Hi Monica,

where do you get the most sun in your garden? Why is your dining area there? Is that where you get evenening sun?

What's under the star?

Would you like straight lines in the garden, or curves?

Loads of plants will struggle under the conifers, because it's not only shaded, but also very dry there. You could make raised beds reusing the pavers, by breaking them in half and stacking them. Either cement them together or just stack them. And/or you can reuse the pavers to make stepping stones, extending the steps out of the house onto the patio.

Hi darling, thank you for your reply. We are getting the sun all day long most of it its by the house because the studio shades the bottom of it.

I have quite a few small trees as you can see and the plan is for them to be planted more into the middle of the garden to eventually filter some of the baking hot sun onto the house. I do not want to install any sun screens on the house as I do not want to make it darker, we have linen sheers at the windows and they work well. The dinning set up is there because that's where we put it when we moved here and the only other room for it would have been in front of that same bed but I wasn't keen looking from my dining room out onto another dinning area. That green bed is lovely viewed from the dining room window. I am an accomplished gardener and can work out planting schemes and what's best to use for different situations. By using the no dig concept adding plenty of well rotted manure, underplanting conifers is actually successful and I've always managed to grow things under them despite the advice saying you cannot. In fact I have some lovely Heuchera underplanted on that left hand side which was going to be a temporary spot but it's been doing great for 2 years now LOL....

Its the layout I am struggling to come up with. I love structure and formality and keen on the sound of gravel as well as water, we have a beautiful granite fountain to install as well. I see some beds surrounded by box hedges or alternatives, although I am not adverse to looking after box, even with the blight and caterpillar issues. I would keep the planting quite restricted to a few specimens repeated throughout, and keen to install some vistas that would look good in the winter as well. I would just like some help zoning and laying it out. I think I would like a walkway outside the kitchen door something like this, using some metal supports not chunky oak. and maybe adding the water fountain at the end of the studio as a focal point??

A hot sunny garden would look lovely as a gravel garden, so you can create meandering paths flanked by lots of sun loving plants. Or straight paths as you like formality! Beth Chatto‘s Gravel Garden in Essex was created to cope with the very dry soil and it looks amazing. You could build a pergola over the path as per your example. A water feature at the bottom would create a formal focal point. Nearer the house I would create planting beds filled with shrubs and flowers.

You could lift some of the paving slabs on both sides to create these beds, or create raised beds as Carolina suggested, I like all walls and fences clothed with planting. Sun loving shrubs include Ceanothus, Hibiscus, Lilac (there are miniature ones), Butterfly Bush, Weigela, Deutzia and of courses roses. You could underplant with Geranium Rozanne, Hemerocallis, Crocosmia, Cistus, miniature roses, lavender and catmint.

Below is my Ceanothus just by the patio doors and waiting to flower. It’s evergreen too, but not the best picture! Beautiful blue flowers once it flowers. Second pic is further along. Last pic is Beth Chatto‘s gravel garden.

Sonia that is a beautiful garden <3 Yes that was my though as well I do not want to water it senselessly and I want it fairly low maintenance, pretty and ready for entertaining. We have more garden at the front then we have at the back plus our vegetable garden extends behind the 11ft long Summerhouse (which is my work studio) so there's only so much gardening I want to do in my spare time after a working week.

Okay... I know you said formal lines, but then you loved Beth Chatto's gravel garden (I think you meant that one), so here's a mix of the two... just an idea. More formal part behind the house, widening the steps so they go across the entire lower seating area, raised bed along the other part. Pergola across the width. Gravel garden with sways of plants so you really can take a walk between the plants, water feature in the sight line of your kitchen? Perhaps?

Aww Caro that looks super thank you. I am loving the formal bit on the left but wondering if that's would block that access a bit too much. I can try mock it up for sure.

It's just to get your inspiration flowing. I find it a bit difficult to judge the sizes of the areas close to the house based on the photo and the drawing. Had to guestimate.

I understand that, the area is around 5mx5m which is not small. The round table is 1.3m plus the room needed for the chairs but the trouble is that area is not one level yet. But I think once it will be its possible. My only thing is that I would be watching the table from the dinning room window instead of pretty green plants which in winter might be a bit depressing. But things to work on for sure <3

Here's another idea, but now I'm struggling to find ideas for the bottom left part... ooo... fountain there maybe?

Thank you Caro :)< this is the layout I am most toying with. Opposite the dining room there is a brick built fireplace, so I am thinking if we make that whole section entertaining/chill out zone with the large sofas where the dining room is now then two more on the other side around the fireplace. Then bring the dinning close to the house. I think we have decided that that area will be edged in York stone slabs with breedon golden gravel in between. It looks softer I love the golden colour and will be solid enough not to get annoyed with the small loose gravel. Then the question remains what to do with the front. Maybe some weathered oak composite decking. I would prefer it to stone or more brick but cannot get over the fact that its going to be so hot on those 3 days of heatwave in the UK>

Yep, if it's full sun, it'll be hot hot hot. Maybe some large outdoor rugs?

