Edwardian City Terrace Small Garden
garethrees
8 years ago
I'm trying to decide on what to do with my 10m × 4.7m garden.
Here's the existing plan view:
…and a photograph:
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I've been through loads of iterations of design on SketchUp but I'm yet to feel like I've found "the one".
I'm just outside a large city, and I want to have the feel of a city garden – not a cottage in the countryside. That said, I'd rather something more classic than super modern.
I'm definitely going to deck out to at least 2.4 meters, and along the side return of the house because it will be the easiest way to tidy up the existing concrete patio. After that, I'm not sure.
Here are some things I want (or don't want) from the garden:
- Space for 2-8 people to eat outside
- Enough lawn to lie on in the sun
- At least an 8x6 shed
- Ability to grow herbs and leafy vegetables (salad-type stuff)
- The less construction work the better
- Relatively low maintenance, but not afraid of a bit of work
- Not decking; path; lawn (e.g. http://i.imgur.com/NlZtZ2x.jpg); this feels like it has no soul
- More "kept" than "wild"
I was debating whether to post any of my designs in progress, because I don't want to influence suggestions too much. I'm sure there must be something I haven't thought of that only a fresh pair of eyes could point out. Here are some links to my plans, but I'm totally open to something radically different.
- http://i.imgur.com/F6IJGi4.jpg
- http://i.imgur.com/tCb8c5M.png
- http://i.imgur.com/vGN4I33.png
- Experimental with a metal gazebo:
- http://i.imgur.com/iVS9ESL.png
- http://i.imgur.com/9xAw4Aa.png
Cheers!
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Comments (24)
garethrees
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Help me design my London garden!
Comments (14)I would agree with pannacotta and take out the blue spruce. I would then get someone in to take everything out - the shed, the pond, the narrow path, the lawn, the odd sleeper demarcation across the garden and the gravel. You will then have a clearer picture of your space. With the conifer removed there will be a large space at the far end of the garden, and it will no longer suck the water from the garden. Perhaps include some pleached hornbeam trees on the right and at the far end to make the garden feel more private, yet allow filtered light in to your garden. You have a wall at the far end, which is a great feature. It looks like the entire garden is enclosed, which is great from a safety point of view for the children. A garden building/office is a great addition, but it can become a storage place. Before buying one, really way up the pros and cons of having one. I am designing a family garden at the moment with a garden office towards the rear, but the father works from home and really needs his own space - however, it will double up as a TV room/den for the kids at night. Work out the actual size of building you actually need, rather than just putting one in to fill the space. If the orientation is correct the right hand side gets most sun. I would, as suggested put pleached hornbeam trees along the run, and have a path to one side, along this run, perhaps with a dog-leg at the far end. The path would be in the sun most of the day and would stay clearer from moss, etc. You could incorporate an off-set pergola above a section of the path perhaps positioned towards the centre of the length of the path and climb evergreen clematis or hydrangea petiolaris - this will also assist with blocking out the building behind when seated lower and closer to the house. Perhaps split the garden then in to 3 zones: zone 1 close to the house becomes a paved seating/entertaining space; zone 2 is the centre of the garden, which would be the children's turfed play area, and then zone 3 at the far end either becomes a building or a hidden seated area for grown-ups with well-designed planting around it and a pergola attached to the wall to offer privacy and shade. You could even have a long table and benches for al-fresco dining, under a canopy of sweet smelling jasmine and roses. With good lighting, this space could be an enticing area. The Edwardian/Victorian façade of the house makes me think of a family cottage garden with a contemporary twist (with veggies and cut flowers grown together). Flowering shrubs, bulbs and perennials will help to soften the walls (but remember, the walls can be a great feature in themselves). This may sound like a lot of upkeep, but with the right choice of plants you only need to spend c. 1 hour a week to keep on top of things (a little more in the winter to tidy things up (but not too tidy, i.e. leave flower seedheads and grasses for winter interest)). But remember to keep planting close to the house low with the line of sight from indoors to outdoors, so that you can keep an eye on the children. This is a great space to have. Have fun and enjoy it....See MoreGarden Design Advise Needed
Comments (84)Hi Eve, Well done for taking on a design project. Always an exciting challenge and by the looks of it you've done yourself proud. I know it's a bit late in the day to give any suggestions but perhaps you could put them to one side for a rainy day? Looking at your patio layout I would suggest a slight tweak in order to have some coherence with the circular or rather flowing feel you have tried to create. Notice how in my quick scribble I've taken out the sharp corners of the paving by making a curved edge, which is easily achieved by cutting the stone to suit the site, such as natural sandstone or preferably dark material such as slate. To hide the cut edges you can install edging cobbles or blocks with small low profile led lights interspersed between the edging blocks? Please see attached scribble to see what I mean. Second thing and this is of course completely budget dependent is because you already have a lovely stark white fence you might want to consider contrasting that with a dark material for your hard landscaping such as a nice slate or dark black limestone pavers? The planting looks lovely by the way!...See MoreHow can I make my Edwardian house front look nicer?
