Measuring it and doing a scale drawing is easy enough, then you can see what goes where whilst sitting at the table. If you had a circular lawn you could do that thing where they put a stake in the centre and tie a self propelled mower to it
...the key thing is to plot out the main elements like patios, lawn, child’s den or whatever...
I too would offset the not to large lawn and have it in a sunny area...
...have the secondary patio more shaded in a quiet corner as a counterpoint your big sunny patio
Thank you for that.
I am trying to work on the functional location of things first as you say and this thread has been really useful for showing me a couple of alternatives I hadn't thought of.
The thing with the lawn is that we mainly use the shady bit of the lawn as it is so much cooler than the patio. For things like my child playing, adults sitting or the dog shady space is really useful. The lawn under the big cherry tree shade is the bit that gets the most use.
Secondary patio is definitely going to be opposite (in terms of sun/shade) to the main patio. With tree planting etc that you can't see well from the photo that means the bottom left corner is currently the best. One of things this thread has made me realise is that main patio doesn't have to be top right, it could be top left.
That brown planting circle you put in is right where I would like a load of planting as well so it looks nice from the living room so we definitely think alike there.
It is really useful to see from your drawing and the one from @JennyJ that the lawn could be a lot smaller than I imagined. I was working on it having to be somewhere 7-9m wide but only really from a vague assumption that the lawn should be the biggest bit of the garden. Our family don't use the lawn all that much (eg no football interest or anything) so a smaller lawn and more planting with paths and things to explore would be of more interest to all of us I think.
Measuring it and doing a scale drawing is easy enough, then you can see what goes where whilst sitting at the table. If you had a circular lawn you could do that thing where they put a stake in the centre and tie a self propelled mower to it
Yes, I have most of the measurements and a previous what I thought was scale drawing but realised since one of the fences angles out so it isn't correct. I have been injured and ill recently but both are recovering so hopefully I can get out there again soon and take more measurements.
You know, I saw a video of the self propelled mower years ago and it has stuck in my head ever since as it would be a fun thing to try!
@Randommoose1 your garden is larger than mine but here’s the design and some photos to given you an idea
Here’s the basic plan, including compass orientation
This is what it looked like originally — a new build blank canvas
We hired a garden designer + landscaper to make the most of the sunniest corner towards the back. The circular bench area was sunken in for more privacy.
The garden after 2 years — there are two seating areas, one in a very sunny south-facing corner (hence the umbrella) and the other in a shady north-facing spot
It turns out our cat has no interest in the outside world — she only comes out when I’m in the garden *and* when it’s not winter — so they’ve never truly been tested. Still, I’m glad we have them as there are very large dogs in two houses next to the side where the shed is, and she could in theory easily jump over without the rollers.
Thanks for posting those again @Athelas, I do like your intersecting shapes and the sunken seating area especially. Took me a minute to work out what a cat rolly was tho!
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
I Iike your little garden Jenny, it's not much bigger than mine. I'd been toying with a different lawn shape, and if I cut a circle I could squeeze a few more plants in. 😁
@Athelas your garden is so nice! It has used the space well, looks great and that plan, newly planted and 2 years on is so interesting to see the progression. It looks really settled in already after 2 years.
You said it is 7m square so that is really useful to see what can fit in that sort of space. I have found it useful with mine knowing the patio slabs are 60cm square so I can easily measure or imagine things. I am really hoping to get out either this week or next weekend to measure it up properly so I can make accurate scale drawings. Currently I am thinking about how we use the garden as it is and what of that is necessary to keep (eg the shady lawn space is going to be essential).
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If you had a circular lawn you could do that thing where they put a stake in the centre and tie a self propelled mower to it
I am trying to work on the functional location of things first as you say and this thread has been really useful for showing me a couple of alternatives I hadn't thought of.
The thing with the lawn is that we mainly use the shady bit of the lawn as it is so much cooler than the patio. For things like my child playing, adults sitting or the dog shady space is really useful. The lawn under the big cherry tree shade is the bit that gets the most use.
Secondary patio is definitely going to be opposite (in terms of sun/shade) to the main patio. With tree planting etc that you can't see well from the photo that means the bottom left corner is currently the best. One of things this thread has made me realise is that main patio doesn't have to be top right, it could be top left.
That brown planting circle you put in is right where I would like a load of planting as well so it looks nice from the living room so we definitely think alike there.
It is really useful to see from your drawing and the one from @JennyJ that the lawn could be a lot smaller than I imagined. I was working on it having to be somewhere 7-9m wide but only really from a vague assumption that the lawn should be the biggest bit of the garden. Our family don't use the lawn all that much (eg no football interest or anything) so a smaller lawn and more planting with paths and things to explore would be of more interest to all of us I think.
Thank you!
You know, I saw a video of the self propelled mower years ago and it has stuck in my head ever since as it would be a fun thing to try!
@Randommoose1 your garden is larger than mine but here’s the design and some photos to given you an idea
Here’s the basic plan, including compass orientation
It turns out our cat has no interest in the outside world — she only comes out when I’m in the garden *and* when it’s not winter — so they’ve never truly been tested. Still, I’m glad we have them as there are very large dogs in two houses next to the side where the shed is, and she could in theory easily jump over without the rollers.
You said it is 7m square so that is really useful to see what can fit in that sort of space. I have found it useful with mine knowing the patio slabs are 60cm square so I can easily measure or imagine things. I am really hoping to get out either this week or next weekend to measure it up properly so I can make accurate scale drawings. Currently I am thinking about how we use the garden as it is and what of that is necessary to keep (eg the shady lawn space is going to be essential).