Time to start planning a garden design! Help and ideas please? ☺️

3 years ago

So after last year completing a large extension/remodel (where you lovely people helped enormously with numerous ideas and as a general idea sounding board) The plan for this year was always to do the garden this year... Unfortunately a global pandemic hit, work was absolutely crazy and left me with no metal capacity to think of it... Now everyone wants their garden done and I at least need to work out what I (we) want done! 😂

This is the general layout of the site (although the left hand side isn't quite as angled as it appears (more parallel to the right hand fence) and the back of the garden also is more parallel to the house. )

The main idea I had was to have the patio in the angled section closest to the house on the left, so that most of the length of the garden could have grass still.

Raised beds along the right side as I ideally wanna try and grow more fruit and veg.

Trees along the back fence line to give some privacy from the houses behind.

The rectangle in the top left is currently a large shed (4.2x2.4m) , which we just dont use... so the plan is to get rid of it.

We're already getting a new fence put in along the back wall on front of the hodgepodge that's currently there and replacing the fence along the length of the shed that's currently fallen down.

We're about to get a dog, and kids are still on the cards, so whilst I do love gardens with more interest and paths and hidden corners, open spaces for dog/potential kids to play are still needed. (Plus neither my partner nor I are particularly green fingered and realistically dont have the time to be cutting back bushes all the time)

I do however wonder what else could be done and considered, to give a bit more interest!

So what do people think?? any bright ideas?

Featured Answer

rachelmidlands

3 years ago

Some initial ideas. Not to scale and could be improved I think 😊. Hopefully the sketches in photo are explanatory but a few points. Tree in top left absolutely, it’ll be a great position and provide some shade on very hot days (hence the bench), you could under plant the area with spring bulbs and woodland plants like daffs, snowdrops, viola etc.... Keep to just one tree I think and any use shrubs elsewhere, there are plenty of shrubs to choose from and will most likely grow faster than trees. Plants for shade, lots to go at, hostas, ferns, dicentra, pulmonaria, and many more.
Do double check the sizes of patio furniture, greenhouse/shed, pergola etc. and plan accordingly I think you’ll be needing a much bigger patio than you think for a sofa set of that size so I’ve tried to make it interesting rather than just a rectangular shape.
Gravel for in between veg beds for the puppy reasons mentioned 🙂.
Hope this gives you some ideas. X

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Comments (25)

minnie101
3 years ago
Hi Gabby, I’m not sure I can help with design but where does the sun hit and when as I’d plan the veg beds and patio around that (assuming you like the 🌞!). Where are the doors/windows from the extension Re access and views?

You may know already (so apologies if so) but many plants and some fruit and veg are toxic to dogs. Personally (paranoid dog mum) I’d avoid any toxic plants and you may want to consider restricting access to tasty fruit and veg! I’d also avoid any plants that attract slugs and snails. I may just have a super inquisitive dog though who likes to eat anything but even my mum who’s been redoing her garden recently has chosen non-toxic Plants for when she visits!
Gabby Wong thanked minnie101
Gabby Wong
Original Author
3 years ago
Thanks Minnie - The garden is mostly west facing with south being the left hand side. This is why I put the raised beds on the right as they're on the south facing side of the garden if that makes sense?

We've got 2 sets of patio doors in the darker grey rectangle leading onto the garden. :-) so was thinking a path of paving leading to the patio area on the left. as I think if we had a patio directly behind the house it would make the garden feel a lot smaller due to the loss of length?

We're actually not massive sun worshipers, but by early afternoon most of the garden has sun until it starts setting behind the houses we back onto, so the patio would still get sun for most the day, although I was planning sun sails to create some shade! (and had just saved a few pics today!)
A place to enjoy the garden · More Info

I really like the idea of the wooden pergola posts to put the sail on, as then we could potentially hang a hammock off them too or a swinging seat or a punch bag or whatever...
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Gabby Wong
Original Author
3 years ago
Also thank you about the plant advice! I did know although haven't exactly done much research into what to get/avoid... any recommendations? are they silly enough to stab them selves on brambles?? I think I might need to do some profound cutting back!!

