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landscape design Smaller Homes Design Dilemma

Small garden, large wall ideas needed

Elliot Wilkinson

2 years ago

We are currently trying to generate ideas for our small garden but there is one area that seems to be causing us a bit of a headache.

As you can see in the photo we have a large wall at the rear of the garden. Our property extends above the wall to the fence at the very back. Currently this is unused space and we are hoping we can find some use for it or at least make it a bit more visually appealing.

Any ideas for the wall and area above it would be greatly appreciated

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Comments (5)

Isla Cherry
2 years ago
What you have is essentially a bank. The brick wall is retaining the soil above. I would go for a low simple planting with bushes closer to the back fence. Is it overlooked and do you own the land either side of the fences left and right? I wouldn't grass it as it looks difficult to access for cutting thereof. Possibly some sort of ground cover? You could do a mini terrace by dividing it up but it would be expensive to accomplish. Do you currenly have runoff down to the lower section when it rains?
Sonia
2 years ago
So how do you access the upper area? You could plant come Vinca minor there as they quickly spread and will cover the ground. They will need watering until they are established. I would add planting in front of the wall such as climbers. Climbing Hydrangea is good as it self clings so won’t need trellis. Depending whether the area is sunny or shady, you could plant some shrubs like Photinia red Robin (evergreen and tall), Viburnum (also evergreen and tall). For colour you could add roses,but they like some sun. You could then add shorter plants at the front of the shrubs like Geranium Rozanne. Geraniums are pretty tough and come in so many colours such as pink, blue or purple. Below are Climbing Hydrangea, Vinca minor and Geranium Rozanne.
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Hi Alex A blank space - and a great one too! West is best so you are going to have a lot of options, not only how you'd like to use the space, but also so many plants, trees and shrubs are going to love your space. My advice is to sit down with a cold beer/chilled glass of something nice and imagine yourself in that space and how you'd actually use it. If you aren't a keen gardener, you do probably don't want high maintenance. Grass needs cutting at leat once a week in the growing season, so if you'd rather be doing something else, think more about different hard landscaping options. Gardens really need some thought as although they are cheaper than interiors (by and large) per square foot, they can also be extremely disruptive to put right if you decide you don't like your new paving/garden studio/shed somewhere down the line! A pink interior wall you hate can be repainted easily - gardens have to be dug up! Beth Chatto famously created her garden garden out of an area of old car park, so your tennis court might be perfect for a low maintenance drought garden. Could be modern or traditional - whatever makes you happy. Remember your garden is there to please no-one else but you... Feel free to get in touch for advice. Lucy
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Most trees will grow too tall and will encroach through a brick wall easily. I had to remove a beautiful Silver Birch as it grew to 50 feet and was breaking up my neighbours concrete path. I had little garden knowledge then but I’ve learnt a lot since then! How about a fruit tree like an apple? You get nice white/pale pink blossom followed by delicious apples in the autumn. Apples are grown on different root stocks to limit their size. A true Apple tree can become huge but one grown on Rootstock M9 grows no higher than 10 ft. I bought one online from Blackmoor Fruit Growers www.blackmoor.co.uk and it is a beautiful tidy tree. Shrubs would also be good, many of them grow 6-8 feet and are good for screening. Shrubs like Viburnum tinus, Photinia red robin and Ceanothus are all evergreen. They do flower but flowers are small and not too messy. Two shrubs I love as they have purple leaves is Cotinus and Sambucus nigra but they do lose their leaves in winter. A lot of people use bamboo as screening but I’ve never grown it so can’t comment. I’m sure you will get more ideas from the gardening Houzzers! VIBURNUM SAMBUCUS NIGRA CEANOTHUS PHOTINIA RED ROBIN
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katlucy
2 years ago
I might tier the area, perhaps even starting infront of the wall, a bed 45cm high with a ledge for additional seating and some steps to the right corner.

Then above the wall i would create two/three more tiers, starting at the fence with sleepers i would plant a slow growing hedge like choysia, then level out some pathways in between the remainder, covered in membrane and gravel to make it easier to weed. if you need to hold back the levels then low fencing sold in metre strips should be sufficent

i always like planting acer dissectum garnet, creating beautiful mound shapes that suit a slope, perhaps three. then geranium ann folkhard with magenta flowers is a good combination and foxgloves and spring bulbs and autumn anenomes etc
katlucy
2 years ago
mii2
2 years ago
What direction does this face and what’s the view like from the top of the wall towards the house? I can see a gin and Tonic deck above the wall!

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