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GardensDesign Dilemmalandscape design
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garden design dilemma

Mary Ketchley
3 years ago

I’d like to update our garden. Ideally I would like some garden sofas but husband wants a proper table and chairs for dining. I’d also like a pond of some sort. I’d be happy to pave at least a third of the area but husband loves a lawn. Can anyone suggest some compromise? First view is from our living room - currently thinking of paving under the cherry tree at the back as this area gets the sun later in the day. Undecided whether to remove the large mahonia bush there and squeeze seating into that area as its 2m wide.
The whole garden is 15.5m wide and 11m deep, though it never looks that deep from the house. It’s almost due south facing but very overlooked.

Featured Answer
  • Sharon Fender
    3 years ago

    I am looking at garden sofas and had same dilemma, the ones I am looking at now have adjustable tables so they can be a coffee table then can be raised for a dining table xz

    • Comments (35)

    • rachelmidlands
      3 years ago
      last modified: 3 years ago

      Hi Mary. Its a nice size garden so I’m sure plenty can be done.

      My immediate thoughts are perhaps putting some trellis on top of the back fence with some climbing plants (consult with neighbours first tho) for some extra privacy. I think I’d keep the mahonia where it is as makes use of the corner and is great for wildlife plus a patio right next the cherry tree might not be so great for its health. Cherry tree roots tend to stay close to the surface. The stump on the left however is a goner so this might be the ideal place 🙂.

      I‘ll have a think and do some sketches for you.

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    • Mary Ketchley
      Original Author
      3 years ago

      Can you share a link please Sharon?

    • Mary Ketchley
      Original Author
      3 years ago

      Rachel, you are right about the stump 😂😂😂. It used to be a very tall pine tree. I should have had the whole thing taken out. I’m thinking about putting some chicken wire around it and growing sweet peas up it.

    • rachelmidlands
      3 years ago

      Sounds like a plan Mary 🤣. I was thinking bird table. 🐦

    • Mary Ketchley
      Original Author
      3 years ago

      Yeah, that’s what the guy suggested who took the tree down.

    • Sharon Fender
      3 years ago

      https://www.bramblecrest.com/product/X21WKGSQCD1CJ/

    • Sharon Fender
      3 years ago

      This is one I saw in local garden centre

    • Sharon Fender
      3 years ago

      https://www.kettler.co.uk/palma-height-adjustable-coffee-table/

    • Mary Ketchley
      Original Author
      3 years ago

      Thank you Sharon

    • keiblem
      3 years ago

      You have a spacious garden which can accommodate spaces for wildlife. The tree stump is a good case in point. Standing dead wood is great for all manner of wildlife and becoming increasingly rare because we are either too tidy or due to fears of H&S risks. If you can live with the stump then it would be great to leave it and perhaps grow ivy over it which wildlife love too for nesting and a food source.

    • Angie
      3 years ago

      One of our best ever purchases was a Kettler corner garden set. Sofas to relax on but also a table to sit and eat. It gets so much use all summer and we have never regretted going for that rather than a traditional table and chairs.

    • Mary Ketchley
      Original Author
      3 years ago

      Thanks Keiblem, in the past we were very wildlife aware and had ponds etc. Our last garden was much more functional as our children were young but now they are not at risk of drowning in a pond I’d like to have one. We do have a fair bit of ivy already along the fence near the stump and one of the reasons I wasn’t keen to get rid of the mahonia was because it seemed such a shame to get rid of an established, evergreen shrub. I’m sure our garden robins like it.

    • Mary Ketchley
      Original Author
      3 years ago

      Angie, what do you do with the cushions? Do you leave them out all summer? What about covering the sofas themselves? My other half is a bit obsessive about covering stuff but I don’t want to have to deal with a load of tarpaulin every time I fancy sitting in the garden 😳😬

    • CV Barny
      3 years ago

      Could you perhaps put a decking area and something like this (photo) to give you a bit more privacy? We have a separate dining table on the patio next to the house but, if you’re having only one seating area the new rise and fall tables with the corner sofa sets (as suggested on here already) look really useful.
      If this is too shady then perhaps a type of pergola, to give you a bit of privacy, shade and block out the view of neighbouring houses?

    • keiblem
      3 years ago

      Now that your children are grown I agree with you that a pond would be very beneficial. My last garden had a pond with a pumped ‘stream’. I was amazed at how the quantity and variety of wildlife increased after its installation. I also had a lot of mature trees so had to net it in the autumn to prevent all the leaves getting into the water and deoxygenating it. I notice you have a mature Birch tree next to the mahonia. Going on my experience it would be better not to locate it next to the tree.

      I suppose it’s location much depends on what kind of pond you want. If it is for the wildlife then further from the house. If you want to be able to see and hear falling water then nearer the house or where you chose to spend most of your time sitting in the garden.

      You could have the best of both worlds and have a water feature near the house that circulates with a wildlife pond at the bottom of the garden. It could include a naturalised or modern stream or rill across the lawn or, for simplicity, an underground pipe.

    • Mary Ketchley
      Original Author
      3 years ago

      Thanks for the feedback keiblem. We’ve always had traditional wildlife ponds in the past but I do fancy some sort of rill or channel too. Mostly I want somewhere for birds to bath and I do love having frogs in the garden.