Comments (16)Personally I think that the issue is that the pebbledashed section is too plain and this is exacerbated by the fact that the roof here is higher than the original plan. In my opinion the solution is to create some visual interest in this area. If both you and your neighbour is replacing the porch a taller version might help. Personally I think the pebbledash looks like a lower quality product than the rest of the house and painting it would help lift it (as long as the neighbour also want to do it as half done would look worse). Ideally I would put a tall thin sash style window in the pebbledashed section but I recognise this might be inconvenient inside the house- but it could be faked by adding a window surround to the outside to match the stone on the bay....See MoreShow us your gardens!
Comments (104)Sonia (and all), can I ask for your help pretty please?? I‘ve just bought 2 potted olives to put outside my door. They’re classed as young but the tallest is c8ft and the other c7ft and the trunk is quite thick with big crowns. The pots are 50 x50. I enquired re watering and was told to water at least 3 or 4 times a week During the summer and once in winter. I asked for the volume but was told no fast rule as just had to be kept moist and I can’t overwater (my concern) due to drainage holes (Although the pots aren’t on feet). Problem is how do I know if it’s moist at the bottom and I also thought young olives shouldn’t have waterlogged roots? They‘re also full of olives btw. Any help would be appreciated. I thought I’d try and take advantage of all the gardeners on one post!! I could go back to the company obviously but feel like I’m going back with contradictory advice just from the net and They’re expert growers.....See Morepannacotta
8 years agogarethrees
8 years agopannacotta
8 years agopannacotta
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agogarethrees
8 years agopannacotta
8 years agogarethrees
8 years agopannacotta
8 years agogarethrees
8 years agoA few more ideas based on a 6x6 shed (1.8m x 1.8m):
Middle one gives a fair amount of space for everything, but the lawn looks a bit sparse – would need to figure out a way of making it interesting while retaining the space.
pannacotta
8 years agogarethrees
8 years ago> Do you have a photo looking back to the house?
This is the view from around about the shed entrance.
The initial photograph was taken from the back bedroom (office) window.
The back door leads in to the kitchen.
pannacotta
8 years agominnie101
8 years agopannacotta
8 years agominnie101
8 years ago
PROLavin Landscape & Ground Maintenance
8 years agolast modified: 8 years ago- Shed integrated into covered seating area, back of shed has door opening onto street/ lane. I am guessing that you are UK based, hence the covered seating area. You could put doors on the 'open area' and have it as a garden room too with a sofa and small stove?. Nice for those Sunday mornings with a hot cup of coffee and the Sunday papers.
- Curved path laid on nidagravel, edged in steel
- Turf lawn
- Plant herbs and veg instead of shrubs
- Two beds either side of decking area
- Replace fence and top with trellis for privacy
Jonathan
8 years ago
Josephine Geeson
8 years agoducissa
8 years agoBuying a prefabricated shed means you're stuck with that big cuboid chunk of wood intruding into your central area. If you could custom-build a long, not very deep wooden structure along the back fence it wouldn't intrude so much and you could have a patio in front. This sort of thing...
PROEden Garden Design
7 years ago
minnie101