Shed is black now and looks much better. I am deliberating on whether to paint the doors black or another colour. The planters or stands are clay and lavender, the inside of the shed is silver birch but looks grey mauve in daylight. I've started to paint the fence black too and quite like the "aged" look of the green coming through. I'm waiting for a quote on the hard landscaping and wish he'd hurry as I can only start the planting once it's agreed.

Bearing in mind that you have young children, the focus of the garden in my opinion should be on them. A small patio/dining/relaxing area for adults near the house, and perhaps also at the end of the garden would be lovely. I would also have most of the garden redone in grass (real grass!) with room to play. And I would keep the fence... its the most practical having children near a river, even if they're not babies anymore. I would probably break up the unusual shape of the garden with a few pots, planters and borders 'sticking' out into the garden so the eye is drawn away from the sharp, narrow end. I agree with what was said above though about just living with the space for a bit and seeing how you use it.

Lovely potential to develop this space! Looking back towards your house from the garden area, what about window boxes under each of your ground floor windows with simple fixed shutters (louvre doors) either side of the long window? Keep your house walls light colour as at present with white painted window frames and either white or gentle soft green door, shutters, gate & window boxes. I would want to plant troughs along the left hand wall with some climbing plants as well as colour as in Kevin's sketch & I would also consider an outdoor mirror in the centre opposite the RH ? Kitchen window to reflect colours of the window box planting back to the house but I wouldn't want to restrict access back to the house by too much overplanting. Certainly power washing the yard & covering with pea gravel could be good or paving as in main garden. Instead of knocking down the wall & if expenses allow, what about a wrought iron gate giving an impression of peeping into a Moroccan courtyard?! Enjoy your exciting project & have fun!

Hi again, A few ideas to cover the brick wall between patio doors: The English Ivy I mentioned in a previous post is species of ivy that is green during winter. Ivy in general is fast-growing and requires minimal care, once you plant it and ensure it has gripped to a wall the weather will take care of the rest for you. English Ivy is very fast-growing so needs to be cut back fairly regularly. Boston Ivy is less invasive than English Ivy, though unlike English Ivy it is not evergreen. If you have pets, be careful with ivy - some species are toxic to cats, dogs and other household animals. The Virginia Creeper is climbing plant that is similar in appearance to many ivies, but its leaves redden in autumn (a look I quite like but is not to everyone's taste) and fall altogether winter months, which would leave the wall looking a bit bare again during winter. I love Passiflora, it's an evergreen, climbing plant that produces fruit and beautiful flowers in Spring-Summer. It is also really hardy and low maintenance - once I was able to revitalise a Passiflora plant that appeared to be dead. Wisteria takes slightly longer to grow and therefore to see the results of, but in my opinion is well worth the wait - its blossom is absolutely beautiful. However, it does lose its leaves completely in winter. Additionally, it would be a shame to keep Wisteria confined to the back garden - I think it is at its best on the front/road-facing exterior of a house, so that everyone can enjoy it. Any of these climbers (Wisteria, any subspecies of ivy, Virginia Creeper and Passiflora) would look great. All you need is to fix a trellis to the wall and you're ready to go!