Hi, Karen again. Have just drawn out a sketch from yours. My first thought is, having lived in Yorkshire for a 18 months and experienced the wind, why not hedge completely? This might sound expensive but if you buy bare root through a local nursery it is very affordable. Now is a good time to plant. Our garden is affected by high winds as we are in an exposed spot. We are fortunate to have inherited a very mature holly and cherry laurel hedge which is a fantastic wind break. Wouldn’t recommend laurel as it is very fast growing and so makes for a lot of work. The hedges we have planted are mainly yew. These grow surprisingly quickly, in the right conditions(they hate being waterlogged and it will kill them). The yew is used within the garden to compartmentalise areas and restrict views as the garden is on a slope and would otherwise be fully visible at first glance. However, on the boundaries we planted a copper beech hedge (stunning in full leaf) and a native hedge. The native hedge has been laid and is so beautiful. We had it done by a chap who works in National Trust properties. I have done some hedge laying,having chatted to him and, while I cannot produce the quality that he can, it is possible for it to be done by an amateur. I’m sure you could find videos on line. Laying strengthens and thickens a hedge making it a better windbreak. I wonder of your existing hedges could be laid. Unfortunately I have to stop now as I am planting tulips. A dear friend, now sadly dead, used to say “you can’t have too many spring bulbs” and she was right. ridiculously cheap. Native hedging is wonderful

One element that may help to soften and blur the boundaries is to re think the path. As you have found a full straight path seems very 'dictatorial' - you must walk here - in a garden. So changing the style of path to a broken path - large flag stones placed seperately or dark concrete rectangles set separately - which allows lawn between the steps softens the look while still offering solid support. It could meander a little to avoid a straght line.

Hi Silver Dragon Lots of really good advice here for you and I really like the double circle design. The three additional things I would advise are: 1. Make the beds nice and deep - ideally a meter if you can. So many people put narrow thin beds downs the sides as they are worried about having too much gardening to do and they are worried about the lawn being too small. The Problem with narrow beds is that it means the plants get planted right up against the fence which means they get more shade and the get less rain, and they lean over into the sun. Also in a narrow bed the plants quickly fill the space and then you are endlessly cutting them back which both creates work for you and makes the plants look ugly. I am sure you will have seen lots of flower beds with tall shrubs with ugly brown stems showing and then all the leaves at the top. Give the plants space to grow. 2. My second piece of advice links to the first. Do be a bit careful what you buy and make sure that it will not get too big. The Photinia that Sonia mentioned is a good example. It wants to be a 3m high shrub in 5-10 years and that means it will also want to be 2-3m wide as well! Not many gardens can cope with that much space for 1 plant. So look for shrubs that will get to about 0.75 - 1.0m and they will fit more comfortably into your flower beds and leave space for the lovely perennials that Sonia has also suggested. 3. You can absolutely buy plants that are cheap, but also check the quality. Don't buy something just because it is cheap. It might be that it has been stuck in the pot for too long and will never grow properly, or if it is too dry that suggests it has not been cared for very well. You might well be able to resuscitate them in the short term, but they maybe never look really great. A classic example of this is I have seen Box plants reduced in a supermarket, that on the face of it looked ok, but to the trained eye they had Box blight - something you definitely don't want to buy. The staff knew the plants didn't look 100%, so reduced them, but did not understand the reason the plants looked less than perfect and should have been destroyed to stop the blight spreading. Try to find a good local garden centre where they actually know stuff about the plants they sell and can offer you good advice. Happy gardening!

Hi, First of all, congratulations on your first house with a nice large garden. A few good points have been mentioned already with the screening and boundary fences. For me you need to make a wish list of what you need, would like to have, and dream of in your garden. You have already mentioned veg, and seating area. Think of a style that you like, there is also no reason to mix different styles as this is more common now like a contemporary layout and hard landscaping with a cottage flowing style of planting. I would also consider loosing that large shed, three reasons, one it looks rotten at the base, two, it's in the wrong place, and three, I think it may be far to large for what you need. Carful consideration of the sizes of the spaces for each area, like may your main patio/terrace big enough so it fits your garden furniture comfortably without you feeling like your falling into the borders and still leave room for people to walk around without tripping over things. Thinking of focal points and views through the garden. Do you need room for children to play? A garden is the largest room of your house and can be one of the most enjoyed to relax in and unwind or destress from a busy day. I would consider getting in a professional designer if not to do a full design, to at least have a consultation and walk around the garden with you to advise on solutions and possible ideas. Some designers will even do a rough sketch for you on site of how it could look, although not to an exact scale. Doing a garden is not a cheap thing, although there are thinks were you could save with the right advise. Getting it wrong by just doing a bit at a time will leave you with a garden that does not flow, better to follow a plan and do what you can when you can and afford it. That way you will end up with a beautiful space you can admire and enjoy. All the best Ian