Garden redesign for newly purchased home, help please :(

Comments (18)

PRO
HMS Decorative Surfacing Limited
3 years ago
Hi Ayse, we agree with previous comments. When you have the budget we recommend to install resin bonded or bound surfacing on the concrete driveway. It looks great and is very low maintenance. Please contact us if you have further questions
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hello bonnielynn75 and THANK YOU! your comment put a smile on my face re the red on the interior side of the door. It IS red on the inside as well, he insisted on that when we purchased it. no one here has it red on the inside and I wanted it to be white on the inside. do you see my dilemma?;) I agree with everything you are saying, I suppose this is the reason why so far I was not 100% sure about the black for the door either, although I like black...Agree, there is too much wall and I find the house to be looking a bit 'bland' and would like to change that. I LOVE shutters, but read somewhere that you never put shutters on wide windows, so got unsure about that, too...but perhaps just the one as I stated earlier. Would the color on that shutter be the same as the door (if I ever settle on a door color)? Unfortunately window boxes are not an option as we have quite a few cats and they may be used as litter boxes;) please don't tell me to get rid of the cats;)... Regarding the stoop (entrance) : we need to add another step (made of cement) on top of the existing step: it was removed when the new door was fitted. We were thinking of putting slate tiles or something dark to match the roof, if that makes any sense.... It is porous cement so unsuitable for painting, I think. What place in Ireland did you visit, we are close to the Irish Sea in the country surrounded by sheep;)...
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Hi ! I think this house will benefit from from plenty of toy storage in the main family living space ( assuming this will be in the extension at rear ) as while little ones are so small they need to be in view - so perhaps you could design with this in mind and add a dedicated laundry room near the WC perhaps ? The current play room could maybe be used as a different function ? Do you need a guest room /study perhaps ? For when family members come to stay ? If so maybe the wc could be upgraded to a shower room ? There's lots of things you can do to make this work for you - just write a list of what could make your life easier now and for the next 5-10 years or so ... Some things will evolve or be ready to change by then - so being clever with your designing and planning now should put you in a good place further down the line too !! If this is something you need help with - hiring in a pro might be a good way of dealing with it - or alternatively put your wish list on here and see if you can get some fab ideas from the helpful Houzzers !!!
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Hello Houzz Ireland, We are currently renovating a 1960's build - so as you know, there is a lot of decisions to be made!! So it would be nice to get some gems of advice from the experts to help us through this daunting task. Areas where we would really like some inspiration for - small bathroom downstairs. I would really like to do something fun with this room and although small, I think it could work really well with some funky wallpaper or possibly tiles?! I'm just not sure what to do with it. Also - pulling a whole house together?! Where do we start? We have the bigger pieces of furniture but how do I know what nest of tables goes best with a suite? Or what accessories will bring a room together? I'm due a second baby in 2 weeks time so any help at this stage would be so amazing - to guide me on the right interior design path for our new house. Thanks, Laurie
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PRO
Eliza Gray Gardens
3 years ago
Hi there,

The first thing to do is clear out the play equipment and cut the grass. I'm not sure what the other structure is at the rear?

I would leave the shrubs for now until you have a plan, as they can add interest to a new garden. I would initially get some screening at the rear of the garden, with possibly trellis and climbers on the fence, (such as clematis armandii or honeysuckle) and some evergreen shrubs to screen the fence such as Choisya, Osmanthus burkwoodii or Prunus laurocerasus. If you're feeling flush, get some pleached trees.

When you look at the plan, look to screen the boundaries and draw the eye in with a central lawned tea in a clear shape.

The pergola will look much nicer with a soft paint colour and some festoon lighting on the beams - great space for entertaining!

Think how you would like to use the area and draw up a plan reflecting this - flowers? Low maintenance? Fruit and veg? Sunbathing? Yoga?

Good luck!
Ayse thanked Eliza Gray Gardens
moorlikeit
3 years ago
I agree with some of the advice above re sorting out the grassy area and back wall but I totally agree with the retention of the greenhouse if you will be growing veg; I’m not certain how we would manage without one! Also beware of advice to paint the pergola/decking as it will require considerable maintenance in the future as paint finishes deteriorate fast. I think the easier and better solution would be to grow many beautiful climbers over the pergola - the green will soften the look of the structure. add to that some hanging lanterns or strings of lights to provide a twinkly effect. Clusters of plants in pots of different heights will also add texture and colour. Finally comfortable inviting seating with cushions and you will have an outdoor room to enjoy.

