41m x 7m garden - blank canvas!

last year

last modified: last year

Hello! We have a fairly large garden at around 41 metres long by 7 metres wide - all grass that slopes away from the house with a few uneven dips here and there. Our first thought was to hire a JCB and level it into 3 tiers using the natural dips as cues - but I'm now thinking that's ALOT of turf to replace and as because the fences on the right are actually lower than those on the left as well, it could become tricky.

I'm curious, if this was your garden how would you go about adding some interest and breaking the space up a bit? In the future I would like to have some kind of outbuilding at the back which would need a poured concrete foundation, so construction access for that needs to be maintained to a degree (there is no access to our property from the end of the garden; it is woodland).

I'm thinking a patio area, screening, maybe a pagola somewhere... Any ideas or examples of similar projects would be hugely appreciated!

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Angie

last year

Our garden is not as long as yours, but here’s our before and after pics. Shows soon after being done and a more matured garden. Our workshop is at the bottom of the garden, adjacent to a field, but we had that put in before we had the garden done.

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Comments (15)

Dan Darko
Original Author
last year
last modified: last year
Wow thank you Angie, that's really helpful.

I love that you've seperated out the areas with curved sections rather than straight lines and that circular lawn is a great idea - something I hadn't considered. Is it slightly raised too so that the pathway wraps around it on a slight decline? It's got me thinking that maybe we could do something similar; level and lay new turf in areas where we want lawn to stay but disguise where the garden slopes around it with sloping pathways.

The garden has matured beutifully too, I really like your choice of plants to create the more private area at the back. Thanks again!
tamp75
last year
When I read your post, my immediate thought was Angie’s garden, having seen it on here previously & having taken inspiration from it myself! I think a winding pathway would be great as it will disguise the narrowness of your garden. You could potentially have two circle of grass with a backwards ‘s’ shaped pathway as your garden is longer, or you could have one as a circular patio and one as grass. The great thing about circles is having the large planting beds in the corners where you can grow plants to screen other areas of the garden. I would suggest some forward planning though & maybe getting at least a concrete base down for your potential outside room, even if you don’t get it built yet so that you don’t ruin the rest of the garden once it’s done! It looks like an exciting project - good luck with it!
Dan Darko thanked tamp75
katlucy
last year
Dan Darko thanked katlucy
katlucy
last year
I’m guessing at the orientation. I would suggest painting the exposed fences in a light and muted shade to widen the space. light sage or light blue grey

Three strategic trees to give privacy. Not too big.
Dan Darko thanked katlucy
Sonia
last year
Here’s some ideas but loving Angie’s garden!
Dan Darko thanked Sonia
Angie
last year
Thanks for the lovely comments about our garden. Dan, yes, the path slopes downwards as it runs down the garden. By the patio (house end) it’s level with the lawn, then gradually slopes down to the silver birch. I think it’s about a foot lower, maybe a bit more, by then. Basically we have level lawn and planting areas, with the sloping path linking each area. Since the pictures were taken we have installed a picket fence along the back so we can enjoy the view across the field. Curves make such a difference on a narrow garden, and whilst ours wasn’t cheap to do (we used a landscape gardener) it has given us so much enjoyment and we’ve had no regrets. My job is to keep it tidy, hubby looks after the lawn and pond!
Dan Darko thanked Angie
Alix W
last year
Hey, what a great space. The circles design Angie’s suggested would work well. The other design you could look at is diamonds or a diagonal design. This will break up the space and take the eye to the edges, emphasising the width.
Dan Darko thanked Alix W
Wumi
last year
What a fabulous blank canvas! I would (as others have suggested) break up the garden with curved paths, beds and features (fire pit, shaded seating area, vegetable patch?)

I would also try and cover up as much of the fence as possible with vegetation.

Rather than poured concrete foundations have you considered ground screws for your garden building?

I had them installed for my garden office last year. No groundswork required prior to installation and no heavy machinery destroying the garden!
Dan Darko thanked Wumi
PRO
The Rooted Concept Garden Designs
last year
Circles and curves work very well in sloped areas. Leveling only the areas that need to be leveled (seating areas etc) is a very good way to save money on sloping gardens, besides, the natural slope creates very nice design possibilities as you have different viewing perspectives from different points. In the sloped areas you can have planting beds, but choose only plants that can deal with the sloped conditions so that they thrive and also prevent the erosion of your soil.

I am a garden designer and offer a range of online services. Please have a look at my website for portfolio and get in touch if you are at all interested in a quote. I would love to help you with this!

https://therootedconceptgardendesign.co.uk/

All the best,

Deborah

deborahbiasoli@gmail.com

07548105456
Dan Darko
Original Author
last year
Wumi - Thanks for your suggestion on ground screws - hadn't heard of those and a quick look on https://www.groundscrewcentre.co.uk/ is eye-opening! If I can avoid a poured concrete base I would go for that option.

Alix W - I'm really intrigued by this idea of using diagonal lines to make the space appear wider, and like the circle idea, will create lots of nice corner spaces for plant beds. I've incorporated this into my design.

The Rooted Concept Garden Designs Thank you Deborah I will take a look at your website and keep you in mind.
Dan Darko
Original Author
last year
last modified: last year
Overall I think what works so well in the examples shared is having interesting spaces down the length of the garden, giving you reasons to move down towards the end rather than what we do currently - spend 90% of the time in the first 10% of the garden unless we need to go to the shed at the end!

I've done some sketching and I'm leaning towards the idea of breaking the space up into diagonal sections (like Wumi suggested) at 30º angles which should create more side to side interest and draw your eye around and down the space, with nice corners for plants that can mature into screening like Angie's garden. I also like the idea of completely seperating the rear of the garden with fencing the same height as the side fences, with a gated opening in. Behind that gate the idea of a japanese inspired secret garden with a water feature and oritental inpisred plants excite me. I'll attach what I've come up with so far. Thanks to everyone that took the time to respond, each comment has been really helpful.
Wumi
last year
I got mine ground screws from The Great British Ground Screw Company.

They did a grounds test, supplied and installed them according to my drawings.

https://gbgs.co.uk/our-services/?gclid=CjwKCAjw5s6WBhA4EiwACGncZa5Ksfc2NMx16ln_pCSjCr15ulRsBjXRmFRochbo2G6Rdx7Iivi_CRoCq9sQAvD_BwE
Marion Mitchell
last year
Angie , what did you use for your path is it gravel or resin or something else
nrpurston
last year
Take a look at the Circle Garden,Harpenden, by Green Tree Garden Design on Houzz. Something like that would really suit your garden.