Hello howden9. That is quite a garden. I can answer a couple of your points straight off but you really need a visit (or better pictures and a ground plan) to get fuller ideas. The shaded area at the back is ideal for a composting area and the shed really does not need the sunshine. I'm assuming most light comes from the left side of your pictures, i.e. the south side. But as the cedar and poplars cast shadow across the whole width, if I understand you correctly, you could put either in any part of that area. As it is larger than needed for both, perhaps you might like to consider what else you would like to do, or have, in that area before deciding finally. Next, you need a skip. The conifers in the arch will not grow back well once trimmed into a nice shape. You may as well get rid now instead of waiting for them to prove just how ugly they can be. A rockery is not "low maintenance", a commonly held but sadly delusional belief. So they do tend to get neglected and very soon deteriorate into uncared for disrepair and eyesore. Another reason for a skip unless you can recycle all that stone. Possibly a wall or two? A raised bed or two? A pond or water feature? Stone features are beautiful. If you are anywhere within reach of North Wales, talk to Houzzer Pro Jez Young, the best stone feature builder I have ever come across. Or if you happen to be in or around West Yorkshire we would love to hear from you. If you can get it flat enough and without it being slippery, stone could even make a good patio style seating area for your "place in the sun". Your lengthiest period of sunshine, if I have grasped the garden orientation correctly, is within the right of the photos. Your seating area should go somewhere between where you stood to take the pix and to the right of where the conifer archway is now. Nearer to where you took them may help avoid the summer evening shadow from the cedar. Fruit trees are low maintenance so it is probably worth geting the health of those trees checked if you and/or your family like fruit. So don't decide anything for that space before deciding whether or not they are worth keeping. That should get you started in line with the information you have given. Are you looking to do it (or get it done) all at once or taking it a step at a time? Please keep us posted.

Lol. My dog also loves to dig up freshly planted things, I tend to put a cage around them till the roots have established. I think plants would be wonderful, just remember not to raise the existing soil level around the base of the tree too much as it could be harmful to the tree. In this situation I think you need shallow rooted plants. Here’s some suggestions that would look nice and also be beneficial to the trees. Spring flowering bluebells (always look nice under trees) Bergenia and Lily of the valley, summer flowering nasturtium, comfrey, dill, fennel plus many more. Nasturtiums and comfrey are particularly beneficial as they draw aphids away from fruit trees and also provide winter mulch for the roots and they’re really easy to grow, pop in a few seeds in early spring and you’ll have a riot of colour come summer.

I think you could create a mini orchard on your front lawn, but how big your trees will get depends on what rootstock they were grown on. Do they still have their labels on? Basically, standard fruit trees grow to 25 ft tall and as wide, semi dwarf grow to 15 ft and as wide, then dwarf fruit trees usually grow to a max of 10 x 10 feet. I only know this because I recently bought a dwarf Apple tree, as my garden is far too small for a standard fruit tree. It looks like a spacious area, so you could add more trees, but careful what you choose as some are huge. A nice smaller tree is the Mountain Ash (Sorbus) which has lovely leaves and gorgeous berries in the autumn which the birds love. Laburnum is a small tree with beautiful hanging yellow flowers in late spring. Acers (Japanese Maples) are smaller trees in stunning shades, but they prefer dappled Shade. My favourite tree of all time is the beautiful Himalayan Birch (Betula) which has stunning white bark on the trunk and branches. The multi-stemmed one is particularly attractive. It is a biggie though - 50 ft tall x 25 ft wide. This may not be what you’re thinking, but once established they don’t take much upkeep. Heres some pics

Hi there! This looks like a nice solid space to star working with! You have already made the first step and thought about what you want to have in the garden. To move to the next step and find a place for each of these things, you have to take into consideration not only aesthetics and practicalities (i.e. ease of access etc), but also the garden aspect and possible microclimates that you have there (so basicaly where is sunny, where is dry, where is a constat windy spot etc). In terms of aesthetics, the current design is the classic lawn in the middle with eveything else pushed to the sides. This layout is a bit blend and does not favour the shape of the garden. I would go for something a bit more adventurous and wider plant beds so you can really have a good visual impact in the new design. I offer a range of online garden design services, which are all very good value for money (from budget friendly sktches to full on garden plans with planting plans) and would love to help you with this project! Please have a look at my website www.therootedconceptgardendesign.co.uk and get jn touch if you are interested! Deborah The Rooted Concept Garden Design