Can we please clarify some things?

1/ which part of the garden gets sun?

2/ is the best view to the left?

3/ is the trampoline staying?

4/ do you intend to park in the garden?

5/ why two large gates not one?

6/ does the neighbour to the right have a drive access across your garden or just pedestrian access?

7/ whats the approx size?

8/ the grass seems like an unnecessary chore- and you will need somewhere to store a mower? are you open to shrubs/bark/shale/astroturf instead?

Hi Jonathan, thank you for your thoughtful questions, here are my responses.

1. All the parts
2. The best view is on the right when looking from the main house
3. No, it is being removed
4. No, the footpath to the left is narrow, only space for walking (80cm wide)
5. The gates are there to open up the garden so whenever my daughter or guests attend, it allows the space to look bigger and she can cycle.
6. Just pedestrian access. You can see from the old google maps that the back of the garden sits with another neglected council flat garden
7. With the outbuilding build it is now 12 meters by 8 meters including the side alley pathway.
8. I am happy to get rid of the grass yes I am open to shrubs etc.

Aerial view of the garden before works started

I think that by the time you have built a sitting space and a dining space there won’t be much room for grass…… which probably suits your cycle loving daughter. So I say make the patio by your house just a little larger so that you can put furniture just outside the extension. Then plan a pergola for the centre to add another furniture place. Deep

boarders give opportunity for tall planting and I think you will find that with lots more to look at in the garden (especially tall planting) you will notice your neighbours much less.

Hi Jonathan, thank you so much for your input and advice. Definitely, something to consider as I don’t think about having a pergola.

The build I coming across nicely. The pergola will be next, once the builders have cleared up the middle area. Manage to repurpose my old concrete shed wall panels (10cm thick) for extra paving base.

Wow, you dont hang around.

Hi Jonathan , here is a progress of the build. I did thake your idea of the pergola but keep the Patio space free as I'll be looking to put up a mobile one. I still have teh issue with the the back screening issue. Maybe time to pay a visit to my neighbours and see if they're willing for me to put up three to four large shrubs or Pleached Tree, 7m heigh.

You will always be able to see the flats from upstairs. You don’t have to try and obscure the boundary at the back but if your garden has some tall planting such as trees that’s what your eyes will rest on rather than what is beyond the garden

You can plant wisteria, bougenvillea, rose, trumpetvine or clematis on the pergola

Colorful shrub like lavender, hydrangea,Lilac, fireball/dwarf burning bush, gold forsythia, red spirea, Velvet cloak smoke tree, smoke bush, midwinter dogwood

Becareful of tree you plant because certain tree root can over grow and damage foundation or plumbing and maybe goes out property perimeter

Consider bird bath with or without fountain if you have it local Avian Will often visit

Just to say I’d be a bit wary of pleached trees in pots. Unless you plan on supporting them, the pots would need to be large enough for the roots (with good drainage) plus heavy enough not to go over in the wind. The tops are obviously much heavier than the trunk. I’d also think about the ease of pruning plus you need to adjust the supports to allow for growth. I’m a gardening novice and have only had ours for 18 months so have only adjusted the ties once which I’m hoping is enough! I’ve got large potted olives, 7-8ft, at the front of our house which are a lot easier to look after!

Thank you for your comments and valuable insight. Yes, I agree they may not be suitable for pots. I think based on how the garden is coming along, I’ll ask my neighbours at the back if they are willing to plant them or maybe a fast growing shrub which allows both to have a privacy screen. This is how the garden is looking now so I think having them at the front of the garden building might ruin the look and take up space.

Working progress. Needs some good variety of hardy shrubs etc.

This is what it looked like before and the tall leylandii that stood once before had to be removed as it was dead

All the colorful bushes I recommend before except those in the picture is Hardy shrub suitable for UK climate

Others are Juniper dappled willow, bright gold yew, arrowood viburnum

Here reference https://www.gardeningexpress.co.uk/hardy-garden-shrubs-collection-eight-outstanding-varieties

What a shame about the tree

I’m not a gardener but for people to give ideas they’d need to know the soil type and orientation