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Gardening on massive slab of concrete?

kasjkkasjk Posts: 137
in Problem solving
Hi all, I could do with some creative people right about now... I have this massive slab of concrete at the back of the house which I believe the previous owners put down to build either a greenhouse or a type of conservatory on. 

That is not in my budget at the moment but I'd love to do something with it anyway, just to blend in a bit more and not stick out like a sore thumb. 

It looks like this:

From 7.30am it gets full baking sun all day long and it's also slightly exposed from the wind. I was thinking I could possibly turn it into a fruit and veg patch with raised beds and gravel around and maybe soft planting around the edges so it doesn't look so harsh.

My only concern is obviously that raised beds would dry out pretty quickly and with them sitting on concrete wouldn't drain very well.

Any ideas or suggestions for what can be done with the area? 
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Posts

  • Butterfly66Butterfly66 Posts: 970
    Have you had a quote for removing it? I only ask as if you could end up spending as much trying to disguise it as get rid of it. Might be worth costing up your raised beds, gravel etc.

    Having said that I think your idea could work quite well. It looks quite neatly from the photos could you use it as a second entertaining area? Maybe use gravel as in your veg garden idea and add a pergola for some shade.
     If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero
    East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
  • SkylarksSkylarks Posts: 379
    edited June 2020
    Oh, that is a huge slab of concrete. It’s great you have a foundation ready to build on when you’re ready though. 

    How about planting your raised beds on top of the lawn instead? Or planting some thing around the edge. That way it hopefully might hide the area a bit and they can still stay once you can afford to build on it.

    Edit - just seen Butterfly’s suggestion as an entertainment area and pergola. That’s a good idea. At least you’d get some use from it.
  • josusa47josusa47 Posts: 3,530
    I feel your pain: the far end of my garden is all under concrete.  I built three raised beds, two sleepers deep, and put a layer of rubble in the bottom.  No drainage problems at all, it's not as though they are sealed to the ground, the water can run out at the bottom.
  • FlyDragonFlyDragon Posts: 834
    It looks like a great spot for a seating/social area to me, and and make a feature of that massive rock (is that what it is?) with some creative lighting.  

    I'd probably put beds most of the way around the edges to soften the straight lines, and just leave an 'entrance' in the middle of the long edge.
  • kasjkkasjk Posts: 137
    The suggestion of having it as a seating/entertainment area is a really good idea, plus my boyfriend is a plasterer and will easily be able to build some raised beds around the edge so I can fill it with plants. Good idea!

    And I love the pergola suggestion too, get some height in there but also a bit of shade, it gets ridiculously hot on that slab! 
  • FlyDragonFlyDragon Posts: 834
    kasjk said:
    The suggestion of having it as a seating/entertainment area is a really good idea, plus my boyfriend is a plasterer and will easily be able to build some raised beds around the edge so I can fill it with plants. Good idea!

    And I love the pergola suggestion too, get some height in there but also a bit of shade, it gets ridiculously hot on that slab! 
    I don't know that I'd bother with raised beds, I'd probably just dig beds into the ground, and grow stuff that will spread enough to blur the harsh edges.

  • kasjkkasjk Posts: 137
    That's even easier, cheaper and better @FlyDragon

    I've decided to get some ideas down on paper, draw out a pergola etc. Love that idea 👍
  • FlyDragonFlyDragon Posts: 834
    kasjk said:
    That's even easier, cheaper and better @FlyDragon

    I've decided to get some ideas down on paper, draw out a pergola etc. Love that idea 👍
    Great idea!  Do you have an iPad?  If you do there are apps you can get for free where you can draw on top of a photo, I've found it really useful for messing about with garden plans. 
  • kasjkkasjk Posts: 137
    Oh, I don't have an iPad, only a Macbook. I suppose it won't work on that @FlyDragon?

    Do you know the name(s) of the app at all? 
  • debs64debs64 Posts: 5,184
    I would put in a nice seating area then lots and lots of pots as big as you can afford. If you turn some of the lawn into beds around the area you could plant them up too. Pergola sounds good too. What an interesting project! Don’t forget to post photos as it develops please. 
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