Garden Design Advise Needed

6 years ago

Hello everyone!
We are planning a makeover for our garden and are stuck between lines, shapes and forms. We need to expand our seating space so thought of adding a patio area to the left as it’s north facing fence, so we would have some shade there.
But do we do with the rest? What lawn shape should we create?
Back border is quite big, so we were thinking of reducing it in size, by adding some lawn..but again, which shape is best?
Our shed is built to the right and it’s also on a straight lines patio...should we follow straight lines for everything then?
Please help as we are totally confused and stuck now and any advise would help!...thanks a lot!!!

Featured Answer

Angie

6 years ago

Ok, here are some before and after pictures of our garden to give an idea how the (almost) circular lawn can impact the overall feeling of space. The patio space only really shows on the photos from the far end of the garden, looking back at the house. It is plenty big enough for us to sit and relax (if only the weather would improve...) and entertain.

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Comments (84)

E D
6 years ago
Ooh, exciting!

You say "I think"... :-)

I say, go for it!
E D
6 years ago
Does the swirling hose (right bottom) indicate a design touch?
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eve
Original Author
6 years ago
Haha hose will be a focal point of the whole grand design!!! :)))
eve
Original Author
6 years ago
Would anyone have any ideas/suggestions how we could add some paths or if there is any other way we could make some access to the fence? Just thinking about our dog and if it’s possible to make our new beds more dog friendly somehow...?
rachelmidlands
6 years ago
I say go for it as well:) Not sure about paths but you could include a line or two of bricks or cobbles etc. just laid on top of the soil to protect the fence from mud splash if that’s what you’re worried about. As for protecting new plants from the dog trampling all over them I use obelisks! Mostly the cheap ones from Home Bargains. Here’s section of my garden (excuse the the tatty walls and fences, work in progress as always:)) whenever I get a new or precious plant I pop an obelisk on top till it gets established. I quite like them in this shady corner so might go the whole hog and have an obelisk garden:).
eve
Original Author
6 years ago
Thank you Rachelmidlands! Great idea with obelisks!! I think we will try adding a cobble path along the fence and then will cover the rest of the plant bed with bark chips so that our dog can have access to the fence but doesn’t get muddy feet if it’s wet and he decides to explore in between plants! Will keep you updated on the progress! Thanks!
eve
Original Author
6 years ago
Getting there!! :) does it look ok? Not too busy???
Now we only need to add some turf at the top of the lawns circle/oval and plant left side border.. also need to get a climbing rose for the shed and another one for the patio! Oh and we are thinking of covering the whole bed in bark so that our dog can explore in that jungle...I hope that would do..
I marked a slightly irregular circle but I hope it’s not too noticeable?? Just couldn’t remove too much lawn!!!
Angie
6 years ago
That's looking good. Could you lose a bit more grass near the blue bowl and use it to fill the gap on the far side? Then plant something nicely scented near the patio to enjoy on warm evenings.
E D
6 years ago
It certainly doesn't look bad, but it's kind of halfway now. Halfhearted almost (and shape wise quite literally :) ).

I can understand your slight trepidation about loosing lawn, but TBH I think you could and should be braver and go for the circle. This will probably make it look less 'busy' as well.

Have another look at your first sketch. It's good.
eve
Original Author
6 years ago
Hi Angie, we will extend patio where the blue bowl is, so once that is done will see if more lawn needs to be removed or if I can fit more plants..shame it’s a shady area and not many options for planting I have there..

Hi ED! I know what you mean, I think I’ll perfect the shape once we add some turf in missing areas..another thing is, the whole plant bed is sloping downwards, so it looks slightly different on paper and in reality..which is really annoying, as part of the lawn/circle is kind of bending down..
eve
Original Author
6 years ago
Well, took a deep breath and removed that extra lawn and also added turf :) what do you guys think? Is it more circle now?
Right bottom corner will finish t off with stepping stones (I think) :)
E D
6 years ago
That's more like it!

Going to be great!
Angie
6 years ago
That's even better!
Ali Dolphin
6 years ago
Looks good but you could get away with even more and make it a near full circle and adding another border to the bottom and then a couple of stepping stones between patio and lawn. It would sort of add a boundary to your patio and finish the garden off.
eve
Original Author
5 years ago
Some more progress today :)
eve
Original Author
5 years ago
Getting there!!!!
eve
Original Author
5 years ago
Just thinking if we should paint the furniture and if so which colour would look best...?
Hazel Kindley
5 years ago
Oh Eve, it looks wonderful! Personally I like the colour of the furniture, but that might just be because it's the same colour as mine
tamp75
5 years ago
Don’t paint it, you’ll be forever having to repaint.
rachelmidlands
5 years ago
Looking fab:) I like the furniture colour as it is. I would add some pretty scatter cushions, a throw casually draped over one arm and perhaps a tray of potted herbs on the table. In a year or so when the furniture has weathered a little you could paint it then. Keep going! Your garden is looking great:)
Carolina
5 years ago
Looks lovely.

