My new project. Where do I start!
Miss Becks
Posts: 3,468
Well, Jess is distraught as I have just dismantled her outdoor playhouse so I can do something with this area, but what??
It is mainly slabs, but next to the fence is mainly dirt/rubble/weeds.
Has anyone any ideas what I can put up this area (obviously after a good tidy up and top soil added to the border bit) as it only receives sun until about 1-2pm at the moment, then it's just shade.
I would love to concrete over the lot and build a dividing wall between grass and patio, but not possible at the moment.
Any patio pictures of raised beds/containers would be most welcome for inspiration.
Thankyou.
Becks. x
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Or should I just apply to one of those gardening make-over shows!
Yes-but don't bank on getting accepted
You need help -those slabs look like they need relaying-do you want to keep the grass?how much space is there that we can't see?
This is the other half Geoff, where I was standing to take the photo, obviously pointing the other way at the house.
And this is the whole view.
The stone building on the right is two outhouses I keep my tools in. But I'm out there digging now, and I have just uncovered a section of white tiles (on the right of the pic above). Just normal house tiles??? Why, I don't know. I have also found a garden tool, which you can see leaning up against the wall by the chair. It's a half moon shaped thing. I haven't a clue what else I'm going to dig up!
Sorry, on the left. The tiles that is.
Well I'm wondering if you could crowbar up the slabs to the left of the concrete post and put them on their edges to make a raised bed. The white tiles I would suggest you get rid of, but there is something very satisfying about weilding a lump hammer! Over the years I've unearthed a lot of weird and sometimes wonderful stuff in my garden, the best of which (victorian pottery, tiny glass bottles, a butler sink...) I've kept as decoration or reused. The half-moon tool is probably a lawn edger.
I guess the area you're going to revamp is just outside your kitchen. In terms of planting, might it be possible to put training wires horizontally on the fence posts? Even though the area doesn't get full sun, herbs like parsley and mint (latter in containers) and probably sage would do OK there, and you might think about soft fruits at the back. Or a climber - honeysuckle would be happy. I would also suggest you think about painting the fence in a lighter colour, which would match in with the lighter areas on the back wall of your house.
By the by, the half moon shaped thing you dug up is probably a lawn edger - something you may not necessarily want, but if you do, a good clean and sharpen would make it as good as new.
Ooh Figrat, don't get me started on that concrete post! I hate it. I presume it was the previous owners washing line, but I don't use it, and have no way of getting the thing out.
I like the idea of the raised beds on the left. Yes, that is the kitchen. That is sort of what I had in mind for that side. But I have just come accross a layer of housebricks right in the top corner. I might be able to build that wall after all!
I like the soft fruits idea as well.
Thanks for the suggestions!
Thankyou Bookertoo! I think that is what it is. It's not so much half moon now I've looked at it. It's like a spearhead shape, with two flat bits either end.
Oh figrat, that is just genius! I have a spare large pot! I could cut the bottom out of it, slip it over the top of the post to the bottom, so it looks like it is growing out of it, fill with compost and do the climbers up it!