Improve my Garden (or you could say Jungle ;-)
A S
6 years ago
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rachelmidlands
6 years agoA S
6 years agoHere is a quick image of the space which I have on my phone. This is one side, the other side is more or less the same without the bin housing and is much wider.
The garden is split level, the top half is divided into two patio's with steps inbetween and the bottom house is the jungle (very overgrown weeds which are unsightly to look at).
A rash decision to allow access to the back has resulted in a garden where space isn't utilised in the best form.
I would appreciate if someone could possibly draw a rough plan or mock up or even recommend a good gardener/landscape artist (w.yorkshire).
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Comments (4)Nathan, a quick glance through your ideabooks and especially the garden one suggests you may enjoy dining al fresco. Would creating a small patio for dining furniture, perhaps sheltered by a pergola, suit your taste? The patio could match the weathered-look tiles (or are they setts?) peaking out at the bottom right corner of the picture. A pergola of a red or deep brown wood would match in well. That could offer a basis to design the rest around. Difficult to go further without seeing a plan and no indication what is already present on what according to the picture of the house in your profile is probably the other half of the garden. It is hard to take a balanced view with so little in view. The plants in the border as shown, even in shadow, look healthy and well established. Because of the shadow it is not easy to see what they are but several, given more space, would make good feature plants, I am also guessing they will give a rich variety of colour changes through the seasons. They may well have been chosen for different flowering and fruiting times to add to the kaleidoscope effect. Identifying them will offer an excellent guide to what other plants you could use in those soil and light conditions. Are you looking to introduce flowers? If so, in separate beds or using the existing borders? That may be a lot of questions but hopefully it will help you to define how you want to use the space, which is essential in order to end up with a design you will be happy to live with....See MoreBefore and After: The Jungle Garden
Comments (21)Fabulous to see people embracing sub-tropical planting. It's so effective used correctly and the development can be rapid! Just remember to have plenty of horticultural fleece ready for the winter. We've used lots of bananas, palms & tree ferns over the years and have never lost one with a bit of careful winter wrapping!...See MoreHow can I improve my garden wall?
Comments (5)My vote is planting. You could make a feature out of the areas that have been bricked up. One appears to have been a door, so finding some old doors , with oldfashioned hinges, on their last legs and placing them under the remaining track to give the illusion of 'some where else'. Further down is a window that has feature brickwork - return it to being a window with a mirror. Then as the planting establishes you will have a vertical garden with features within it....See MoreHi, please would you advise me on how to improve my front of house? 8
Comments (8)If it were my house, I’d paint the flashing beneath the first floor bay window black, and the front door a lovely bright colour, perhaps turquoise. Do you need all the drive area for parking? If not I’d take up curved area of pavers on the left (leaving a walkway of pavers in front of the window) to create a bed and introduce some structured planting. Depending on how the pavers are set, though, that may be a significant job. In the meantime, add a couple of large planters with something like bay on either side of the front door. It’s often a good idea to check with neighbours to see what grows well in the particular conditions of your front gardens....See Morerachelmidlands
6 years agoHi there, hope you don't mind but I had a bit of a doodle for you (see image). Agree with previous comment that less is more and there's some great ideas for screening. Just working with a rough idea of the space and I'm assuming that the house and patio is facing west so went for something simple in the end but with a very Italian style. The patio and path looks good and I don't think needs changing. Definitely evergreens needed so I've disguised the bins and defined the entrance with a spiral box tree, white cedar for good lime colour and lavender for nice scent when you brush past. I've added a feature on the right hand wall with small semi circle paving and you could have anything here (wall mounted water feature, statue, nice planter with palm/cordyline etc.) this is flanked either side by a pair of Italian cypress trees (cypressus sempervirens). Fairly deep borders in front of the patio lined up with the steps and slightly shorter borders for the rest. The circles marked A are for agapanthus, don't know why, just thought they'd look great. Smaller circles I would just stick to one or two types of plant, preferably evergreen again. Here's some that would look good with agapanthus:
Santolina Neapolitana (lavender cotton)
Helichrysum italicum (curry plant)
Perovskia Atriplicifolia (Russian sage)
Hydrangea Paniculata 'Limelight'
Salvias
Box balls and similar to this,
Thuja occidentalis 'teddy'
For any shaded areas hostas and heucheras will look good along with box balls. Of course you could have whatever plants you like but research them first and test your soil as different plants like different conditions. If you wanted a more modern style then it would be quite easy to square off the curves and possibly raise the borders. Bistro set or sun lounger would also look good where the feature area is. Do you have a shed or storage area? If not then this will need to be incorporated into the design especially if you have grass as you'll need a mower, unless you have artificial grass that is. Phew! Said quite a bit when I meant to keep it simple. Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide on. Here's some inspiration.