I was hoping with raised beds (I was thinking relatively high - maybe knees?) then it would help reduce temptation of eating the plants I was hoping to eat!
minnie101
3 years ago
I’ve copied a link to those toxic to dogs, I guess it depends on what style of garden you want as to what’s suitable? Mine would stab herself on brambles 😂, they seem to have a much higher pain tolerance than us! Hopefully higher raised beds would prevent your pup from eating things. Am I right in thinking you’re getting a lab though? I “think” some of them have a genetic issue where a % can eat non-stop as they never feel full up so I would just be wary about the toxic fruit and veg.

So, I’m useless in garden design and drawing (particularly the pergola which is facing the wrong way 😂)... I just wondered If it made sense to have the veg beds on the left? Laying the patio on the diagonal would also make it feel wider. I think you could have some paving outside the doors, not sure where the doors are but maybe a bistro table would work better

https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/help-advice/factsheets-downloads/factsheetpoisonoussubstances09.pdf
Gabby Wong
Original Author
3 years ago
😂 Yes labs do tend to eat continuously if you'll allow them! I also was having a look at that list earlier after your first message - will definitely need to be careful though I was pleased to see bamboo wasn't on there, as I was thinking maybe some of that a screening as well. (will clear some more of the brambles, as I think I'll have got most of the blackberries by then - I've already had sooooooo many!)

I love the drawing and the more unusual shapes and lines! Although I think you've over-estimated the size slightly (or maybe I under-estimate what will fit?), as where you've put the GH and the raised beds is only about 4.5m before the patio would start which I suspect wouldn't be quite enough.

I'd put the raised beds on the right mainly as I thought they'd want as much sunlight as possible to ripen fruit and veg? - that was basically the only reason.

This is the back of the house and where the sets of doors are. (the ones under the 2 storey extension are the kitchen, and the ones next to them go into the living room.)

In terms of outdoor furniture we were considering something like this

so it's the balance between somewhere to sit around and enjoy outside, but also can eat at a table... plus I like the modular flexibility...? (does however take up more space... but we want to have space to seat at least 6 at the table I think... 🤷🏻‍♀️ )
minnie101
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Yes, you definitely need to keep an eye! I bet you can’t wait, it took years to persuade my husband to get a dog and now he wouldn’t be without her!

my gardening knowledge is limited to say the least but make sure it’s clumping bamboo you get! I shortened your patio slightly and as you said the fence wasn’t drawn correctly I estimated 5.5m so allowed 3ft depth for the GH and beds plus 3ft gap between GH and 1st bed plus 1.5 between the others but as I say I can’t design gardens! I started watching garden rescue during lockdown and the Rich brothers had a lovely design with raised beds set either on gravel or sand but I can’t find it ☹️

Hopefully Jonathan or Rachel will come along with great design solutions 😃

I put the beds there Btw as it didn’t narrow that part of the garden plus the “working” area was more out of sight and I thought you said that part was south facing but may have misunderstood!

Re the table and sofa, I don’t know if you’ve seen them but they do dining tables which can be adjusted to a coffee Table which may be a good solution?

PS as the pergola will be within 2m of the boundary it shouldn’t exceed 2.5m in height

https://www.perfectpergolas.co.uk/pergola-planning/planning
Gabby Wong thanked minnie101
rachelmidlands
3 years ago
Hi Gabby. Just bumping this up while I’m having a think about it. I’d love to do a few quick drawings for you but on hols for a bit so it’ll just be some rough doodles 🙂.
Oooh, a lab puppy..... I have a black lab but he’s large and fat now but they’re sooooo cuddly when they’re little. Don’t worry too much about toxic plants, most labs have a very keen sense of smell and know what’s good to eat or not. And it’s true, they love to eat, every time I try to grow tomatoes the dog eats them. But for the veg patch a bit fencing will sort it out.
Some tips....get a cheap wooden ikea kiddies chair, when our puppy got to the chewing phase it saved a lot of our furniture 😂. And might be a good idea to incorporate gravel in the garden somewhere and train puppy to wee there. It will kill weeds in the gravel and also save your lawn from urine burn which, trust me, is a pain to keep on top of.
Anyway I’ll get my thinking cap on 🤔.
Gabby Wong thanked rachelmidlands
Sonia
3 years ago
Hi Gabby, I can give you some planting suggestions if you want? I agree with gravel around your veggie planters. Don’t bother with weed suppressant membranes as it doesn’t work. Weeds are easy to pull out of gravel anyway.

