Garden direction

catherinethomasjohnson

28 days ago

What direction does the garden face please?

Southfields Garden · More Info

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Tom Howard Garden Design and Landscaping
28 days ago
South West facing
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You need some earth to plant in. You could do it all in pots and planters but in the ground is better and less demanding on the maintenance front. You'll be removing the raised decking but may be replacing the pergola above it, shading the area probably too much for effective planting. Put something else such as seating or table and chairs there for now. The rest of the ground is currently covered in bricks and concrete apart from the barbeque area, which is decking. From what you've said that decking is in decent condition. So now we go to work. I'm setting this work out in sections as a DIY project which could be done stage by stage over any period of time, or periods of time with gaps between, that you choose. I would extend the period of my plan if progress is slow, speed it up if progress is better than anticipated. My plan would start with removing the weeds and dried out plants from the raised beds, both the brick walled and the wooden walled ones. They would be planted with what I want to put there after the soil had been seriously refreshed by mixing in a good amount of fresh compost. Something like three or four inches depth of compost mixed with the top four or five inches depth of soil in the raised bed. My next priority would be to create more growing space. To do that I would remove quite a lot of the bricks from the ground, clean them off as well as I could and store them for now. Some will probably break up, and those would be dumped. The good ones can be used as temporary access paths and pot stands, which will be moved around throughout the following stages. Lots of compost would be added to the newly revealed soil and that is where the next stage of planting would occur. The concrete next. We need to know how thick it is and that will be easy to see at the previous stage with a few bricks removed. Very thick? That's a tough job. Two inches thick? An inch? Less? The thinner the easier. A few whacks with a heavy hammer should break a thin layer up. If it is too thick for that you will need to hire somebody with the effective machinery for the job. I can't see the access in the pix so cannot guide you on what machinery. There is nothing broken up concrete can be used for so it has to go. The revealed earth needs to be revived in the same way as the rest was before planting takes place. We have ended up with bare earth, maybe some bricks left in the ground but otherwise just what we've planted and the loosely laid bricks. Where do you want your path now it's to become a more permanent feature? Don't forget access to the raised beds so you can tend the plants. Where do you want your potted plants? The path and the bases for the pots can now be made stable by putting the bricks back into the ground. I prefer them on their sides but that is up to you. Flat as they are now, on their sides, or a mixture, perhaps side on for the paving and flat as pot supports? I would experiment a little if I hadn't used bricks this way before. No way is right or wrong. It is all down to personal preference. Any bricks still in the ground from the beginning can now be either taken out and used in the plan or perhaps a few have happily ended up just where they're needed. So there is a way forward with very little spending involved. Seeds are mostly very cheap. Plants are cheaper than other materials, labour or professional services. You will swear a lot, sweat a lot and have lots of fun. You will also learn a great deal. If you do end up still feeling you need help you will understand exactly how to brief the professional you appoint.
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Wow! that is a steep garden:) I think you're right about creating access from the back room on the upper floor of your house. I'd get advice from an architect to see if this is feasible. It would take some serious landscaping but you could also create a zig zag path to another tier as well.
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It’s two years now since I first posted about ideas for redesigning our garden and now that it’s really looking ‘established’, I thought I’d post an update. I also wanted to say a huge ‘thank you’ to those who responded with ideas & inspiration, particularly @rachelmidlands & @jonathan for their plans which I incorporated into our design. We love our ‘new’ garden and feel especially grateful & fortunate at the moment to have our outdoor space.
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Sharon, this is a very difficult question to answer without knowing more about your project. For example, 1. What is on the internal side of these three existing rooms; are there other rooms and if so what is their use? 2. Where is the kitchen at the moment and what is are the other two rooms at the moment? 3. What does the outside of the house look like? A photograph of the elevation where you are thinking of the extension would be useful. 4. What is your brief with regards to dining facilities in the Kitchen? It is difficult to give you a subjective view without more information. As a generalisation, I personally like kitchens where the Islands are looking onto the garden and I like Islands where there is a hob as this allows the cook to engage with their guests or family whilst cooking.
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Garden direction

Comment (1)

Tom Howard Garden Design and Landscaping

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