Is it teak furniture? You can get teak oil and treat it once or twice a year to keep the colour as it is now. If you ever feel the need to clean it with a pressure washer, don't. Just clean it with soapy water and add vinegar to that if there's a green residu. Let it dry and 'paint' it with the teak oil.
eve
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks guys!! Every single advise taken on board!
Will wait with painting or staining the furniture for now, and will look for an outdoor rug and all those cosy accents like cushions, throws etc for now :) cheers!!!xx
eve
Original Author
5 years ago
Hello all, me again.. :) now we are stuck with this corner/almost triangle part of the design! We were planning to add some pebbles between patio and the fence and are stuck with this part...where do we stop pebbles? Do we cover the whole ground (where the pots are now) or just a part of it? If the whole bed, that’s just too costly..
I started thinking of maybe reducing our flower bed and just have it as half circle and adding some turf/lawn back around the patio bit...what do you guys think??? Please advise as I don’t know whether to start planting there or whether just lay a new lawn and get it over with!! Thanks!!!
eve
Original Author
5 years ago
Pic of the whole garden..
Emily
5 years ago
If you don’t mind keeping on top of weeding until the plants cover the soil then you don’t need pebbles at all. Once the plants fill out the space the weeding should be minimal.
And I think you’ve made a massive improvement :) but I wouldn’t take out the curve, tbh I think two smaller curves where the patio has the square indent of grass would be great with a couple more plants. Anyhow great job!
rachelmidlands
5 years ago
I would stop the pebbles at the end of the patio then add a barrier between pebbles and the the start of the border (a bit of wood or plastic would do). Bark mulch would be ideal for the triangle and the rest of the border as it’s cheap and will eventually rot down into the soil providing more nutrients. Still needs weeding occasionally but like Emily says as the plants bush out the weeds should lessen. Also much easier to brush stray soil/bark off the patio and back into the border.
shelleyuk
5 years ago
I would be continuing the circle all the way around (albeit interrupted by the extended patio) and then you'll give yourself a lovely big planting area where you have the patio indent. That's where I would put planting - box balls, alliums, and perhaps three different sized concrete/stone balls to mirror the circle of the lawn. I would put large river stones on the ground in that cut out area.
E D
5 years ago
It's looking lovely but I do agree with what's said about the circular lawn.

Go all the way and full circle (well, nearly...).
eve
Original Author
5 years ago
Hello hello! Just though I will share with you the latest update on our project :)
We covered our flower beds with wood bark so that our puppy can explore everywhere! Quite pleased with the results to be honest, even though wasn’t too sure on that option in the beginning!

Also we are thinking of removing one row of pavement by the shed (7 narrow slabs only) and adding some turf there to make lawn area a bit wider :)

And here we are stuck with two possible options:
- add 3 or 5 stepping stones (maybe reuse removed slabs and cut them in half to have them as square stepping stones) to complete the circle :)
- lay slabs that we remove across from one patio side to another in one line merging two patios like a beach walk or a wider path if it makes sense...

So current dilemma is which option to choose??

Need to decide ASAP and hopefully we will manage to complete that this or next weekend! :)
eve
Original Author
5 years ago
New dilemma! Which slab placement looks better??? Sandy bit will be covered with turf I think... thanks guys!!!xx
E D
5 years ago
There is an immediate association with a zebra crossing, but they both look nice.

Maybe you can experiment a little bit more? Step-wise or in an angle maybe?
eve
Original Author
5 years ago
I see what you mean! Would something like this look better??
E D
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Yes that's nice too. That's assuming you will turf the sandy bit. Don't you need more paving in front of your shed? Oh, that's to the side of it, isn't it?

I quite liked the longer (double?) length of the 'crossing'.

By coincidence I have been experimenting with stepping stones today on our small lawn. It's not easy!

I'm trying to create a mini winding path. Or a circle, or a ... aargh.

If only there was a website where I could ask for people's advice! :-)
Jules Mc
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Have watched this thread with interest and great to see the hard work you've put in in response to all the fab advice. Garden is looking lovely, I just can't see what the stepping stones are for? Even the improved 2nd layout lead you to one pot at the side of the shed. Do you really need them?

