Help me design my London garden!
cathyredd
9 years ago
We are looking to redesign some of our garden; the back of it has always had dead space (particularly under the fir tree) and we feel it could be better used. Also we now have 2 boys; a 2 year old and a baby - this means we just don't have much time for gardening and that we want to make it safer and more usable for them (while keeping it saleable).
We are thinking of building a garden room at the back left - removing the shed that is there and building a garden room from the back wall to the olive tree, side on to the house, with a decked area of some sort at the back from the garden room to the opposite wall. I'm thinking of softening this somehow with planting; not quite sure what form it should take, and also open to other ideas entirely!
Other things on our radar are; making the pond safe (urgently), perhaps changing the garden path (stepping stones?), adding a trellis on the right hand side for privacy, changing the seating near the house.
All inspiration and ideas very welcome! I can provide measurements if that helps; garden is about 6m wide, and the olive tree is about 5m from the back wall. Very much looking forward to your responses!
We are thinking of building a garden room at the back left - removing the shed that is there and building a garden room from the back wall to the olive tree, side on to the house, with a decked area of some sort at the back from the garden room to the opposite wall. I'm thinking of softening this somehow with planting; not quite sure what form it should take, and also open to other ideas entirely!
Other things on our radar are; making the pond safe (urgently), perhaps changing the garden path (stepping stones?), adding a trellis on the right hand side for privacy, changing the seating near the house.
All inspiration and ideas very welcome! I can provide measurements if that helps; garden is about 6m wide, and the olive tree is about 5m from the back wall. Very much looking forward to your responses!
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Comments (14)
pannacotta
9 years agocathyredd
9 years agoRelated Discussions
Help! Need to design a very small London studio.
Comments (37)I could see a fake floor platform constructed in front of the windows, going across the entire width of the flat. At the left side of the platform, put in a storage wall from the column back towards the flat door. Then, put a dining table or desk on the top of the platform. Build a slide out platform for the mattress. Although you are only looking at a small double, I would build the sliding platform sufficiently deep to hide a full sized bed (5-6 feet). If you had extra space, you could install hinged doors to access the storage space hidden under the far edge of the raised area. In the floor level area in front of the platform, use easily moved comfortable chairs that you could just push out of the way when you wanted to slide out the mattress. (Poang chairs from IKEA would be ideal). If you wanted an extra chair for company, consider a canvas sling chair like you would see at the beach which would store in a space scarcely more than an inch deep If you are looking for ideas, consider spending a few hours viewing boats at one of the London area marinas that sell canal boats. After looking at a few canal boats, your flat will look absolutely spacious! Just curious, if you wouldn't mind sharing, where is your flat and how much was the purchase price? (approx is fine)...See MoreHelp with the design of my small 1 bed Victorian in London
Comments (9)I've just cobbled together a quick plan for you and then on re-reading OnePlan's suggestion above I realise its the same thing so apologies for that. Wasnt trying to copy. If you have more accurate dimensions I'll happily put together something a bit more accurate. With this plan you lose a bit of space from the front room and the bedroom but you turn the flat into a 2 bed, great for when you come to resell. To get light into the bedroom you could have a frosted glass panel in place of the existing window and as long as there are rooflights above the kitchen then the bedroom will get some light but its not going to be a great sunny room....See MorePlease help me with my 'garden'!
Comments (8)I follow the Dutch Wave and the American Wave styles of planting, where (with the right plant selection) you plant densely, working with key plants as the ballerinas of the show dotted along the length of the border. Try to dot these in a random manner to mimic nature. You mentioned planting wildflowers so I think you like the idea of plants that look good, are beneficial for the insects, can be used for cut flowers in the house, but with the minimum of input. As the top section gets the sun plant a sun-loving plant which can also be enjoyed from the roadside. A good shrub for a sunny/semi-shady spot that requires very little intervention is Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight' - the flowers start lime green then fade to cream before ending the year with shades of pink/red. All you need to do to enhance flowering is to prune hard in early spring, cutting back the previous season's shoots to within a few buds of the permanent, woody framework of the plant. I would then add foxgloves (as the ballerinas), there a types of digitalis that flower from June to September and all you need to do is cut down the flowers to promote more through the year. I would then add some evergreen ferns, Epimedium × youngianum 'Niveum', and closer to the house add Sarcococca confusa for their sweetly scented pure white flowers. For ground cover plant Pachysandra terminalis, which is a great plant with shiny leaves to reflect light (it can be a brute by spreading, but it will block out the weeds). You would then end up with a low-maintenance, stylish border, which over time will look more natural. I hope this helps, and I wish you all the best with your garden. Mark...See MoreHelp me design my garden please
Comments (17)Looks great:) Agree with ED, plants in pots need regular watering and care. As for trees, if it’s in full sun then an olive would be great or if in cool shade an acer would also look nice. They need fairly large pots tho. For that reason I wouldn’t put shrubs or trees into the planter between decking and gravel mainly because of the roots and spread. However some may take well such as yew or tall growing junipers such as ‘sky rocket’. Personally I like to see a mixture of tall and flowing grasses and perennials. Mexican feather grass (sometimes called ponytails), crocosmia ‘red Lucifer’, some gladioli, and zebra grass would make a lovely combo. If you put the Mexican feather grass near the edge of the lawn you can watch it waft in the breeze (it’s one of my favorites:))....See Morepannacotta
9 years agominnie101
9 years agoI like the idea of a garden room across the whole of the back in which case remove the fir. You can get ones with combined storage, one pictured is from Lisa cox designs. Alternatively take the garden room up to just before the fir tree and then put a shed in at the back right and screen it with something. Or you could use the garden room for the kids, in any case build a very small terrace or gravel area in front of the room. I'd fill in the pond and have the whole area as lawn for the kids to play as they are likely to spend a lot of time here. I'd remove the shrubs and run the path along the right hand wall as you face the shed. A slim pergola over the path with climbers may be good for privacy. I'd extend the patio a little so there is a bit more room for a table or sofa and chairs. It's difficult to see where you are overlooked but would consider replanting the olive on the left near to the patio.
nicole3238
8 years ago
PROINsitu
8 years ago
PROMark Lane Designs
8 years ago
PROCowen Garden Design
8 years agoI've just spotted your request so apologies for being late but it reminded me lots of a garden I have just replanted. The structure was there, two circles in brick with beds beyond, and totally overgrown. I had no hand in designing the structure just the planting and we wait to see how the plants grow this year. The top photo is the after one and there's still work on the grass to do. The bottom one is before showing lots of overgrown and diseased plants. Have a look at me Houzz website to see some other small gardens. Hope it helps and good luck.www.cowengardendesign.co.uk
PROKebur Garden Materials
8 years agoWhat a great project to start! These London houses are great because you could go for a contemporary looking garden or traditional! Just looking at the few pictures you have uploaded, you could pave just outside the doors, with a light cream slab, we would recommend the Sinai Pearl limestone a smooth slabs keeping the area all natural. Replace the dark sleepers with new oak sleepers to keep it bright and make them into planters so you have some greenery and plants without it taking up too much of the area. You then could use just a simple 20mm beach shingle to path down to the back of the garden these colours will all match in with each-other leading to a garden building either a shed for practicality or a summer house which will look over your brand new garden!
PROMichael Lowe Landscapes
7 years ago
PROJohn Holt
7 years agosteve3122
6 years ago
PROCelery. Visualization, Rendering images
6 years ago
Bella Tanner