Thanks very much Pete_bon! Very important indeed that i take the aspect and soil type in to account and can only imagine there's a lot more to this process than drawing some pretty pictures. I embarked upon this i guess as a doodling exercise whilst awaiting the garden designer of my 'inspiration garden' to get in touch. I thought such an expert would be best placed to advice on the hardscaping but especially on the planting (after doing a site visit to my south-west facing garden on the westerly outskirts of London). However given that i'm still waiting (as i said already i'm impatient) and that i'm quite taken with the design JonathanB suggested, i reckon as far as hardscaping goes i'm actually seriously considering that layout. However given that i don't have a clue about plants or what goes where the suggestions on here are invaluable so I imagine i'll use this in conjunction with a gardener who can advise and come up with a planting plan for my actual garden. I'd never heard of the Beth Chatto Gardens before so just been having a look at their wonderful website, the gravel gardens you mention are particularly great and really does prove that with careful consideration there are lots of beautiful plants for each and every location. I'll take on-board your advice on height and on climbers in particular and am sure as long as things are 'strategically' placed i'll love their unruliness !

Belated thanks, Nisha. So I have compiled some albums of photos so you don't have to trawl through all the threads. Hopefully this works: someone let me know by posting, please? Completed house: https://www.flickr.com/photos/organize/?start_tab=one_set72157700454483311 The whole, messy, process: https://www.flickr.com/photos/reshington/albums/72157684375457971

Measure your garden and do a plan to a scale which will include the beds you want and the path. If you are unsure how to do this a site like Gardenista.com (how to design a garden) is very useful. Once you have done this and understand the dimensions, that lay out ropes to show you what the path will look like and then put pegs in the ground and fasten string to all the pegs so you can show your people where to dig out the path. When drawing the plan for the beds add in the plants you are choosing, this time to a smaller scale, and remember ‘right plant right location’. Good luck.

I think putting a hard building in that gap would be a mistake. You need some gorgeous landscaping and you could create a fabulous vista there. I have attached some pictures of what I think could work really well. Also have a look at hazel hurdles, you can install these with ease ( wooden posts driven into the ground and the hurdles attached to it. They have a wonderful soft appearance against green planting and sit well in any type of gardens. That would give you a lovely view from inside and increase the feeling of space in the garden, then maybe a garden room can sit somewhere else in the garden to give you that extra room you need? photo credit @hannah dean interiors