Tree suggestions - Rowan (Sorbus), Ornamental Cherry, Amelanchier, Apple, Pear or Cherry (dwarf ones grow to 10 ft, non dwarf are about 20 ft high).

To keep maintenance down, you could have a more naturalistic garden with trees and shrubs placed within the lawn. These kind of gardens are very child and dog friendly. Tall evergreen shrubs that require very little attention are Ceanothus, Fatsia Japonica, Viburnum tinus, Photinia Red Robin, Pittospermum and Choisya ternate Sundance. Deciduous shrubs that need no pruning are Cotinus, Hibiscus, Elderflower (Sambucus) Black Lace and Japanese Mapes (Acers) need shady spot. Near your patio you may want a few smaller shrubs, again they need little attention, such as Cistus and Hebes. Lavender is lovely but does need pruning back after flowering and again in March to keep a nice shape, so maybe not! Herbs by your kitchen door would also be nice, either in the ground or in a large pot. I’m concentrating more on the lawn area.

Here’s some pictures of the gardens I mean. The first one especially but with mown grass. I can see a swing seat hanging from an apple tree............
Gabby Wong thanked Sonia
Gabby Wong
Original Author
3 years ago
Oh wow! Thanks guys ☺️

@minnie101 Sorry, I probably wasn't very clear - south is the left side. So the right is south facing.. But yes, super excited, thankfully he's also wanted a dog for essentially forever! so no persuading was necessary! You were probably right in your measurement estimations though. I just wonder if that is enough space. 2.5m would be more than tall enough, but thank you for pointing it out. 🙂

@rachelmidlands Wow! Your quick sketches are seriously impressive! Hope you're having a lovely holiday! Ours is a fox red - super cute! ☺️ Very reassuring to know that in general they're less likely to eat things that aren't good for them! Also interesting to hear you say about weeing on the gravel! That's a great idea... although if they then also did poos there, that could be messier to clean up perhaps? I think you're right that if we do want to go for that style of dining set we'll need a larger patio, and I think that this is a really good idea to have it off in a corner like that! I'd actually been imaging less tree like trees and more bamboo or pleated trees like a hedge above the fence line (Sonia's Photinia Red Robin) . However I really like the idea of having a proper tree in that corner with a bench under it! That's a really lovely idea! hmmm will carry on pondering!

@Sonia Oh wow! Thank you for all those plant suggestions! I definitely want to get a fig tree (love the figs that come off my Gran's tree) and had considered a peach maybe? My in-laws bombard us with plums and enough apples as well. But cherry is a really interesting idea! Love cherries too! and cherry blossom is so pretty (although I don't actually like the smell of it 😂) I agree a swinging seat under a tree would be fabulous! Definitely not quite at the plant choosing stage but thank you so much for all the tips!

I'm on call working long days all weekend so may not get the chance to reply to further messages of the next couple of days but will carry on thinking! ☺️☺️☺️
Gabby Wong
Original Author
3 years ago
Soooo it's been a few weeks and we now have the pup

He's utterly gorgeous and doing so well.

We've had the shed removed (Geez that was a significantly larger job than they anticipated!) 🤦🏻‍♀️ and the fencing work sorted and are getting the guys that did that are coming on Wednesday to have a look at giving us a quote for the landscaping.

We keep coming back to @rachelmidlands 1st design with the curves for the lawn but probably with the bench under the tree and the plants along that left hand side like in the 2nd design.

