Your fences look the regulation 1.8m so no option to extend higher with trellis. I would plant 2 small growing trees along the boundary - small crab apple or single stem amelanchier. They won't produce much shade. Try and get a hold of a book with garden plans for small gardens (Ama*on, library etc). Even if you can't do everything now, at least you will have a blueprint to work to over the years. You may find it is going to be a child-centric garden for the next 10 years but after that it will be yours alone so you can put in more beds etc. Extending the patio is easily something you can tackle yourselves - spade, spirit level, sand and slabs are all you need. And a bit of muscle and patience.
'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
Pace or measure it out, then draw a scale plan on paper. If you want to have a seating area top left, that's a really good starting point. Work out how big you need to get your table and chairs in with enough room to walk around them. And draw that on the plan. Then mark where your door is that you'd use from the house to the seating area carrying a tray of food, and make it as simple a route as you can (no steps, fairly straight lines).
Decide what materials you want to use for the path and the seating area.
You could use decking, but as been said, it does get slippery. You can wrap it in chicken wire to get over that problem, but it can look a bit scruffy, so it depends what you like (big fan here of scruffy, but I know it doesn't suit everyone). You could use 'composite' decking - basically an artificial board that looks like a decking board but is more weather proof and less slippy when wet (more expensive though - but if it's not a big area probably not prohibitively so unless you're on a very tight budget). Or you could use paving slabs. For the path, either more slabs or possibly gravel with an edge to stop it spreading onto the grass. I wouldn't use gravel for a seating area, personally. I think it's awkward with chairs - all right if you have a picnic bench and fixed seats. And I wouldn't have gravel right up to the door - it sticks to your shoes and you get gravel in the house, which mucks up the hoover.
And apart from those things, look at books, watch garden tv programmes, visit local gardens and look for what you like. A nice shapely tree? A raised bed with a few fruit and veg? A curving wide border against the garage wall with a riot of flowers? A jungle? Just some grass, a few pots and a pergola over your seating area and maximum toddler roaming room? A rose arch?
You can lay slabs yourself. You need to dig out a bit of soil so you can put down 100mm or so of stones/rubble/broken bricks. Get a 'tamper/rammer' (£20 - 30 from DIY shops) and bang it all down hard as you can. Then put a thick layer of sand over and bang that down hard too so you have a firm base. Then you can either lay slabs directly onto the sand, or put down a weed membrane and a bit more sand then slabs on that. Then brush fine sand into the gaps between the slabs. If you want to do a really professional job, you can hire a 'whacker plate' from tool hire shops (£50 - 100 for a week depending on delivery charges where you are) to do the firming down, and mix cement into the sand that you brush into the cracks, which will eventually go hard. My advice would be to only go that route when you're 100% sure of the layout because it's fairly easy to lift and move slabs laid with sand - much harder once you've put concrete down.
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Thanks hogweed. I just googled the amelanchier and they're lovely. Thanks also for the advice on the fence. I had no idea there was a maximum height. I was thinking about whacking some trellis on top - but I guess the trees may be the option to take.
Raisingirl you have so many ideas - do you want to come and help me?! :-) You make the patio sound so easy!
I would like to put a border by the garage wall but it's quite shaded. I'm not sure if there is something which would grow well or am I better off just not putting one there at all?
The garden is also an odd shape with a square space behind the garage which I have no idea what to do with. I keep joking with my husband that a hot tub would fit nicely in the space!
Thanks hogweed. I just googled the amelanchier and they're lovely. Thanks also for the advice on the fence. I had no idea there was a maximum height. I was thinking about whacking some trellis on top - but I guess the trees may be the option to take.
Raisingirl you have so many ideas - do you want to come and help me?! :-) You make the patio sound so easy!
I would like to put a border by the garage wall but it's quite shaded. I'm not sure if there is something which would grow well or am I better off just not putting one there at all?
The garden is also an odd shape with a square space behind the garage which I have no idea what to do with. I keep joking with my husband that a hot tub would fit nicely in the space!
I have a space like that too at the top of my garden, no idea why they boundary is the way it is just doesn't make sense, not that I mind its extra garden for me. We have this area as a top patio aka my hideaway 😀 It has my comfy Lounger up there and this year I will be starting to make my jungly area with canna, bananas and bamboo all in Pots so I can move it around and protect in the winter.
your other half is right perfect place for a hot tub, I am keeping an eye out at the range to get an inflatable one just to see if we would actually use it! 😆
Hi Clare, try to avoid gravel if you can while your children are young, they love to use it to fill toy diggers etc and it can be detrimental to your lawnmower. Play pit sand however won't do any harm and can be brushed into the lawn if they pile it on too thick.
