could have straight paths leading off each other at right angles, and fill the spaces between with your tropical jungle. Many of the plants listed above will add great structure, and some will even block views enticing you around the garden to see what's round the next corner. So after a very long entry, I do apologise, keep the layout simple and use the plants to create the feel and style that you are after. I wish you all the best. Mark

Comments (12)

PRO
Elite Outdoor Living
8 years ago
Hello, looks like a beautiful space and definitely worth taking your time in thinking about a design layout making sure to use it well. Some of our completed work may provide some inspiration for composite decking and garden balustrades. At least with our composite decking you won't after worry about it rotting in a few years time which would be a bonus.
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Mark Lane Designs
7 years ago

This is a garden I did for a client, where they too wanted a tropical feel. This was a costly project, but it might give you some ideas, as well. Best Mark
ghesp
Original Author
7 years ago
We live up north in Cheshire, so not down South sadly. The garden does currently have a lot of moss, however we've cut back a lot of the trees and removed some now, and we're getting a lot more light into the garden.
I suspect the Silver Birches aren't helping matters either, however we'd like to keep the one on the left.

I'm not sure what's currently below the decking as it was there when we bought the house. My initial assumption would be not much, and whatever it is hasn't been done right. I wouldn't be surprised if its sat on the floor..

I quite like grass and I'm fine with mowing it. When I mentioned low maintenance, it's more targeted at having to prune flowers back etc.

I quite like this style - low maintenance, tropical plants, 'hidden' water feature. I know thats in Sydney so the weather there helps, but you get the idea:

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Mark Lane Designs
7 years ago
What a great picture, and a design that could easily be adjusted for your site, in terms of both hard landscaping and soft landscaping for a Cheshire site. The elements of slabs, wooden boards, rendered walls, low hidden water feature and lush low-maintenance planting can be achieved on a small budget. Water features surprisingly cost quite a bit, even a simple rill such as in the picture with small bubbling jets and lighting. To keep the cost down, you could look for concrete slabs, and use a softer wood and then stain it to the colour you want, rather than going for an expensive Iroko wooden board. Of course, once you start staining you will need a regular care schedule of cleaning it and re-staining it. Perhaps if the budget will allow, you could spend more on say composite decking boards and a stylish piece of furniture, and then use cheaper products elsewhere. A good Internet search will reveal some great products, but don't get carried away. Stick to your idea of how the garden should look and be strict with yourself. Failing that, appoint a garden designer. Regards Mark
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IQ Outdoor Living
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
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Kate Gould Gardens
7 years ago
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ghesp thanked Kate Gould Gardens
ghesp
Original Author
7 years ago
We're constricted by budget, however i'll be doing all the labour ourselves.

I've since jet washed the fence which has brought it back to its natural state, so will be looking to recoat it with a new colour.

I'd like to re-lay the patio, however cost may prohibit this.

So far Ive managed to whip up a rough idea in Sketchup
magdalena korvin ECLUSIER LONDON DESIGN
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
I am in the middle of building decking and repairing existing paving area.I am also facing the budget problem. I minimised the cost of decking by using DIY pallets as the under structure. This is also make the rest of the work much easier. The old paving....I just left the best slabs to create some motive on the concrete coating with added colour. I am doing all work by myself. It is not complicated at all if you have the rubber shaping tool(you can buy it on line for approx £14.) Now I am off to continue my garden work.. I should upload the pictures in a couple of days since I am also using old fence boards to build plant pots and bench :-) Good luck with your garden !
Elliott Cook
7 years ago
How is your garden looking? Want to tell us about it? Currently casting for a brand new property show.
magdalena korvin ECLUSIER LONDON DESIGN
7 years ago
That sound interesting! I am working on my garden (and all house in fact)at the moment with plans for a extension in the future. Right now it is a very low budget but a very creative project indeed!
John Pearson
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Wow, your ideas are really cool guys! When I was decorating my garden, it took me a long time to find the perfect decorations. I looked for ideas on various forums, but even after ten forums I did not find anything that I would like :(. I really didn’t know what to do, so I decided to first find things that I would decorate my garden with, and then I would come up with everything else. And so it happened! On the advice of my friend, I bought a lot of garden decorations from mayfield-market.com. Also in the local ikea, I bought several benches, as well as wiring in order to power the light bulbs, which I was decorating trees and it ended up being very cool, I think.