Back garden needs an overhaul...

9 years ago

Hi, we have a north facing (but well lit because we are not that overlooked by properties) back garden, measuring 61ft (19.7m) long by 44ft (13.4m) wide... Couple of photos attached... We know we want some patio area along the rear of the house but are unsure what to do with the rest... And also how much to budget to get it designed/landscaped (a year of internal DIY leaves me out of motivation). Are only real requirements are to maintain open views to rear, have something low maintenance but that is "nature friendly", have some seating at the end to make most of evening sun... Any thoughts/suggestions or inspiration? Any thoughts on budget? (First photo is most recent, 2/3rds of way through external tidy up, other two are from the previous owners)

Featured Answer

PRO

User

8 years ago

Enough on your plate already then! Best of luck with it all.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (12)

G Arnold
Original Author
9 years ago
PS: "are" was meant to read "our"
PPS: greenhouse has gone (one of the first things we dismantled) and soil to the left is now gone back to nature (ie full of weeds)
PPPs: in a year or so we plan to open the rear up across back of kitchen (small window to larger window) and extend out
PRO
User
9 years ago
Not sure I've got this exactly clear. Do you mean you want to extend the existing small patio area, either by extending it or replacing with a bigger patio of a different design, which will match in with your planned extension? Or to have another patio at the opposite end of the garden where you will get the evening sun?

You could improve the outlook straight away by planting some shrubs or climbers to hide the fence on the same side as the bare earth. Difficult to make out from the photos, however it looks as though the fence is weathered but in good condition. None too pretty for all that and it would be surprising if painting or treating it would help much. If you tell us where you are I could suggest a few suitable plant choices to screen it without growing too high and impeaching upon the view.

The budget can be as large or as small as you make it. Much depends upon what you really want, coupled with the amount of it you can do for yourself. Added to which you do not have to do everything at once. You can make a plan then get there in stages as the finances and competing priorities allow.

Also, "nature friendly" means earth, plants, wildlife and is very rarely low maintenance. But it can be done. You have quite a blank canvas to start painting. You could start with pulling pictures which show your outdoor preferences into a new ideabook in your profile. There is nothing in there at the moment vaguely applicable to your house or current surroundings.

Does that help to get you started?
Related Discussions
Hilly back garden needs landscaping
Q
Comments (1)
It looks like you have a nice flat open area of garden too which is a must with young family. Have you considered a neat retaining wall in timber with an integrated slide (easily purchased and fitted) from the upper terrace down. I would keep it really simple and add some robust perennials and grasses to create some 'garden'. One other nice idea is to introduce some funky colour changing lights to brighten up the space on an evening - see our website for some inspiration and ideas and i wish you all the best.
...See More
Need Help With My Back Garden.
Q
Comments (1)
Hi, it would be great if you could upload a photo of the garden and then I would be able to suggest a suitable position for the decking
...See More
Garden overhaul
Q
Comments (11)
What a great project! The really important thing is not to rush. You actually have some great plants on the boundaries of your garden that are surviving the building works and providing much needed privacy from your surroundings- don’t touch them until you have formalised a plan! They just need a careful pruning when the design is finalised. You appear to have piles of bricks and square sets sitting around, plus the old square patio stones at the house end- these can easily be incorporated into a design for a patio and flower bed edging - count them and clean them with a pressure washer. These will be expensive to remove and replace but will make a fantastic patio if you can design a patio that incorporates your free materials. Your new building and the brick walls to the left and right of the patio at the house end all need to be rendered. While you are planning your design, you can get these walls chipped backed and resurfaced. Next you need a big clear up - the concrete bases of the old sheds in the ground in front of the house need cleared and the back wall of the house needs work to clean off water marks and repoint sections - you may wish to render? Your neighbour appears to have a window at ground level looking over the patio at the house? ( not clear in the photo) this needs screening - but would need to see more of it to see if planting around it would do this. Also the drains, washing line and bins need consideration in your finalised design at your house end. We had a previous house very similar but a summer of concrete smashing and hard work got the hard landscaping done with planting the following spring - hard work but very rewarding! For a plan, sit with a cup of something and flick through Houzz, collecting photos yourself. Our finalised design was one that divided the garden into a series of rooms separated by taller plants and pergola that gave mass to the design and privacy from neighbours first floor windows. You could start by lifting the cleaned patio stones from the back door area and laying a new patio at the new building, then working towards the back door, but you need a plan! Would love to see photos as it develops - good luck !!
...See More
Designing decking with shed in back garden Help Needed!
Q
Comments (2)
I think I’d advise against decking too, at least in the area close to the house as it would need to below the level of the damp course which would involve taking up the paving and a lot of ground works anyway. Decking needs to be raised so there’s no contact with ground but by doing so can create other problems such as make a great nesting site for rats and other rodents, not to mention slipperyness and more maintenance. Not saying it can’t be done and being a party pooper🙂, you could have steel frame and composite decking, just think it will be more work than you’re envisioning. With regards drainage and moss I’m guessing its north facing and doesn’t get much sun? Does water pool or puddle on the paving? Perhaps a drainage channel (see example pic) next to house may work more effectively but in a small area I don’t think it‘d be necessary. Certainly check the gutters for moss but i wouldn’t worry too much about the roof unless it’s really bad. On our house the birds tend to flick moss off the roof and gutters in search of food. You can get porcelain paving that looks like wood, maybe this could be an alternative. Personally I would get some advice from a few local landscapers to see what is possible and look at drainage.
...See More
G Arnold
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks Freshscaped... The existing patio probably needs to go... It's of poor quality with no draingage, which given the garden has a slight slope, makes it a water trap. So, would like something extended across the back, with good draingage that doesnt cost the earth (as in a year or so it will be ripped up to accomodate opening up the back)... I guess that means something gravel like ?