Good luck with your project.
Ayse thanked moorlikeit
PRO
Sara Slade Interiors
3 years ago
I'd keep the pergola, but remove the plastic off the top of it if possible, and as someone said above - add festoon lights, they always look great on pergolas.
Ayse thanked Sara Slade Interiors
PRO
OnePlan
3 years ago
Great ideas so far ... I’d add draw it all up to scale and add in the sun route and then look at how and where you can use the areas to suit your needs as a long term goal ... do little chunks at a time to reach the end goal !
Ellie
3 years ago
Don't cut all the plants as nothing worse than a bare garden! mow but that's it. see how the plants go over summer, try identify them and learn how to prune properly. plants are extremely expensive!
Ayse thanked Ellie
Douglas Johnson
3 years ago
It seems to me that you have everything to make your garden look cute. Yes, you need a lawn mower. I don't even think you need anything particularly powerful. Check out reviews on the lawn care base. I myself do not like bends and rounded shapes, so I made everything as simple as possible geometrically)) Instead of a resinous finish, I have regular decorative walkway tiles.
Ayse thanked Douglas Johnson
User
3 years ago
As others have said, if you cut the grass at the back and remove any obvious weeds, then you’ll have your “canvas”. I wouldn’t use a designer as a) I’m Yorkshire and far too tight and b) if you don’t know what you want yet, you’ll be in danger of really going OTT, to find out later, it’s not really you. D never really had a decent garden and moved into a new build over 10 years ago with a landscaped garden, I then filled a lot of gaps as I didn’t take into account, that plants grow. (Who knew?). 5 years later, I realised that I wasn’t that much of a gardener and that spending hours and hours every week tending it wasn’t my plan, so we stripped out loads of smaller plants and simplified it. If you want to sit out and enjoy it with fiends and family but don’t want to spend ages looking after it, then go for shrubs around the edges. If you want a new hobby or to test your gardening skills and like-ability I’d create a tiny herb patch near your door. This will give you an idea of whether you like gardening or not. I wouldn’t try and create your masterpiece in one go. Measure it all and play around with different designs.(PowerPoint worked fine for me) and then do a side at a time.
As for your front garden, to be honest I’d tackle that first as it’s what you see every day when you come home and it’ll look lovely at Christmas. Just turf where it is, as I see it already has edging, again just cutting that and treating it with lawn care should be fine for now. A pot either side of the front door and then decide on the driveway. The resin ones do look nice, we have block paving that also looks nice but still has to be weeded and fresh sand brushed in between the bricks every year. Whatever you decide, have fun doing it.
Ayse thanked User
User
3 years ago
Btw....I’d keep the Rosemary bush and design around it. It looks lovely.
Ayse thanked User
Dana Thompson
3 years ago
It takes years to get the garden how you would eventually like it if on a tight budget. Even if you get a designer it may not be perfect. Do what’s been suggested and clear out everything that’s not needed keeping what you would like to create with. Basically take your time step back and enjoy The challenge. Labour is cheap so a helping hand with the clear out is recommended. Good luck
Ayse thanked Dana Thompson
Sue S
3 years ago
I'd keep the plastic on the pergola whilst we are still trying to keep Coronavirus at bay - somewhere to sit and meet friends even if it's raining and you aren't allowed to have them in the house. Hopefully you'll be able to get rid of it next summer! 🤞
Ayse thanked Sue S
juliehanna59
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
As this was originally posted 5 months ago I assume you have cut the lawn and tidied the existing planting by pruning and cutting back. When inheriting a garden the best advice I can give is wait 12 months to see what comes up - it could save you a small fortune stocking the garden. |n the meantime I would mow the lawn, repair/replace fences where needed then paint the fences (consider doing the decking, perola etc in the same colour to ensure a uniform look) use a stain rather than paint -grey seems to be the in colour at the moment - a dark grey will make the fence recede into the background and make a good backdrop to any future planting. Once you know what plants you have, decide if you like them/where they are - if you don't want them plan to remove/gift to someone else or move them to where you want them. From the pictures it looks like your rear garden may be north facing - find out the orientation and then research which plants will thrive best in your garden. As for plants 1. ask family and friends for cuttings/split plants , 2. rescue plants from the reduced section in garden centres/DIY stores/supermarkets. 3. collect seed heads (now is he best time for this and plant them up ready for the spring/summer (you've got to love free stuff) and 4. to add temporary colour buy seeds packets i.e. virginia stock, poppies, cottage garden mixes - you can simply sow these straight on to the soil, rake over and leave. They will fill up any holes and add a splash of colour until you decide what you want to do and have saved up enough money to do it. Hope this helps.
Ayse thanked juliehanna59
Dana M
3 years ago
pergola will be fantastic once tidied up with some climbers and lights for night time. Hopefully I can build a pergola myself some day. You will have some well established keepers of plants in all that overgrowth, you will discover what once you clear the grass, make sure you get it up by the root around the base of the shrubs. I do see a well-established beautiful rosemary in there. Its great for scent, cooking and bees.
Ayse thanked Dana M
Ayse
Original Author
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Thanks everyone for amazing comments. The photos show the final state of the garden (shot on a much better season). In the end, we trimmed the grass and even that changed a lot :) We have planted some bulbs in the corners and waiting for them to flower. There were so many nice berry shrubs beneath the grass and we are waiting to see how they will turn out. I have put some festoon lights and enjoyed the pergola when the weather was nicer -- the cats enjoyed that as well! The plastic above the pergola stayed as it was really rainy but still warm to sit outside, but probably we will change it in the next year to something less green and dirty :(