A S
6 years agoA S
6 years agoForgot to attach above.
Thank you so much Rachel, you really have given me ideas I had never even thought of to transform this garden space. I like the idea of a small water feature.
I will most definatley consider your recommendations and look into them (I'm not green fingered at all but my aim is to make a start on this).
We currently don't have a storage shed. I'm thinking seating on one side of the patio and maybe a low storage unit on the other side, with a BBQ, etc on the other side, maybe some plant boxes against the railing.
The brick work definitely needs a good wash and tinting; the fence needs painting which will probably be in a similar tone to the patio or a stone colour to match the cills.
Would you recommend artificial grass with planting or would a lawn work much better?
Would you have a rough estimate in terms of pricing how much planting/lawns etc would cost?
I would also appreciate help on co-ordination garden furniture such as seating!
Many thanks once again, can't thank you enough for the plan, it is fab!
rachelmidlands
6 years agoHi, it was no probs, it's a bit of a hobby of mine so I'm glad I could help. As for grass it really comes down to personal choice. Myself I prefer proper grass but with it comes maintenance (mowing once a week in summer, keeping edges tidy etc.). Artificial grass may need more prep to begin with, I imagine the soil will need levelling and compacting. The plants I chose are all really easy to look after and need very little maintenance. Agapanthus just needs the flower stalk cut when bloom is spent and a little protection from frost for the first couple of years. Alliums would also be a nice alternative. Hydrangea, leave spent blooms on till spring then trim. For box, including the topiary box spiral, you can trim into shape two/ three times a year and that's it, the rest you can leave to do their stuff, maybe the odd tidy and weeding now and then. If you do decide on borders then take some time to improve the soil, dig some of the earth out, add some good quality compost, and top with some grit for extra drainage and/or some bark chips for weed control. I'm no landscaper so couldn't give you an idea on cost, but get a few estimates first. Plus you can always do it in stages, as and when budget allows. Painting the balustrade a stone colour sounds nice and would look lovely with some colourful plants in containers. I'm rambling on again:) here's some more inspo pics.
PROEliza Gray Gardens
6 years ago
PROSignature Landscapes
6 years agoGreat ideas and enormous help from the ladies above. On such a small area I would strongly recommend artificial grass. With enough real plants surrounding it, it will 'disappear', except for a green background that needs no maintenance. When you are sitting enjoying your wonderful new garden with all the plants and the insects they attract enjoying them with you. Glass in hand, you can sit and reflect on the money you have saved not buying a lawn mower and a shed to store it. Those extra few hours a week can be put to good use reading books on good plants for wildlife and the distant hum of other peoples mowers will become therapeutic and help you meditate on smugness! This is how we spend our weekends, and I grew up on a dairy farm with acres of grass! Brian
Alfresco Living - Bespoke Garden Buildings · More Inforachelmidlands
6 years ago- PRO
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meisner123
6 years agoA S
6 years agomeisner123
6 years ago
PROQuickgrass
6 years agoIf your looking for a high end look then why not try our Woburn artificial grass a real winner with a real softness feel. If you would like a selection of our samples contact richard@quickgrass.co.uk. Have approved installers or can fit yourself happy to talk project through. Here we see our Woburn used in this family home fitted R J Landscapes Oldham. Here we see a traditional garden again using Woburn fitted by Landscapia based in the midlands .Lots of Ideas on our gallery pages good luck with this project and can't wait to see the final result.
Close up below taken by
West London Artificial Grass showing how realistic our Quickgrass looks.Approved fitters west London
A S
6 years ago- PRO
Quickgrass
6 years ago
Eliza Gray Gardens