Hard landscaping ideas

mikej1263

Hello,

As the title says, I'm after a bit of advice in regard to designing the layout of our back garden.

The reason for making the changes is that we've recently formed a new side door/opening on the side of our garage and I now want a path between the house and the garage.

Our garden is only small (approx 11m x 11m) so space is at a premium. There's also a slightly unusual shape in the far right corner as the corner is "cut off" or "chamfered" in effect. It's also a family garden, so I'm trying to maximise the amount of central lawn for my young daughters to run around.

I'm also trying to find a location for their summer house which is currently against the side of the garage.

I use AutoCad for my day job as an engineer, so I've drawn up some ideas which I have attached, but am unsure how these would look/work in practice.

Any comments and advice are most welcome!

Thanks,

Mike

fidgetbones

I like the last one best. I would put gravel and a few spring bulbs around the base of the rowan tree rather than have lawn, which would be a pain to cut with a mower, and the tree would do better in summer with gravel. I don't like decking under a shed, it is a home for rats and other ferals.

mikej1263

Hi fidgetbones.  Yes, you're right - it would be a nightmare to cut. The point about rodents is a good one too that I hadn't thought of.

Many thanks for your response.

Nollie

I prefer the last one too, the summerhouse at an angle breaks up the straight lines and looks as if would have a better view of the garden - also if your sitting on the terrance enjoying a G&T, you will have a better view in to see what the girls are getting up to, assuming the summerhouse doors are on the long side, might be the other way round...

Dovefromabove

I'd go for the last one too ... but I'd also change the planting bed ... I'd extend it  around and make it a sort of ' soft curved triangle' if you get me, with some small shrubs and mixed herbaceous perennials ... otherwise that side of the garden's going to look very 'square and bare'.  

Just to add, my daughter had a 'summer house' to play in and call  her own (rather ramshackle ... we were on a smallholding' but she loved it 

wild edges

Draw it up in 3d on sketchup. If you can use CAD sketchup is basically the same.

I'd get some stepping stones or similar between the decking and wendy house or whatever the most travelled path will be. Any scope for a sedum roof on the wendy house?

mikej1263

Thanks for the response Nollie. I like your point about breaking up the straight lines . . . and the G&T on the terrace sounds a good idea too!!

mikej1263

Thanks DoveFromAbove. Do you mean extending it around to meet where this approximately a 45 degree angle in the paving? If so, I agree it will make it would soften the look and make it look much less "angular" - must be the engineer in me naturally goes for straight lines and angles :-)

mikej1263

Wild edges - thanks for your post. Funnily enough we have been talking about having stepping stones in a nice sweeping curve - no doubt my daughter's will take the shortest possible path across! :-)

Blue Onion

As the others said, number three has the most potential.  Adding to Dove, I would make the bedding a sort of crescent shape from the corner of the paving with the summer house (including the Rowan in the bed) to the west side of the property inline with the corner of the summer house.  Sort of a round curve that is easy to mow, making that part of the lawn the edge of a circle.  It will break up the shape of the garden without eating up a huge amount of the lawn.. giving some of the bedding areas a depth.  

Dovefromabove

That's it Blue Onion ... you've got what I mean