Hello Monica (and photobombing Olly!)

I may be way off track but I know you like symmetry.

Have you looked at parterre gardens? Just thinking the middle section could be like the middle section in the first pic with the fountain in the middle and then with the pergola going the whole width behind as C also drew so you create another room in front for your studio. I think you’d need to reduce the patio though and it could be too formal for what you’re thinking?

PS Your comment about being able to see the dining table did make me laugh as I’m the same 😂

Hi darling hope you are ok, thank you for weighing in. Yes in love with parterre's and that's very much what I think I will end up with. Cross path across it, four box edged beds and lots of topiary's.

All good here 😊 Hope you’re ok and looking forward to some form of normality returning. I thought you might like parterres. I like that design, it’s so hard to find images looking back at the house! It also combines formal with the informal patio area

How about going over the paved areas with a pressure washer, that should lighten the colour?

Hi @jer68, we have been doing that in the past and they do come up ok-ish but never look great. Plus its time to landscape and have a garden I love looking at each day, through those big windows. the main issue though, its all of these silly changes of levels which limits us on what furniture we can put there.

Hi @HU-..... that would look cool as well and I did look at that type. I feel this would be probably more suited to a variety of specimen planting which will equate with more maintenance. It would disguise the SHED nicely although seeing it is not a problem for me (I love that you call my brick build studio, complete with a kitchenette and toilet a shed LOL. Not offended at all btw ,I think its v funny).

Also I do not want anymore grass here and maybe two platforms of self bonded gravel would be a bit much. This is what the gravel looks like installed.

Hey Monica,

Good to 'see' you again!

Your garden is quite lovely, and I'm sure it will look stunning after improvements. I was looking at the work of a few designers and came across this garden - I thought you might like the style and could adapt it and use some elements in your own design.

Personally, I love the mix of bricks and slabs, paving with a border, and gravel and topiary thrown in between.

This next garden with quite interesting paving is by the same designer (Lucy Shaw):

Good luck!

Hello Luciana how lovely to hear from you :) Thank you for finding these images, they are PERFECTION in every way. I love the idea of pocket planting between the hardscaping on the existing areas we have. Love the golden hue of the paving and call it serendipitous, we have the same outdoor lights like picture number 3. Lots of wonderful ideas here thank you all so much <3

Love Luciana’s examples!

I do as well Caro, so much so that I will copy it a lot <3

Just an observation but the examples Luciana provided all play off the 45 degree landscaping idea shared by HU-... I think the reason these angles work is that they widen the look of the space they carve out, and invite you into it. The angles almost encourage you to pause for a moment and appreciate your surroundings. They help create mini rooms within the space and each can have a slightly different character or feature, even though the whole is tied together with a pared back planting scheme and clever consistency of stone colour.

What stood out most to me about your current garden is how it's central path leads your eye straight to the back of the garden. I imagine that when standing in the space, the path is subconsciously urging you to make your way down to the bottom of the garden. The danger is that, it keeps your eyes focused forwards, meaning you may not actually take a moment to pause/ take in the garden that surrounds you and truly appreciate the wonderful pleached conifers and planting you have put in.

I fear that a pagoda that borders such a path (even if in a different location) may only serve to reinforce the effect; a fountain at the end of this, even more so.

The series of landscaping at a 45 angle helps counter act this and Luciana's example shows how this can be done quite subtly.

I would encourage you to think about how to incorporate the fountain and pagoda around and within the 45 degree offset "rooms" created by the examples Luciana shared above.

I notice that they are mainly bordered by formal planting, however, one area, towards the back is actually boarded by a pagoda. Incorporating some climbing plants in and around such a pagoda would give you a lovely area of shade, perhaps for seating and entertaining.

The fountain might be a focal point you want to see from the kitchen or dining room. But it could also be the central focus of one of these hardscaped areas perhaps? So, not used as a final destination at the bottom of the garden, but instead used as an initial milestone. Something to draw you out to the garden, and once you're there, you might take a moment to "rest" your eyes on the surroundings, before you move on to the next area of interest that the landscaping draws your eye to.

Re: Recycling your hardscaping....

From what I see of Luciana's inspiration, you should find plenty of ways to reuse for your existing hardscaping. However, I have also come across an idea where you can turn old paving slaps into "gravel" chipping for the cost of the machine hire: a rather good way to recycle if you like the idea of gravel gardens.

Whatever you decide to do, would love to see pictures of your finished garden once it's done.

Ranji, absolutely spot on, Thank YOU :)