We also tried your gravel idea... great in theory, but it's not working well... 😂🙈 we hadn't got any I realised when he first got back, so sent OH to the garden centre for a bag... but by then he'd already gone on the grass a few times... and despite many many attempts to change where he went, it didn't seem to be taking..... final nail in that coffin was when he tried to eat those stone (and any others he found in the garden (such a lab) I think I've removed about 5 so far from his mouth that he's got to before I could stop him...

I'd been planning gravel for around the beds previously... not sure whether slate would work, or large stones? or whether he'd just try and eat them all regardless. Ideally not paving just to keep costs down! although I guess we could use the old paving slabs from the old patio that we still have and the remaining ones that will need to be taken up.

I still love the pergola Idea... but not sure it'll look right or fit well... so that may get binned, and just change the sail idea to a normal parasol type thing.. Maybe in a few years we can get the hammock between 2 trees rather than the pergola posts! 😂

Do people think a pergola would work? or just look odd and out of place?
Sonia
3 years ago
Oh he’s adorable! Such a pretty colour. I think housetraining puppy is important, but to make him use only one area may be pushing it just yet. You can work on that later. I think pergolas or arches create height which is a good thing. Metal arches and pergolas are another option to wood and won’t rot and can train plants to scramble up them. Gardens can look very flat and boring if everything is one height. My sister has a lab and he will eat or carry everything in his mouth, never seen anything like it! Good luck with the landscapers! 🐶🐶🐶
Gabby Wong
Original Author
3 years ago
haha it's true - we gave up relatively quickly about trying to pee only in 1 area.. wasn't sure if it would be harder to re-train later though. He already seemed really confused when we tried to move him - poor Boy! He's definitely going to keep us on our toes! Already had to move the strawberries up to higher ground as he kept doing drive by raids and taking bites out of the leaves. 😂 He is however helping with the weeding and has already pulled out a dandelion down to the roots... 😂 (thankfully dog safe!)

Hadn't really thought about a metal structure, I do love the height element though hopefully some of that will get added with the trees and other planting. though admittedly that will be more around the periphery.

I think the only reason I wondered if a pergola would look weird is because of the position we were planning for it.. over in the little triangular section of patio, compared to a rectangular pergola and the way it'll cut towards the corner of the house etc. - Maybe I'm over thinking it 🙈
PRO
Litecraft
3 years ago
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Gabby Wong
Original Author
3 years ago
Thanks Litecraft... however the photo of the house Is and old one, and we already have 3 lights in the places you suggested! In addition to some motion sensor ones further round the corner.
rachelmidlands
3 years ago
Hi Gabby. Oh he’s adorable 🥰. Has he got a name yet? Great job on the garden so far 👍.
If pup has taken to doing his business on grass then let him and remove the gravel for now if he thinks it’s just something to play with/eat. Better safe than sorry. You could just keep grass round the veg beds but it would need strimming or use old paving slabs temporarily. I was going to suggest bark chips but I think it could become messy especially if pup likes to dig.
Not sure on pergola without knowing sizes, space, purpose but if you think you’d like one then I’m sure it’s possible.
Had time to do another rough sketch. Slightly similar to previous but used a circular lawn with a small border for low growing plants (grasses, lavender for e.g.) as I thought this might disguise the greenhouse/veg area as they do tend to look a little bare in winter. Narrow bed on the right for a climber such as clematis or jasmine as I think it’ll help break up a large expanse of fence. Larger patio to give you choice of sitting areas. But other than that I think you could do what you like with it. Hope you can see pic. 🙂
Gabby Wong thanked rachelmidlands
rachelmidlands
3 years ago
Your pup reminded me of when our black lab Dyson (yes we named him after the vacuum cleaner ) was little , so cute but would try to eat anything. Spent many times running round the garden trying to retrieve a pair of socks 🤣.
Gabby Wong
Original Author
3 years ago
Oh my word! Dyson is adorable! so ickle!! Now I wanna find a Rune (his name - like rune stones.. not like Rooney 😂) sized box to put him in.

Thanks for the 3rd design! I'm always impressed how you come up with such interesting designs (compared to my rectangle of grass with straight boarders I'd envisioned) I think we still prefer the 1st design in part because Chris want's to keep more of the grass. I'd be tempted though to put some sort of low fence to deter Rune from eating crops so maybe I could put some plants against it and growing up that to help disguise?

