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!

Something like this with a courtyard? I've put in a v small shower room and utility cupboard, but you could play about with exact layout depending on dimensions. I have assumed you didn't want a second bedroom, but I think a good architect could squeeze you one in if you extend back too- good luck!

A yes hedge would be perfectly sensible. Some might say that yews are slow growing but when they’ve settled in they should grow at a rate of about 30cm per year. I would make the bed about a meter deep to accommodate the bushy growth and plant them 60cm apart. Hedges are best planted in the autumn (sep-oct) or in the spring (March-April) and better to buy younger plants or bare root rather than mature plants as they’ll settle in quicker. For now I would work on improving the soil by mixing in well rotted compost or manure and let the soil compact before planting. Also note that yews don’t like being in damp conditions as they can suffer from root rot, if you think that area gets waterlogged then you’ll need to raise the soil level and add extra grit for drainage. Monty Don has a video which should explain better than I can: https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-to-plant-a-yew-hedge-video/ Good luck with your garden and keep us updated with your progress. X

Thank you all for your suggestions- I totally agree with most- the evergreen though would be much smaller in height therefore leaving the sun shine through and still allow space for nesting etc... so I definitely to have lots of greenery etc. The house is a 1990s Tudor style home and the rest of the front garden has a Mediterranean feel with olive trees and lavender..