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Feedback please - garden design version 1
Garden noob
Posts: 260
I'm trying to make headway with a new garden design and would love some feedback. I've leaned heavily on a Tim Newbury design - it's not all my own work!
Here are a few pictures of the space, which is north-facing with a bridge to the left on the west side. The north east corner (down the bottom on the right hand side) gets the most sun. The garden is in the south east of England.
(There's approx 3m of patio before the lawn starts.)
Goals:
- Get rid of the storage at the bottom of the garden, which is practical but ugly
- Introduce shape and interest into the garden
- Screen the bridge if this is possible without planting a row of conifers and without blocking too much evening light
- Screen the bridge if this is possible without planting a row of conifers and without blocking too much evening light
- Retain a significant amount of lawn, eg for BBQs, child-friendly etc
- Introduce a seating area in the north east corner
- Retain storage with a 6'x8' shed and a bike/tool store (2.5'x9')
- No fixed ideas about plants/materials at this stage
- No fixed budget at this stage
- We are prepared to put time into maintaining a garden, but we work full time and have other interests so there needs to be a balance
This is what I have so far, after measuring up and doing a scale drawing:
I would welcome any comments. Access is primarily from the patio doors (right hand side of house) but guests may come down the side access when entertaining (left hand side).
A few specific questions:
- Does it matter that my diagonals aren't parallel, or would that look odd (patio near the house, path through the lawn, patio at far end)?
- Any ideas what the focal point could be?? It's important as it's visible from both the seating area under the arbour and also the dining room
- Could I get away with not having a path, or is it needed for the flow?
- I liked the idea of a raised bank in front of the shed to give height and interest, possibly with heather, or grass and wild flowers. Would this look rubbish?
- I've not attempted to screen the bridge. Any thoughts on whether this is achievable without compromising the space?
- If you would have done something completely/subtly different, what would it be?
I look forward to any feedback. Please don't hold back!
- No fixed ideas about plants/materials at this stage
- No fixed budget at this stage
- We are prepared to put time into maintaining a garden, but we work full time and have other interests so there needs to be a balance
This is what I have so far, after measuring up and doing a scale drawing:
I would welcome any comments. Access is primarily from the patio doors (right hand side of house) but guests may come down the side access when entertaining (left hand side).
A few specific questions:
- Does it matter that my diagonals aren't parallel, or would that look odd (patio near the house, path through the lawn, patio at far end)?
- Any ideas what the focal point could be?? It's important as it's visible from both the seating area under the arbour and also the dining room
- Could I get away with not having a path, or is it needed for the flow?
- I liked the idea of a raised bank in front of the shed to give height and interest, possibly with heather, or grass and wild flowers. Would this look rubbish?
- I've not attempted to screen the bridge. Any thoughts on whether this is achievable without compromising the space?
- If you would have done something completely/subtly different, what would it be?
I look forward to any feedback. Please don't hold back!
1
Posts
- I would have a plant as a focal point, personally. A specimen tree, or perhaps a really big pot with something lovely in it. Or an attractive seat.
- In my opinion, a path is essential. Before I redesigned my garden, there was a path but it was close to the edge and had become completely overwhelmed by shrub / ivy overgrowth and was consequently inaccessible. We just found that we never ventured to the far end in winter / wet weather as it was a muddy faff to do so. Reinstating a path meant we used the whole garden much more.
- I would strongly recommend marking out the path - both sides - and other key areas on the ground itself. You can use spray, I used string and staples. Pushing the string down enough not to be a major trip hazard and leaving it in place for a few days, then always walking on the 'path', sitting and looking at the layout from different positions (and above, out of a window) will really help you to work out if it works or not, whether you would end up cutting across the grass most of the time, how the layout feels. It was by doing this that I realised that the design I'd had in my head for a few years was actually completely wrong for the space!
Also functional structures like sheds where you go inside to do things are better nearer the house so it’s not such a long walk in cold weather. 🥶
This would free up the sunny part of the garden, similarly I wouldn’t pave over it with a patio - still have a seating area but one you can plant in - gravel or grass perhaps.
Path will protect the lawn and be useful when it’s wet but you might want to consider arches for height and separation.
Another idea that leaps to mind is to bring beds or something into the centre of the garden, those lawns will look great as they are but even better with something going on in their centres. No rush though, can be done next year.
Just my thought of course
The idea was to build something like the storage below, but ~50% longer so it could have another door for basic garden tools and bits and pieces. It would go in the bottom right of the plan, close to the house but not really visible from the dining room. This would take the bikes and anything else that we needed to be accessible (tools, fertilisers, gardening gloves etc).
I'll need a proper shed for the lawnmower, scarifier, BBQ, wheelbarrow etc - more occasional stuff. In the first picture you'll see we have one in the bottom left, near the side access. It kind of works there but it's not an inviting entrance to the garden as you're immediately confronted with a shed. I definitely don't want it on the right hand side near the house as it would be all you could see from the dining room.
So the idea of putting it at the back was to get it out of the way and to shorten the length of the garden a bit.
But I take the point that it's moving it from the shadiest part of the garden to one of the sunniest parts! Which isn't really a good idea.
Where would you put the shed?
I would suggest making the diagonals parallel as I suspect it could be annoying (visually)
I think the path makes sense if the shapes you have created, if you took it out I’m not sure the shape of the resulting single lawn would be as pleasing
Do check the sizing of your patios especially the end one - I’m not sure you have allowed enough space for seating? You need to allow at a metre around your table for comfortable seating and for people to be able to move around anyone sat down
The compost bin is very tucked away and if you compost kitchen waste you may find it a trek each time?
Agree with @LG_ re maybe marking it out first. An alternative to spray is to use sand or flour to mark out the shapes. Cheaper than landscape spray and will soon wash away, you can also easily scuff out lines you want to change, whereas the spray takes some time to fade (or be mown) away.
East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham