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New long and narrow garden.

Hello all. 
In about a month to 6 weeks I will be moving into a house that has a garden that is 152 ft long, 26 ft wide at it's widest narrowing to 16ft at the bottom end of the garden.

I have absolutely no idea where to start. 
It already has a built in patio area that is 20 ft square.

Does any one have any pointers to how to manage such a big long garden.

Thank you
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Posts

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,064
    Divide it into chunks which have different functions or color schemes eg - terrace for entertaining and eating outside, a lawn with beds around it for colour and perfume, a wildlife area with looser planting, a water feature/small pond, a fruit and vegetable area (needs to be in a sunny part of the garden for best production) then you'll need a shed and/or greenhouse, potting/pottering area, compost heaps.

    You can use trellis panels or taller shrubs and small trees to separate the areas and make you want to explore further to see what lies beyond.  Circles, diamonds and curving or diagonal paths will make it seem wider.

    Tackle one area at a time and just keep the rest mown/trimmed/weeded till you get to it.   One or two ideas here below - just imagine the circular patio is square and replace decking with shingle or lawn as it's a nightmare when wet and quite expensive to install and maintain.

       

    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • Fran IOMFran IOM Posts: 2,870
    What lovely ideas @Obelixx. I am sure @Maryrose1977 will be impressed.Give inspiration I'm sure. Maybe if the OH can provide some photos it would help.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,064
    Thanks Fran.  The drawings are just fished off the internet - some time ago for another poster looking for design help - but they do illustrate the principles of long garden design to make them interesting and more usable.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • Wow thank you they look amazing. 
    I'm quite used to maintaining a small garden but this one has taken me by surprise.
    I hope to take photos tomorrow if  I get a moment to go up.

    Thank you for your ideas. 
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,064
    Make a list of things you need to have - seating area, work area, compost corner, bins - then things you'd like from children's play area, dogs' play area, arbor, pergola, summer house/greenhouse/shed, pond, veggies, fruit, perfume, seasonal successions, climbers, colours etc and then work out how and where to put them all in order of priority and budget and time available.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • My garden is also long and thin,unfortunately I have a long straight concrete path,but until I can do a nice curved one,i have put down slabs  half way,each side of the path,just to open it up a bit,as it's a "mean" little path!! Also have put a couple of arches,with roses,clems and other climbers.
    The whole truth is an instrument that can only be played by an expert.


  • Hi all so as promised this is the photo from Google for the back garden. We have been and measured and the grass area is in fact 153 ft x 26 and a half foot at the widest parts and 16ft at the narrow part at the bottom.
    The bottom part is fenced off as the old owners couldn't handle the size so we are chopping the fence in half and that is the work area. Sheds and greenhouse and vegetables and a small wildlife pond so my son can watch out for frogs. 

    We have a massive designed a plan of the garden on squared paper with each square being a foot and we are playing around with idea on how to including all the items we desire to have. 
    Its actually becoming really exciting for us now and we have watched so much Alan Titchmarsh and Monty Don they are started to appear in my dreams hehe


  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,064
    Lots you can do with that to make it interesting and beautiful and functional over the years.   One suggestion - draw the grid on one sheet and use tracing paper to overlay the garden and cut out pieces of paper or card for a shed, pond, compost bins, seating area, lawn etc so you can shuffle them about without constantly re-drawing.

    Don't forget to use the verticals - fences, trellises, arches etc and make sure you lead the eye down the garden in stages instead of having it all visible from the house. 

    When you mark things out on the ground use the hosepipe to make the shape then view if form every angle, including upstairs windows, to tweak it.  Then mark with specialist spray paint or else by pouring dry, sharp sand out of a bottle to mark digging and structure lines.

    Remember to note compass points so you know what you're planning will work with available sun and shade and rain shadows from fences and buildings.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • Thank you for the tips. 
    We know it's going to be at least 3 yrs of hard work but we are more than  prepared for it. 

  • Papi JoPapi Jo Posts: 4,251
    edited February 2019
    @Maryrose1977 besides (or instead of) pen and (tracing) paper, if you are computer-savvy, you might have a go at a garden planning piece of software. I can recommend the one I used to make the plan of my garden extension back in 2014. See details on my garden site here: http://www.rezeau.org/wp-garden/en/a-garden-plan-created-with-garden-planner/

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