skip to main content

Garden ideas/ patio design

dannielleherself

8 years ago

We have just brought our new house and are struggling to come up with an idea/theme for the garden.
The garden is on a slight slope from the house to the garage (the brick building opposite) and it slopes slightly from the left side of the garage to the right hand corner (where the shrubs are).

We are struggling to come up with a design/ ideas for patio area and grassed areas...

We are also in the process of removing the bushes (when we are at the house)

These are our plans:
We are planning on putting a door into the garage just to the right of the wooden trellis,
We would like to have a patio area on the left hand side of the garden (this catches the sun most of the day),

We have a small patio area outside of our patio doors- we're not sure about how to extend this (as we still want a grassed area)

Featured Answer

PRO

Thomas Stone Horticulture Services Ltd

8 years ago

i think the most important thing is to work out first of all how you would like to use the garden space, whether its to relax in, socialize in, kids/grandkids to play in, to enjoy from the house and or different focal points within the garden, is there an area that gets say evening sun and that's the time you both get home and want to enjoy a meal/drink in the evening sun? do you need storage areas? outside cooking area? how much time do you have to spend upkeeping it? (and be honest! too many people aren't believe me lol), how much money you have to spend, both on landscaping and maintenance,

once you really know what you want from it, have a search though houzz at the different styles of gardens and start getting an idea of what you like and come up with a board with clippets of different styles, doesn't matter if it takes time, best to get the basic's right before spending any money

before planting, its worth getting the soil tested for its type, ph and nutrient level, this will also help work out what plants you will be able to grow

sorry I haven't helped with styles or direct ideas, I feel its your own space and to get the best from it you need to understand more what you require from it and what you can give to get out of it

most of all good luck and enjoy turning the lovely space into a garden that you can enjoy

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (10)

Ocean Clarke
8 years ago
Lovely space! I'm sure a patio would help to break up the space too, whilst adding interest (and a great spot for sunbathing).

How about some dark slate tiles like the ones below?

17OSA · More Info
Related Discussions
Garden ideas/ patio design
Q
Comments (2)
And here are a few ideas that have caught our eye, we love the more clean contemporary look with stone/wood/clean lines and straight angles, our main worry is if these would look right in a smaller garden
...See More
Garden Design ideas for a medium sized garden
Q
Comments (13)
Ok, it’s been a little while since we left off on the garden project, however as we’re approaching spring we’re keen to get the space cleaned up for spring. To open up the space we’ve removed the middle two bar fence and relocated the beech hedging to the screen the remaining fencing. The aim being to create more privacy and blend into the landscape behind. To add security we was thinking of adding gravel and rockery / water feature (not pond) to the righthand side near the gate. Opposite create a gravel area for the stone bench and dot a few ball shrubs and a Victorian lamp for interest. Uplighter’s will be used to illuminate the hedge. In the main section of the garden add one or two trees on the section on the righthand side to create some privacy from the neighbours line of sight into the bench area. Thereafter add more ball shrubs, lupine and foxgloves to create height. Apply a horizontal slat fence (painted a muted sage green) to tidy up the bad side of the existing fence. All borders will be edged with a slim red brick to match the house and make it easier for moving. Finally to mask the shed, introduce some rose bushes and lavender.
...See More
Patio / Outdoor Seating + Kitchen area design ideas/critique
Q
Comments (2)
Hi Jonathan - thanks! Unfortunately for height reasons I can't put a pergola up. Neighbours won't like it as our patio will already be 30cm above the lawn. On the height of the surfaces, I wonder if I ought to just accept a higher worktop height. This will block the view of the garden a bit, but with a BBQ and maybe pizza oven in the kitchen area, the height will unavoidably be higher then the walls anyway. So a higher wall perhaps isn't a problem (and would look tidier when viewed from the garden anyway). Do you have any specific thoughts on the lighting options? Seems like an infinite set if options. I made the model in Sketchup with a plugin called vray. . Borrowed a friend's machine to do it.. I'm not sure I've got a great render from vray, but it was the default settings. Plenty of YouTube tutorials.if.interested, I'm no expert at all. Thanks
...See More
Patio Design Ideas for Garden Office
Q
Comments (8)
Decking would be the easiest to build but you are right, it will need ongoing treatment, unless you keep it natural and just oil it. Softwood deck doesn’t last long (mine started to rot after 8 years). Hardwood is better but more expensive. Composite decking doesn’t last as long as the manufacturers claim and in fact in America some manufacturers are being sued, however some of them do look good. Of course paving like sandstone last forever.
...See More
ingabrereton
8 years ago
Looking at the photos it occurs to me that you might want to connect the garage and house together with a conservatory or orangery at some point. That would give you a lovely link to the outside, that is usable all year round and brings the garden inside even with our rotten weather. In terms of the borders, the shrubs already there are the most reliable low maintenance type, but if you wanted something that gives year round interest a mix of herbs, fruit trees and other permanent edibles are nice to have and attract birds and butterflies that are nice to watch. Mixed with perennial flowers and grasses they can be quite low maintenance, especially if you put down a weedproof membrane before planting and cover it with bark chippings.
PRO
Hutsly
8 years ago
Hi Dannielle,

I think you have a lovely garden just waiting to shine! If you're stuck for ideas have a read of our article, Patio Designs, 5 Ideas to outshine the neighbours:

Hope it will help you figure out what theme to go for!
PRO
Elite Outdoor Living
8 years ago
Hi Danielle, maybe you can find some inspiration looking through some of our completed projects before and after photos. We would definitely suggest to take your time with the thinking and planning and make sure to always think about what you would like to use the space for before you decide how to use it to its best potential
PRO
INsitu
8 years ago
I'm sure you've gathered lots of inspiration from this post. How about we use my free app to visualise; before you invest valuable time and money
steve3122
6 years ago
Have a look at Ardosia slate co

and Elementi fire

a lerge range of both slate and gas fire pits

very cosy and sociable
PRO
Matthews Architectural Projects
5 years ago
without further discussion it's hard to say on personal design ideas and customising it to your preference but I tend to find less is more with the garden area, it's nice to keep a large section of grass. I've shown a picture that was done on a previous project that might help with some inspiration.
Dundrum 16
5 years ago
I wouldn't be too quick to remove the existing shrubs as they add a little maturity to the area which would be expensive to replicate.
Gabby Wong
5 years ago
Original post from 2016 - and she never came back, which I always find surprising!

Sponsored

More Discussions

roof lantern location

6

Advice re updating a tiredbedroom please

6

How can I fit an induction hob in place of a range cooker?

5

Above garage extension to create primary suite

18

Inserting a bathroom downstairs and adding a separate toilet

4

United Kingdom

Tailor my experience with cookies

Houzz uses cookies and similar technologies to personalise my experience, serve me relevant content, and improve Houzz products and services. By clicking ‘Accept’ I agree to this, as further described in the Houzz Cookie Policy. I can reject non-essential cookies by clicking ‘Manage Preferences’.