I think the old paving slabs is the best way forward atm instead of the stones... I never truly appreciated how many stones there were just around the garden... just around on the grass.. close to the house and rubble left from the building work, random ones on the small remaining bit of patio that I think have been kicked in from the driveway... Ironically the pile of new ones all in one place are the easiest to keep him away from! (doing the driveway has also jumped up to a higher priority for the year! 🙈)

Does Dyson like your Dyson? (assuming you have one) I managed to terrify him the other day when I tried to clear up some of the bits of grass we'd brought back in with us (despite having a treat at the time!)
minnie101
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Aah, he’s seriously cute Gabby (and Dyson). They are hard work as puppies but such fun and so loving! Re the dyson (Hoover variety!) over a course of a few days I held her and switched it on and off, leaving it on longer each time. I then worked up to carrying her on my hip when I pushed it (although appreciate a lab pup is somewhat bigger 😂).

Re the pergola, I would do what Rachel suggested before. Choose the furniture so you know what patio size you need with clearance for a walkway etc and then work out if a Pergola will fit.

PS do we get a pic of his face?!
Gabby Wong thanked minnie101
rachelmidlands
3 years ago
Dyson (dog) used bark like mad and tried to chase the Dyson (hoover) when he was a pup. Same with the sweeping brush and mop 😄. Like Minnie says, just do bits at a time and they soon get used to it. He’s so lazy now that I vacuum right next to him and he still won’t move, and always in the spot where you need to clean as well 😂.
A little fence with some plants sounds good. Perhaps not at this stage yet but a tip if you’re putting new plants in is to put a makeshift cage or cheap obelisk around them till plants have rooted in. Our Dyson took great delight in digging out freshly planted plants, especially pansies for some reason. A lesson learnt!
Gabby Wong thanked rachelmidlands
Gabby Wong
Original Author
3 years ago
Ooo those are some great tips! thank you both ☺️! I must say I think we've (so far) massively lucked out and he is super good.. so smitten 🥰🥰 I have learnt today though that he sleep talks! 😂😂

I know you girls are right about working out the furniture to then work out the patio and pergola sizes.... trouble being we haven't decided on furniture and it probably won't get bought until next year! 🙈

Hmm will see what the landscaper thinks as well.
lesleyluton
3 years ago
Hi, I haven't fully read through all the posts above, so apologies if someone has mentioned this already, but please think of our hedgehogs when putting up boundary gates or fences, and leave just a small gap for them to get through so they can enter your garden at night to eat slugs and snails and beetles, I also leave water out for mine in a shallow dish. Sadly they are now on the red list, as being vulnerable to extinction. You have a large garden to play with, planting wise, so enjoy, once the plants are in, they pretty much look after themselves, and only require a little attention, which you may enjoy anyway.
Sonia
3 years ago
Good point lesleyluton. We did just that when we put in a new fence. I had thick wooden gravel boards and I asked the fencer to put in a hole for the hedgehog. A couple of months later we spotted our first hedgehog, coming through the hole! She has been named Hetty, of course, and we leave out water and hedgehog food for her every night which she enjoys, as does a little field mouse. Apparently concrete gravels boards can now be purchased with the hole already cut out - perfect!

Unfortunately dogs will eat the food, and sometimes they will attack hedgehogs, so best to avoid gardens with dogs 😓
Gabby Wong
Original Author
3 years ago
Yea, unfortunately I didn’t feel I could risk it with the pup Lesley but I agree - we need to try and do more to look after them - my gran has fed the hedgehogs for years and keeps track of them. 😊
PRO
Harrod Horticultural
3 years ago
Hi there, appreciate a little late joining this thread, but if you are looking to use raised beds in the final design, there are lots of options from traditional sleepers through to metal beds. We have a lot of options, shapes sizes etc... may be worth a look to see if we can help in anyway https://www.harrodhorticultural.com/raised-beds-tcid2.html