If you want to replace your ash tree with something that won't grow too large you could try a white-beam, it's a deciduous tree, will grow to around 20 feet high and has pretty leaves that are a silvery colour underneath. Trees like silver birch can be great in narrow gardens as they don't cast too big a shadow. We have a sout&west facing garden but it was always in the shade because of a huge ash and a very wide yew tree... They've both gone now the whit beam made an excellent replacement. Be careful with lelandii, notoriously difficult for you, or your neighbours to grow anything in its shade or beneath it as it sucks up all the moisture from the ground, it can cause heated disagreements. It will require a lot of maintenance to control it but also make your own garden feel very narrow, which may not be a problem of you have an unusually large garden for a new build. How about topping a fence with trellis and growing some climbing shrubs, a much softer look, perhaps some scented things like honeysuckle or roses, and with the benefit of being able to plant underneath. If you like the sculptured look grasses in a raised bed look great, there is such a variety and they are pretty low maintenance. If you choose to have a sandpit for your child/ren remember it will need a cover or all the cats in the neighbourhood will claim it! A seating area that you can get to without walking on grass is essential or you won't use it as much as you could if it's been wet weather, be really aware of where the sun falls in your garden, don't have that area too near the house if your garden faces North/east or you'll miss out most of the year. There is something to be said for not doing too much to a garden before you've spent a whole year there to see just how much sun it gets, depends how keen you are to get on with it though!

You hve to look hard but I fitted a triangular sail shade in the top corner of the patio and it looks well and gives the table cover for when we eat outside

Hi there, Yes,Pinterest is very good for ideas, Houzz has some good inspirational pictures as well and you can also find a lot of food for thought on pictures on Instagram. Just by having a look at your pictures I think that it would be nice to invest in some tall planting to distract your eyes from the walls that surround you (seating somewhere like this gives you a bit of a prison yard feeling). Also, from the picture it looks like the garden is not that big, so I would go for seating area and very generous and lush planting beds (would not have lawn). Now, what to plant and where depends on your garden conditions (amount of light, soil etc etc) if you want a health and thriving garden that is resistant to pests and diseases. Also, it is a very good exercise to have a good thinking about what you want out of your garden so that you can make sure you add in all the elements to allow you to havem them. If you feel like you would benefit from professional help, I provide online garden design services, and maybe a simple garden sketch would be good to give you an idea of a professional vision for your garden. Please have a look at  my website for details and get in touch if interested. www.therootedconceptgardendesign.co.uk  All the best, Deborah deborahbiasoli@gmail.com  07548105456

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSci_byC162hJI-iq6kb82Dx-ZZ9XnWsFpz74vASpWBLL04hrg/viewform?usp=sf_link I would appreciate if anyone who does gardening would fill out this short survey to help with my A level product design project which is based on helping to prevent back pain whilst gardening.