Also looking for a small seating area at the top.

Location wise... We are in Somerset, not far from Wells.

I will start to pull together a lookbook as you suggest.

Many thanks :)
Jonathan
9 years ago
Don't bother with the patio next to the house- it won't get much sun.
Put a patio in the sunniest part of your garden and a decent path leading to it.
Then sit on the patio and make sure there is something to look at in each direction- think trees, outside mirror, pond/water feature, wide borders, pergolas etc
G Arnold
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks Jonathan, good points.
PRO
User
9 years ago
If the patio area is currently a water trap you need to put drainage in whatever else you do. You also need to think about what is going to be required for the extension and what goes around it. There is very little point spending money now only to abandon what you do and have to spend entirely anew.

The manhole near to the downpipe is an obvious target for a ground drainage pipe. Is that manhole going to move next year? If so, run the pipe to where it is going and bend it from there to where it is now, or use an elbow and an extra bit of pipe. At the other end you could simply have holes in the pipe. Or you could construct a French drain as a more permanent solution, which would cost not very much more at all.

Is the base for the extension going to be raised so the floors are level? Or sunk to where the land level is outside the kitchen? If lowered, ensure your new drainage pipe will not be above the surface when that happens. If the whole ground area is to be lowered, say with steps to the current entrance, make you new drainage system deeper to accommodate your plan.

As you are in Somerset and with only the seasons to add shadow, put the patio where you want it. Unless you really feel like sitting outside in winter. As a temporary covering, gravel, bark chip or woodchip would fit the bill for just a year. But as the current patio is raised so you can step straight out of your door, why remove it? Just take it up for long enough to get the drainage in then put it back. You have the materials in place and there will be less small bits to be trodden into the house. Wait for the extension and do a complete job of it then.
G Arnold
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks again freshscaped... Good points, especially concerning the existing patio. I think what i will do is as you suggested, retrofit drainage to patio... I will also dig up the old concrete along the back of the house (its in bad condition) and replace with gravel or bark to make it tidier... Will then focus attention to top and sides of the garden.
Cheers
PRO
User
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Onwards and upwards then. I have no view of the concrete from here so will leave it in your safe hands.

Top and sides - I like one comment in your ideabook on a pic "Love this.... Breaks up monotony of a square/rectangular space". This because I was thinking you might take a path from either the current patio or wherever you would naturally join a garden path once the house end is all done, let it sweep in a curve moving out to the left very slightly then sweeping back towards the right hand fence almost to touch it (grassed side), finally curving sharply round to a seating area roughly to the side of the telegraph pole. From an upstairs window it would be reminiscent of a handwritten question mark, but with a flat top at its left.

That would segment the garden into 3 differently sized and shaped parts, with the opportunity to develop some real contrasts and areas of interest. There could be other paths and subsections but this would be the main defining feature. Your seating area would be beyond any shadow from the house whilst leaving you free to develop the end section in any of a number of ways.

Several of the other pictures in the same ideabook offer great suggestions and get the mind working on the possibilities for each section. Just one mild word of warning: the only way a rockery like the one pictured is, as suggested, low maintenance for you is if you're paying somebody else to maintain it.

Are you starting to feel like progress is being made?
G Arnold
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks again Freshscaped, good point on the rockery... Upon consideration i would actually be happy to pay for regular maintenance as i am not a keen gardener BUT i do appreciate a nice garden! As such, my low maintenance requirement is less of a priority i guess. I like your thinking on breaking up the garden and using paths to do that... When i was going through photos i was always leaning to these designs. Cheers
PRO
User
8 years ago
Gary, we haven't heard from you here for a long time and I have been too busy to be active on Houzz for quite a while. Have you made any progress with this project? How has it all gone?
G Arnold
Original Author
8 years ago
Hi Freshscaped, unfortunately not much progress... Current focus is on fixing a leaking chimney... So scaffolding, re-pointing, new chimney pots and re-flaunching... Thats my current task (prior to that i had shifted attention back indoors to tackle a number of small jobs).

I did however dig up concrete along back but TBH have now decided to get a groundswork person in to properly dig out and level areas and install drainage, i just dont have enough time in the day unfortunately... It will progress but v.slowly... Main thing is new drainage before winter!

Back garden needs an overhaul...

User

Comments (12)

G Arnold
Original Author

User

Related Discussions

G Arnold
Original Author

Jonathan

G Arnold
Original Author

User

G Arnold
Original Author

User

G Arnold
Original Author

User

G Arnold
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Back garden needs an overhaul...

User

Comments (12)

G ArnoldOriginal Author

User

Related Discussions

G ArnoldOriginal Author

Jonathan

G ArnoldOriginal Author

User

G ArnoldOriginal Author

User

G ArnoldOriginal Author

User

G ArnoldOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

G Arnold
Original Author

G Arnold
Original Author

G Arnold
Original Author

G Arnold
Original Author

G Arnold
Original Author

G Arnold
Original Author