Time to be brave..?
ciaranmcgrenera
Posts: 265
Hi. I inherited the above garden- the house was a student house. I’ve spent 3 years tidying up and filling the big square concrete patio with pots and slowly upgrading furniture (Not made it to the table and chairs yet as you can see!). The grass bit is 10m x 17m. The hedges are very thick- they get as much as 4-5 feet thick and take up a lot of space. The one on the right is FULL of bindweed, ivy, and stickyweed, amongst other weeds!
You’re pretty much facing north in these pictures so the morning sun hits the bench on the left of the patio in the summer, and the sun moves round then so the hedge on the right gets the sun in the evening.
What I want to do is build a bigger shed in the back left corner- removing the corner hedge and sinking it right in the corner, then I’d replace the existing shed with a greenhouse- probably 8ft x 8ft (the existing shed is 6ft x 8ft)-it would get good sun almost all day every day. id like to have power down there. I’d keep the back hedge. That back piece would then be separated off by removing the grass and putting stones or cobbles or something down there. Then I plan to plant climbers / bushes or a Small tree between the shed and the house. That whole area becomes a nice little staging area/ container garden/ maybe it gets a bench, etc.
I want to remove the hedge on the right and put a seating area half way down- it seems a waste that the best sun of the day lights only the hedge currently. Either side would be beds- probably all three in some sort of partial circle/ bubble layout with a path winding along the front down to that back area. I’d put a partial pergola or arbor at the back of the seating area and grow some nice climbers up it. Adding good height along that wall- maybe a trained magnolia or apple blossom or something like that to partially replace the privacy lost by removing the hedge. The beds would be planted in a cottage garden style- I love the chaos and colour.
The rest I would leave as is for now. I’d like
to keep the rest of the grass as we have young children. Any eating will be done on the patio.
You’re pretty much facing north in these pictures so the morning sun hits the bench on the left of the patio in the summer, and the sun moves round then so the hedge on the right gets the sun in the evening.
What I want to do is build a bigger shed in the back left corner- removing the corner hedge and sinking it right in the corner, then I’d replace the existing shed with a greenhouse- probably 8ft x 8ft (the existing shed is 6ft x 8ft)-it would get good sun almost all day every day. id like to have power down there. I’d keep the back hedge. That back piece would then be separated off by removing the grass and putting stones or cobbles or something down there. Then I plan to plant climbers / bushes or a Small tree between the shed and the house. That whole area becomes a nice little staging area/ container garden/ maybe it gets a bench, etc.
I want to remove the hedge on the right and put a seating area half way down- it seems a waste that the best sun of the day lights only the hedge currently. Either side would be beds- probably all three in some sort of partial circle/ bubble layout with a path winding along the front down to that back area. I’d put a partial pergola or arbor at the back of the seating area and grow some nice climbers up it. Adding good height along that wall- maybe a trained magnolia or apple blossom or something like that to partially replace the privacy lost by removing the hedge. The beds would be planted in a cottage garden style- I love the chaos and colour.
The rest I would leave as is for now. I’d like
to keep the rest of the grass as we have young children. Any eating will be done on the patio.
I know this is all very much vomited on to this page and is quite a stream of consciousness!
What I came to ask is- what are anyone’s thoughts? Also- I know some of it will require professional help, but I feel I can start some myself at this stage. Maybe remove the hedge in the right and spend some time weed killing and soil improving?
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Posts
Just something to think about:
If you live in Derbyshire, as I do.