Help needed to create a new garden

tattianna

Hello everyone I really need some help and advice with creating my daughter's garden. She has lived there for 10 months and in that time I have managed to build up a small stock of plants from cuttings, division, seeds & supermarkets etc and I was so looking forward to the challenge but after spending the weekend looking at and walking around the garden in all honesty the whole thing terrifies me! I realise it's going to take time and I think the best way to tackle it is bit by bit but I don't know which bit to tackle first.



Anyway here goes... these are some of the main things I need to consider



My daughter is physically disabled and a wheelchair user



It is a new build property which is currently just lawn.



The garden is very uneven and has quite a sleep slope to one side



We don't have a huge budget



It has to be low maintenance



I'm not able to do anything major without express permission from the landlord



It's South facing



NB Grrrrrrrrr I've just spent the past 40mins trying to figure out how to post some photos but I can't post them for some reason! Anyone got any ideas why?

Juniper81

my advice for the slopes would be to buy some native primroses...they are cheap from seed, you can find many on ebay...also ferns are good on slopes.

not sure why photos arn't uploading atm,...

tattianna

Yes I did it! A slight adjustment to my setting and hey presto 

Thank you Juniper81 & Sara 4 for your suggestions so far. At least now with these photos it gives you a better idea what I'm up against

This 1st photo was taken from the patio area looking down towards the bottom of the garden and is also the view Sarah has from her lounge. I think I'd like to start with this area as it is what she looks out on most of the time.

 

This photo was taken looking to the right of the patio across the garden 

 

gardengirl6

I think you need some overall plan, even if you attempt it one stage at a time.   If you don't have such a plan, you mgiht wish you had put things in different places half way through completion.    I did a complete redesign of my garden, by drawing it out on graph paper.   I made a list of all the things that I wanted in the garden, such as patio, water butts, compost bin area, etc.    Will your daughter want a shed to hold her tools and lawnmower, for example?    How big will it need to be?    If she has a wheelchair, how wide will her paths need to be, and she will need access to all areas.     Will she want raised beds?     List out all her needs, and then play around with the plan, making everything accessible for her.

There are gardens open to the public that cater for disabled people, so maybe you both could visit one to poach ideas? 

Good luck.   Let us all know how you get on. 

dannyboy10

whats you location?

GillyL

I,d start with some plants in pots to brighten up the patio area as it is the first area your daughter sees,Maybe a couple of lavenders,as they don,t need much water,but the perfume would be lovely,geraniums would also give an immediate effect.

dannyboy10

You say it is a new build.

what I would do first before anything is done is check to make sure the garden does not have tons of rubble buried under the grass.

I moved into a new build two years and had to remove tons of rubble.

 

Woodgreen wonderboy

Lots and lots of potential and opportunities. You know what the answer is to the question"How do you eat an elephant?" Well you do it a bit at a time. Have a long term plan in mind but start with the patio area and gradually work outwards, a section at a time, or perhaps a section each successive year. This will give you something to plan during the winter and then your project for that year is in place. You probably need a bit of help with the labouring/construction and a good friend should come to mind? Paths and raised beds must be in your long term plan, and be bold, everything is possible. Altho' I am fully abled, my new garden, 14 years ago, was very daunting and money was not plentiful. However it now looks great and gives me bags of pleasure.

artjak

Is there anyone in your family who can do carpentry? My neighbour has just built his wife who has disabilities 3 or 4 small raised beds (like high coffee tables, with a soil depth of 25cm or so) so his wife can plant and weed stuff. Your daughter could grow salad veg or flowers in them. He used pressure treated timber so that it won't rot for a while (always use a face mask when cutting this stuff because of the chemicals it is impregnated with)

Dovefromabove

I think I'd ask your daughter what she wants to do in her garden - does she want a BBQ area?  Would she like to sit in the shade under a tree?  Would she like a pool with fish to watch, or a moving water feature and the sound of running water, or would she like to feed the birds?  etc etc Maybe give her some old GW magazines or gardening books to look at  to spark some  ideas.

The answers to those questions will give you some ideas of the areas you need to create - then you can start prioritising and planning - where will you put the water feature?  Where will the tree go?  Look at where the sun shines and where the shadows fall.  

Well, that's a start ................................... 

Good luck