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Garden design

dreezer-dreezer- Posts: 1
in Garden design
Hi I am new to this forum.

i have just recently purchased a house with a very boring back garden, I’m not to sure what sort of design I want, or how I will go around designing it! 

If any of you you have suggestions please let me know. 
Would like some flower beds!


Posts

  • K67K67 Posts: 2,506
    Best way to start is to make a scale drawing. Note where the sun is, test your soil for ph levels. Decide how keen you are i.e. low maintenance or high? 
    Plan for a tree or 2 and climbers for all that fencing
    Then look at lots of photos, borrow library books and search this forum as I have seen some lovely before and after photos.

  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    You really need to find what sort of design you want ( formal, informal, minimalist, productive leisure etc ), otherwise you'll only get what other folk would do with  it. 
    Work out what you'll use it for, kids' playground, veg garden, sitting drinking a coffee and nothing else. 
    How much time , effort and money are you planning on putting into creating it and looking after it are all important factors too.
    Find examples of gardens you like and can adapt to your needs/ plot.
    Devon.
  • QasQas Posts: 29
    @dreezer- one thing i learnt from the few years of owning my own garden now - is summed up from @Hostafan1 and @K67 but my two pence: also find out how the plants will mature ie height and spread.  Young trees and shrubs look cute and nice but soon some those can  grow into huge things that will be difficult to move if its in the wrong spot.  So part of your planning and designing and thinking of practical aspects of the garden...think about practical aspects of the plants too. Also, minimise impulse buys, get inspirations on plants from nurseries and shops but come back to your garden visualise it standing there and THEN go out and buy it..true story: wife sent me to get milk so went to aldi and ended up buying two rhododendron plants and when i came back i sat scratching my head figuring where best to put them damn things...oh and i forgot the milk...
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    I agree with Hosta, it would be helpful to decide what sort of garden style you like first, and if you are not sure, do lots of browsing, get yourself a book on garden design and visit other gardens. Think about the practical elements you want to include - a garden shed, space for kids to play, where to hang the washing etc. Then take paper and pencil and play around with different options ‘til you arrive at a layout you like. If you do this before you have even thought about what to plant, you will have got the all-important structure right. You can always change the plants, but much more of an upheaval to rework the whole design later.

    One thing I would say is try to avoid the trap of making long narrow beds down either side, which will still look boring, with plants marching down it in a row, accentuating, rather than visually breaking up the narrow dimensions. Don’t be afraid to cut into the grass to make wider, irregular-shaped borders and meandering paths or to introduce a couple of big statement plants or small garden trees. Here is an image I posted a while back for inspiration for someone with a long narrow garden, I just searched for ‘ideas for long garden’ or something:


    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    Those are lovely pics @Nollie, makes me want to go out and re-design my back garden!
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
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