Thanks also for the advice on the fence. I had no idea there was a maximum height. I was thinking about whacking some trellis on top - but I guess the trees may be the option to take.
How tall is your current fence? Mostly you're allowed 2 metres before you need to apply for planning permission. See here for the fine detail.
I would like to put a border by the garage wall but it's quite shaded. I'm not sure if there is something which would grow well or am I better off just not putting one there at all?
Shade isn't a problem as long as the soil isn't too dry. Lots of nice things need moist shady conditions.
Dry shade is more problematic, but again there are plants that will do. Some ferns for example can handle shade right up against a buildings foundations (these spots tend to be very dry). If your shade is dry then see here.
Hi Claire, You could probably extend the patio yourselves. If you can't get exactly the same paving slabs then go for a completely different colour - maybe black or grey. You need to bed them in on a bed of sand, completely level - look at videos how to online. You don't need to spend £1000 on bamboo, they're about £50 each, buy a couple, split them in half or quarters - hey presto a line of bamboo, but make sure you get the right clumping kind, not the very invasive running kind or they'll take over your garden and your neighbours. Ask at the garden centre. If you space them out in front of the neighbours windows, that will be sufficient to give you some privacy. You could even plant them in big half wooden barrels. Raised beds are not a good idea against wooden fences which will make them rot, nor against the house walls as that would breach the damp course around the house, which could cause damp problems. If you've got two young children, I would go just for plants in big pots for the time being, including salad leaves and maybe tomatoes. Good luck, and have a lot of fun!
Posts
Extending the patio is easily something you can tackle yourselves - spade, spirit level, sand and slabs are all you need. And a bit of muscle and patience.
Decide what materials you want to use for the path and the seating area.
You could use decking, but as been said, it does get slippery. You can wrap it in chicken wire to get over that problem, but it can look a bit scruffy, so it depends what you like (big fan here of scruffy, but I know it doesn't suit everyone). You could use 'composite' decking - basically an artificial board that looks like a decking board but is more weather proof and less slippy when wet (more expensive though - but if it's not a big area probably not prohibitively so unless you're on a very tight budget). Or you could use paving slabs.
For the path, either more slabs or possibly gravel with an edge to stop it spreading onto the grass. I wouldn't use gravel for a seating area, personally. I think it's awkward with chairs - all right if you have a picnic bench and fixed seats. And I wouldn't have gravel right up to the door - it sticks to your shoes and you get gravel in the house, which mucks up the hoover.
And apart from those things, look at books, watch garden tv programmes, visit local gardens and look for what you like. A nice shapely tree? A raised bed with a few fruit and veg? A curving wide border against the garage wall with a riot of flowers? A jungle? Just some grass, a few pots and a pergola over your seating area and maximum toddler roaming room? A rose arch?
You can lay slabs yourself. You need to dig out a bit of soil so you can put down 100mm or so of stones/rubble/broken bricks. Get a 'tamper/rammer' (£20 - 30 from DIY shops) and bang it all down hard as you can. Then put a thick layer of sand over and bang that down hard too so you have a firm base. Then you can either lay slabs directly onto the sand, or put down a weed membrane and a bit more sand then slabs on that. Then brush fine sand into the gaps between the slabs. If you want to do a really professional job, you can hire a 'whacker plate' from tool hire shops (£50 - 100 for a week depending on delivery charges where you are) to do the firming down, and mix cement into the sand that you brush into the cracks, which will eventually go hard. My advice would be to only go that route when you're 100% sure of the layout because it's fairly easy to lift and move slabs laid with sand - much harder once you've put concrete down.
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Raisingirl you have so many ideas - do you want to come and help me?! :-) You make the patio sound so easy!
I would like to put a border by the garage wall but it's quite shaded. I'm not sure if there is something which would grow well or am I better off just not putting one there at all?
The garden is also an odd shape with a square space behind the garage which I have no idea what to do with. I keep joking with my husband that a hot tub would fit nicely in the space!
your other half is right perfect place for a hot tub, I am keeping an eye out at the range to get an inflatable one just to see if we would actually use it! 😆
Dry shade is more problematic, but again there are plants that will do. Some ferns for example can handle shade right up against a buildings foundations (these spots tend to be very dry). If your shade is dry then see here.
Raised beds are not a good idea against wooden fences which will make them rot, nor against the house walls as that would breach the damp course around the house, which could cause damp problems. If you've got two young children, I would go just for plants in big pots for the time being, including salad leaves and maybe tomatoes.
Good luck, and have a lot of fun!