    • Mary Ketchley
      Original Author
      3 years ago

      CV Barney, I had something a bit like that in mind. How durable is the canopy?

    • CV Barny
      3 years ago

      We replace the top roughly every 3 summers at a cost of appx £60. We do take the ‘roof’ and curtains down each winter as I’m sure they’d take a massive battering from the weather otherwise. We’ve had our structure for 13 years now.

    • keiblem
      3 years ago

      Seeing the first frogspawn is always a buzz. I was amazed how quickly frogs, that I didn’t know even existed, descended on the pond.

      Your garden would look great with a rill. It looks like there is a level change going higher towards the rear boundary. If you had it flowing from the rear towards the house then you could have a few small drops to add interest when viewed from the house.

    • rachelmidlands
      3 years ago

      Hi Mary. Hadn’t forgotten about u. I did a couple of rough sketches for ideas to include patio and pond. Still think to leave the mahonia and tree stump where they are and sort of fill in around them.

      Top sketch keeps everything to the left so you keep a good size lawn and tall trellis sections for a bit of privacy on the patio. Mini beach for the pond could be a mix of sand and pebbles, great for wildlife.

      Bottom sketch....not sure how OH would feel about cutting lawn in half 😕 but was thinking of something a little more formal with path leading straight to patio....and some nice plants round the edge. Can’t go wrong with more plants 😊.

      Hope this helps a little.




    • Sonia
      3 years ago

      Love those ideas Rachel, especially the second one! 🌸

    • Mary Ketchley
      Original Author
      3 years ago

      Rachel, thank you so much for doing these. I used to love doing this kind of thing myself but I seem to be very indecisive these days and can’t get my thoughts together. I’ll keep you posted but don’t hold your breath. Nothing happens fast here 🙄.

    • Mary Ketchley
      Original Author
      3 years ago

      Now you’ve inspired me...

    • rachelmidlands
      3 years ago

      Awesome! 💕

    • Jo Mayhead
      3 years ago

      Take a look at Jane Harries Garden Designs, romantic garden. It looks similar to yours.

    • Mary Ketchley
      Original Author
      3 years ago

      Thanks, I’ll see if I can find it.

    • Mary Ketchley
      Original Author
      3 years ago

      Thanks Jo, I can see what you mean, it’s a lovely garden and probably similar to mine in size, though a slightly different shape. I certainly wouldn’t complain if someone waved a magic wand and transformed my garden into that. I’m now thinking that I might first attack the right hand side where there is an old shed and we keep our 3 hens. They have quite a big enclosure (4m x 2m) that I think would be better at a different angle. I want to put the shed in the far right hand back corner because the garden gets no light there and it’s very boggy (will obviously need to pave it). I think if I can get hubby/son to deal with that over Easter we’ll start making progress.

    • Mary Ketchley
      Original Author
      3 years ago

      Don’t know if you can tell from the photo but there’s a fair change in level. The shed is in a ‘dug out’ area level with the lowest bit of patio and the grass area is up 2 steps. The shed is basically rotting because it’s got so much garden around it’s base.

    • keiblem
      3 years ago

      A very boggy area might be the natural place to locate a pond. Or at least a boggy zone next to a lined pond. Much depends on the reason why that area is boggy. I had an area that was boggy and flooded after rainfall. I discovered the cause was a leaking underground highways drain, which the council denied all knowledge of. Every time it rained it all the rainwater leaving the nearby road landed in my garden.

      If that area is more boggy than other parts of the garden then it might pay to investigate before you build any structure there.

    • Mary Ketchley
      Original Author
      3 years ago

      Very sensible advice. I might not be patient enough for that 😂. I’ll probably live to regret it. I’m not averse to a bit of bog gardening though. I’ve always fancied a giant gunnera.

    • keiblem
      3 years ago

      So have I ever since visiting Heligan gardens in Cornwall many years ago.

      Do you know if any sewage, surface water drainage or water pipes run along that area?

    • Mary Ketchley
      Original Author
      3 years ago

      Hi keiblem, I don’t think so. The whole area (I mean over our whole residential estate) is prone to being boggy. My great aunt had drains put in her garden and another friend has always struggled with a soggy lawn. The soil is quite heavy around here and our house probably gets whatever runs off from the neighbours at the rear as we are slightly lower down. At least if we dug drains where the chickens are we wouldn’t have to worry about ruining the grass. They’ve done that already.

    • keiblem
      3 years ago

      Not the best of conditions to work with but not the end of the world. Underground permeable drains are perhaps what your aunt had installed. They are an expensive and disruptive option which is probably only worth undertaking if the ground is seriously boggy whatever the time of year.

      Plants and trees take up a lot of water so worth getting more plants in. You may find that since you felled the tree the ground around there will be somewhat wetter. However looking at what you already grow in your garden I don’t imagine the boggy conditions you describe are all that bad. Maybe worse in some areas than others.

      Any hard landscaping you plan to do will probably need deeper foundations which will up the cost but worthwhile if you don’t want your paving to start settling and become uneven. Installing paths along well used routes will keep your feet dry.

    • Mary Ketchley
      Original Author
      2 years ago

      Photos from around June time. Not much change to see here but in reality, we’ve actually added the trellis above the back fence too and I’m pleased with that. It’s a start…

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