I agree with the suggestions that the circle is continued to remove two bits of lawn where the patio is squared off. You could have some low planting here. Or even two olive trees with some low planting around the base. Lovely to see your progress
Emily
5 years ago
As Jules and others suggested I’d rather see low planting that allows the circle to be complete but if not then the smaller squared off stepping stones that continue the curve look much better than the rectangle stones in my opinion:)
taniaglen
5 years ago
Yes take out the grass between the stepping stones and patio and plant some lovely grasses there
Monica
5 years ago
I also think the design would look SO MUCH BETTER rounded off, and more planting added which will soften the look and add more interest. Be brave, the stepping stone do nothing for your design in my opinion.
Jess
5 years ago
Garden looks beautiful. I would turf the sand, but pave the gap between seating and shed. The straight simple edge along with the circular grass would look a lot better imo
Mairead o'Leary
5 years ago
Hi, Mairead here. Dont forget to put some height into planting. Acer Sangokaku for summer/winter interest. Beautiful bed bark in winter! Some olive trees in the sun. You can buy small ones and they will grow. Large ones are expensive. Small trees give that finishing touch and make the garden look luxurious. Happy planting
Mairead o'Leary
5 years ago
Should read 'beautiful RED bark in Winter' Mairead
PRO
Michael Lowe Landscapes
5 years ago
Hi Eve, Well done for taking on a design project. Always an exciting challenge and by the looks of it you've done yourself proud. I know it's a bit late in the day to give any suggestions but perhaps you could put them to one side for a rainy day? Looking at your patio layout I would suggest a slight tweak in order to have some coherence with the circular or rather flowing feel you have tried to create. Notice how in my quick scribble I've taken out the sharp corners of the paving by making a curved edge, which is easily achieved by cutting the stone to suit the site, such as natural sandstone or preferably dark material such as slate. To hide the cut edges you can install edging cobbles or blocks with small low profile led lights interspersed between the edging blocks? Please see attached scribble to see what I mean. Second thing and this is of course completely budget dependent is because you already have a lovely stark white fence you might want to consider contrasting that with a dark material for your hard landscaping such as a nice slate or dark black limestone pavers? The planting looks lovely by the way!
Ashleigh Ovland
5 years ago
I can’t see the other 74 comments?
Ashleigh Ovland
5 years ago
They have appeared now. Can’t work out how to delete my previous comment!
Sam Potter
5 years ago
I'd Iove to see the planting now it's almost mud summer.
eve
Original Author
5 years ago
Hi all! Once again thank you all for your suggestions and advise!!! Apologies for disappearing for a while, been extremely busy with changing jobs, so had no chance to continue working on our project and our garden now looks as pictured below :)
We are still thinking whether to add those stepping stones or not, and if we should remove more lawn or just leave it as it is for the meantime, as we kind of got used to it already haha :) I love every single idea you shared, but our main concern is that we love playing with our dog outside, so can’t lose too much of space too..anyway, here is my quick update ;) thanks to all of you!!!!xx
eve
Original Author
5 years ago
And a few photos from the ground :)
Mairead o'Leary
5 years ago
Eva it definitely looks better without stepping stones. I think they looked a little out of place and bitty. Maybe sometime in the future you could fill in the gap of grass with another two rows of paving and have it going straight across. Instead of having five lines you would only have two, one across and one going down the side of the shed. It would look more wholesome and you would be surprised how comfortable it would feel . Also your garden furniture would not be squashed into the left side and there would still be enough grass for your dog.

I would recommend some planting for winter interest as the garden could look sad then when all the lovely colours are gone. Some evergreens etc.. You would get good advice in a local garden centre.

A Lovely sunny garden you have.

Mairead

Garden Designer - Dublin
tamp75
5 years ago
It’s looking great! Love the trees in the pots too.
Sonia
5 years ago
Looks jolly nice. No to the stepping stones. What’s the point? They’ll just make mowing more awkward. I personally would fill that grass gap with more paving. It will increase your sitting out area and will mean you can place your furniture a little better. Still plenty of room for your doggie to run around and play! As suggested, you may find the planting a bit sparse during winter and spring, but you can always add a few evergreen shrubs at the time. Well done you’ve done a great job.
Mafalda Vasconcelos
5 years ago
Hi our garden is more or less like yours and this is what it looks like now. We know we need to still tidy up the flora but as a layout it's really nice and it makes the garden look much longer. We have a lounging area just outside the living room and then further away the table and barbecue. The terrace is oblique. Hope you like the suggestion.