Small boggy garden

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

We’ve recently moved into a Victorian terrace house with a very modest garden that gets very, very wet.

The lawn is a complete state and occupied by an extremely large shed; in proportion to the garden size.

The neighbour has a large tree which shelters much of our garden and likely exacerbates the issue of the grass being so poor.

The prime sun spot in the garden is right at the back, where the shed is positioned.

We have a long concrete path that reaches from the kitchen door, along our kitchen and our small extension into the main garden. This garden is currently a featureless eyesore.

We have a toddler and are not gardeners. We do like the look of a lawn though and have toyed with the idea of artificial grass.

Does anyone have any ideas on what we could do with our garden? Ideally we’d like to make the best use of space. We’d like ideas on storage solutions if we got rid of the shed.

All ideas welcome – and of course any ideas on cost too!

Thanks in advance

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Comments (5)

ladyrimmofpinn
8 years ago
Hi. Could you please give some more information. What size is your garden? Which way does it face? Do you know the type of tree in your neighbour's garden or at least whether it is evergreen or deciduous? (By the way you are entitled to cut off and return to your neighbour any branches that overhang your garden but having said that think before you take any action because you do not want to make it into more of an eyesore).

Are there any other established trees or shrubs in the garden? How big is the lawn area? Is it boggy throughout the whole year?

With regard to the shed, without seeing it, my gut feeling is to keep it as storage, especially with a toddler is essential. I would try to make it 'disappear' by training climbing plants over it having initially painted it a 'leaf-like' green.

Can you please post photos of the garden from all angles. I am sure there is much you can do with it. It is lovely to have an outdoor area especially with a toddler.

Best wishes :)
raebow thanked ladyrimmofpinn
Andrew Millar
8 years ago
Hi,in my experience its very hard,physically and financially to remedy a boggy garden.usually its clay soil which is the problem, which would mean removing it and replacing it with top soil,loads of grit,sand,ballast etc to aid drainage.I've struggled before in the past, so I would recommend either the artificial grass,which would still need the drainage issue sorted or decking the lot .you could still use artificial grass ,but it would be raised off the ground.I wish you luck,as I said earlier it's a nightmare.
raebow thanked Andrew Millar
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I wouldn't have put a lawn in. You can see how it goes, but they require a lot of mowing and it sounds like you don't get a lot of sun so it may well end up very mossy and wet most of the time. See how it goes but maybe you need the deck to be sited on the left, so it is in the sun in the middle of the day/evening if possible, so not near the house if it faces east. Evergreen climbers are essential for small gardens with fences. Trachelospermum jasminoides, has lovely scented flowers in the summer and Hydrangea seemannii and Pileostegia Viburnoides are good in shade. I would put in a lot of planting on the shady side of the garden, a good evergreen grass for clay is Carex pendula. I would also plant an Amelanchier or Acer at the far end to screen the neighbours windows and autumn colour. You could look up evergreen ground covers for shade. Good luck!
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The lowest cost way to sort this problem is to dig yourself a small pond and bog garden area in front of the shed. If you dig a metre deep hole and shelve it up to the edges and put a liner to about 5 cm below the surface of your lawn it will act as a sump and the water will go that way (you can cover the edge of the liner with turf you have removed to cover it up). Don't put fish in, let the frogs and newts find their own way and also gives you the fun of watching birds and other creatures drinking from the shallow edges. Then plant big bog plants like purple loosestrife next to it, they will soon grow to block the view of the shed. This is purple loosestrife, very pretty, tall and easy to grow. As for the shed, it's always useful to have, why not just paint it dark grey or green to blend in better and add a plant like a clematis, honeysuckle or climbing rose to start growing up it on a trellis.
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Andrew Millar
8 years ago
oops! ps ,storage could be built at the sides or back and used as benches, or maybe to give some privacy from your neighbours ,using some decking to blend in.
PRO
IQ Outdoor Living
8 years ago
You could also protect an area of your garden from excessive rain, enabling you to use it for more of the year.

Something similar to an Umbris Louvre Roof will create a protected area of decking, patio or lawn. The automated louvres within the roof give you control over the amount of sunlight penetrating through the roof, when wet the automated louvres turn flat to create a fully watertight patio roof.

Placement will depend on where you get sun in your garden and how you like to use it. You could have it freestanding:

St. Lawrence · More Info

Or attached to the house to help bridge the indoor-outdoor divide:

Kingsland Road · More Info

More information about Umbris
raebow thanked IQ Outdoor Living
raebow
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks everyone for your comments. I'm going to post this again with images as it wouldn't initially allow me to attach photos and appreciate in order for you to properly advise you need to see something visual.

Thank you again for your time and advice.

Small boggy garden

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ladyrimmofpinn

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Small boggy garden

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ladyrimmofpinn

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raebowOriginal Author

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