Hey Dan, Just checking in to see if you got any ideas since? I personally use a program called gCAD for doing my designs which is very much tailored at the professional use. However there are a myriad of online options as well. If you find yourself struggling, I offer an online Garden Design service which has your plans to you within 10 days on my website, www.theangryhedgehog.com. Any questions/comments give me a shout! :) Kind regards, John.

Hi Sally I would agree with Sonia here - your main challenge is to deal with the soil compaction. This will have occurred due to all the traffic over the soil and the storing of materials on it. This causes all the air spaces in the soil to get squashed away. Normally soil is around 25% air spaces. This has two very detrimental effects: 1. It stops water being able to drain away so you get flooding and if you have clay you often get a hard crust on the surface which can be very hard 2. With no air in the soil, all the beneficial bugs and bacteria etc will die making the soil itself dead and not able to support plants. Similarly plant roots need air too, so this also prevents them growing. The other thing to look out for is that digging trenches etc pulls up 'subsoil' to the surface. Subsoil cannot support plant growth either. Looking at the piles of earth in your photos I believe you can see the subsoil on the top - it is usually lighter in colour - often yellowy if clay. You need to make sure that if this subsoil is put back that it goes at the bottom of the holes and that the top 300mm of soil is proper topsoil. Any remaining subsoil should be got rid of. So, as Sonia says a rotivator can be helpful to to break up the soil. Because of the rotivators blade action it can often compress the soil at the bottom, so watch out for that. It is also an ideal time to improve the soil and feed it. I would suggest: If you need to top up the soil then use Multi-purpose topsoil - make sure it is BS standards compliant and buy from a good source. It is pretty cheap in 1 ton bags. You don't need to use expensive potting composts. To feed the soil dig in some form of organic manure. Options include well rotted horse or farmyard manure. I would suggest that you lay a 7cm depth of it over the soil surface and then dig it in with the rotivator. You need a lot to improve clay soil and this may feel like a huge amount; however you will be amazed at how quickly it seems to just disappear when you dig it in. It will feed the soil, help lighten it and improve the drainage. On clay it is also a good idea to dig in horticultural grit (not gravel/pea shingle) as this helps break up the clay and improve drainage. Again I would recommend 25kg per meter sq and dig it in with the manure. If you are planting a flower bed, spread a 3cm depth of the organic manure over the top when you have planted the beds. This is all hard work, but is much easier to do from a blank sheet and should give you a good soil that your plants will love, and is easy for you to work in the future.

Hi there, Congratulations on your new house! Yes, now is a great time to start thinking about a design so that you can enjoy your garden next year! In addition to getting the garden trendier, it is also important to establish what you want from it (space for socialising, area for growing produce etc) so that you know what to include in your design. I agree with Ellie that the decking looks quite big. One option (obviously depending on what you want from the garden) would be to break it up in order to create a new section to add another seating area (maybe decking straight out of the house, lawn area and then another seating area in front of the outbuilding- this other seating area could be as simple as a garden bench or an arbour, depending on your tastes and needs- so you can have a sunny and a shady seating area ). I would also surround the seating areas with planting for a nice feeling when you are enjoying your garden and would add more height to the garden through the use of planting or structures such as arches or pergolas etc. I also think that some sort of path or stepping stones from one seating area to the other in the lawn section would be nice to create more of a sense of journey in the garden. If you need any further help, I offer a range of online garden design services that range from a budget friendly sketch (which is reduced at the moment!) to a full on garden plan with planting plan. In the process, I use a questionnaire to establish your tastes and needs and my expertise to create a design that best brings it for you in the space that you have. Please, have a look at my website if you are interested and get in touch, I would be happy to help! www.therootedconceptgardendesign.co.uk All the best, Deborah The Rooted Concept Garden Design

Hi there, It is a good start to make a list of things that you would like from your garden (seating area in sun or shade and for how many people, vegetable growing area, kids playing area etc etc). The essence of a good garden design is to then locate each of these in their best spots (this will depend on things like garden aspect, micro climates etc) in a asthetically pleasing way. I offer online garden design services (including a budget friendly sketch which is a simple hand drawn layout of my professional vision for your garde). Please have a look at my website if you are considering professional help with this and get it touch to discuss further. www.therootedconceptgardendesign.co.uk  Deborah  deborahbiasoli@gmail.com