what would you do
Lol SWLondon
Posts: 23
South facing but those trees at the bottom are going to be cut down later this year apparently. Good soil. The heaps dotted around are gravel I've dug up.
I'd like to keep it in keeping with the 1930s house but I'd love to hear what other people would do with it.
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shame about the trees being cut down as they give good privacy between your house and your neighbours'.
I'd lose a lot of the hard paved area if it was me. It depends what you need? If you have kids, you'll probably want a decent sized lawn, you might want to grow veg, or not.
You've got plenty of scope and a good sized plot. Have fun with it.
How exciting!
What do you like to do in the garden, flowers and / or veg? Do you need room for a greenhouse, do you have pets/kids that need to be taken in to account?
What plans have you got already?
(sorry lots of question but a garden is a very indervidual project)
Clare
Oooh this is going to be good
Your garden looks a lot like mine btw.
You could do anything really, but if you think late 30s start of the war a 'dig for victory' veg plot near the house would be nice. Could have some nice fruit cordons along that panel fence, new paving going up the right hand side for a family area and garden shed. With the trees gone, the end of the garden will have more light, put in a wildlife pond, some log piles and a compost heap.
Hang on, that's what I'm doing in my garden, I'll hand back to the sensible people on here.
You need to make a list of what you need and then decide how to prioritise it according to importance and how much time and budget you have available.
Eg - sitting/eating area, play space for kids and/or dogs, fruit/veg/flowers/shrubs/lawn/pond, wildlife attractive, low maintenance etc
These will dictate what you need to get done now with an eye to future projects and what can be left till later.
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
Gemma - I was thinking exactly that as I read your post!
As already said - it largely depends on your requirements. No point in having lots of precious plants if you have boys kicking footballs into them! Budget is also important as well as time. If you can construct and grow things yourself it's always cheaper, but more time consuming. Make a list, decide what's important for your needs and draw up a small plan as accurately as you can with the essentials roughly marked. It can always be changed and altered later on as your requirements change
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Welcome back Fg
- we seem to be tuned to the same wavelength as I often think of things and see you already posted it up. 
Wish I had started with a sensible order of priorities. My priorities all worked in reverse, I should have started with the paved family area so we had somewhere to sit and relax, instead of leaving it to last.
I would start out with some sketches of the layout, take lots of time to think and ask for more advice here if needed. Then as obelixx says get it in the right order before doing it.
I'm so so glad people here steered me away from decking in a shaded bit of my garden where I'm going to now put paving for example, it could have been a costly and very time consuming mistake.
Thanks everyone. All very practical!
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Prioritising is key then, as obelixx says. I'd start with a nice little sheltered, private area near the house. If you do that first it keeps you motivated when you look out the window on the days when you feel a bit jaded. Simple screens of trellis on posts for climbers, and shrubs like your Fatsia will quickly give you that. Phormiums will fit into that scheme and you can add some taller things behind, or put them in large pots with smaller things in front of them. They're easy to find almost anywhere and a good sized specimen can be divided to give more plants. Gravel is a cheap way of creating an area to sit and have a cuppa while you contemplate your estate!
A really good focal point somewhere in the middle of the garden will take the focus away from the openness at the end when you take away your trees, and help disguise the greenhouse and the working areas of the plot. That can be almost anything from a tiered island bed to a statue or specimen shrub, or even a row of tallish plants to create a screen that will help divide the space up for the areas you want to plant.
Once all the bulbs have appeared, mark them so that you can lift them when they've died back and you can relocate them when you have the right places for them. You can stick them in pots near the house and that will also be a great visual for the end of next winter into spring. It's always good to have something cheery to look at during the dreary winter months when we're all longing for warmer days
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...