We are also considering putting a conservatory there in the long run. What do you think?

We still have tons to do here, the old owner planted everything far too close to each other (e.g. the vine near the greenhouse) and some stuff needs to be moved. We are slowly getting rid of the DIY tire-planters, which look horrid (and are insanely strong).

I had enjoyed a bit of gardening until it was just too much. The space is a haven but really the weeding takes long.

As for herb gardening, we will try and plant some tomatoes in the greenhouse this year just to see how they develop under the UK weather, which will put our skills to test :)

Once again, thanks for all the amazing ideas and please send me thoughts if you have any more suggestions!
juliehanna59
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
It looks soooo much better. Now you have made a start it will be easier to keep on top of until you decide on the overall look you want and/or save the money to do it. I inherited and 'designed' from scratch a number of gardens over the years and one of the best time and money savings lessons I learned was to put in the backbone of the garden first, by this I mean erect new fencing, lay paths and chose the larger shrubs or trees you want and plant these, (the new plants/trees will grow while you are working on the house). I liken these tasks to plastering walls before hanging wallpaper e.g. it's no good putting wallpaper on crumbling plaster as it will only have to be striped it off and re-done. Once you've completed the basics I would divide the garden into areas and work on each area in turn. Trying to do it all will simply mean the whole is a mess - unless you have very deep pockets in which go for it. You now have the winter months in which to decide on your look and what you really want from your garden. Plan, plan and plan. I adopted the mantra do it once and do it right. It does take time and patience but it is worth it in the end. If you decide a conservatory is for you then add this after you've finished the basics, that there's no danger of 'undoing' any work you may have done in the garden. I hope this helps, happy gardening.
Ayse thanked juliehanna59
User
3 years ago
Wow, you’ve put so much work into that, it looks almost like a different garden. You’ve got some lovely established shrubs (like you thought). I’d paint the fence next (in the spring). It doesn’t matter that you have different panels but if you treat it, it will last longer and look as if it’s all the same. I found that the spray didn’t work for me, made far too much mess and didn’t coat it as well as a good old fashioned pasting style brush. Takes ages and you’ll need to redo every few years. This might be the best time of year to buy some though as the garden centres and B&M etc sell them off cheap. We use probably 2 5ltr tubs and we have a garden similar size to yours. Don’t be disheartened if your bulbs don’t come up first time, some take a couple of years to establish., but hopefully you’ll get a lovely spring display.
Not sure on the conservatory idea. I personally hate them but I have a few friends that love them. I’d see how you use the house for longer before you add that expense. I know at least 2 people who added on quite a large conservatory and they are both now just used as storage for the ironing waiting to be done! But they were both used quite a lot for kids before they reached teenage years. Do you need the extra room?
It really does look lovely, you’ve done a great job. The last thing I’d say also is if there’s a part of the garden that you want to create some privacy from the neighbours, Laurel is fairly quick growing and evergreen and dense and reasonably priced but just bear in mind that you’ll have to trim it every year, but on the upside, once it outgrows the fence, you don’t need to paint that bit!
Ayse thanked User
Sonia
3 years ago
What a pretty garden and you have some lovely plants. Weeds will always be an issue in all gardens, but I find the best way to keep them down is to plant your borders fully, so that everything melds together. Spreading a thick mulch (compost) over the bare soil will help too. You will still get weeds, but far less. I would love a conservatory added to my south facing house, but they’re a bit like marmite - you either love them or hate them! Do what suits you and your family. I’m a fair weather gardener, so I’m only out there pottering when the sun shines, whatever the season. This is some of my very packed garden and apart from a lonely dandelion that keeps popping up, there are few weeds.
Ayse thanked Sonia

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Garden redesign for newly purchased home, help please :(

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Garden redesign for newly purchased home, help please :(

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