Help on new build

andrewlrosserUtUSkBXe · April 2023

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Hello,

New to the forum but a very keen gardener... my partner and I moved into our new home in February and although we have 'tided' the garden up i'm lost with where to go next. We've done the basics such as power washing, we've painted the shed and filled the borders up however there are things such as the fences, privacy and patio (Which feels very grey) that i have run out of ideas on. If anyone has any tips or suggestions i would be very grateful!

I love cottage style gardens, gravel paths, cobble stones, stone planters and i'll eventually go down that road however it'll be a big undertaking and costly. Only other thing of note is i ideally want to avoid painting the fence as it has gaps and i'm afraid of it bleeding through as our neighbours side isn't painted.

Thank you
Andrew

Busy-Lizzie · April 2023

Gosh, it looks finished already! You've done a good job.

You could put a couple more pots on the patio. A few big ones look better than lots of small ones. If it's your fence you could put a potted clematis or Star Jasmine or a rose against it, having put some wires on the fence.

GardenerSuze · April 2023

@andrewlrosserUtUSkBXe A big pot when budget allows. The fence would look great black but as you say could go through. Our neighbour painted 6x6ft panels next to us no problem at all.

If you can repeat some of your planting. Groups of three work well . Every plant must earn it's keep. Perhaps an obelisk you could try some 6ft canes to see if you like the idea. A grass such as Calamagrostis Karl Foerster tall and up right stands all winter.
In a small space planting needs to be changed and updated season to season.

Using too many different materials can be a problem too so anything you add needs to tone in with house wall ,pavers, grave, stepping stones and fence.
The Wooden building leads the eye which works well.

Just a few thoughts but in a small space you don't want to over complicate keep bold and simple.

KeenOnGreen · April 2023

You have created a great, basic framework. Our previous house was a new build, with no plants whatsoever, and 80% of the garden was paving. Here are some before and after photos. It's amazing how much you can cram in if you are happy to have lots of pots and troughs. Beware that these will need a lot more watering in dry/hot spells. Very large pots work better than too many small ones.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6030279/uploads/editor/7d/f5pii8p8jezz.jpg

GardenerSuze · April 2023

@KeenOnGreen You have a beautiful garden. I love to see small gardens where the plants seem to 'huge you' and you can have a little time away from the world.
You garden is a perfect example of adding pots to create layers of interest.

I am hoping to move later this year and I love your chairs did you buy them recently? If so could you tell me where you purchased them please, great in a small space.

februarysgirl · April 2023

My house was built in 2001 so I don't think it can really be classed as a new build anymore but I don't think houses built in the past twenty or so years have really changed that much.

This was the garden when I moved in 2007:

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As you can see, not that big and all I did to it for a number of years was just lay a lawn and put in a few poor excuses for flower beds (they weren't very good). Eventually I pinched an idea from Pinterest and made it over into this 2019/2020:

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This is a photo from last year (ignore the washing line) and you can see how it's matured:

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Last year's planting was a bit of a disaster so I'm changing it up this year and I'm hoping to add some rustic style stepping stones in the path to make it look narrower. As far as a seated area is concerned, all we have is a very typical patio of Riven paving slabs that run horizontally from fence to fence. It's never been particularly practical to sit out on, not really big enough, but last year we had an arbour custom made which has made it more useable:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6030279/uploads/editor/x5/xafbjvrrhcw0.jpg

I'm going to grow container veg on the patio this year as it's been an underused space which I haven't really known what to do with. Fingers crossed it'll go well.

@KeenOnGreen That is gorgeous!

KeenOnGreen · April 2023

Thanks @GardenerSuze We actually bought the chairs 19 years ago, and they are still in almost perfect condition. I can't remember where we bought them, probably Habitat, but I doubt they would still make them. They really sturdy, with no metal parts, so no rusting.

KeenOnGreen · April 2023

Thanks you @februarysgirl You made exactly the same type of transformation, I love the way you have completely softened and naturalised the bare plot. It's one of the most difficult things about having a new build garden.

Plantminded · April 2023

What a wonderful garden you created in that space @KeenOnGreen! Your garden has come on really well since you last posted a photo @februarysgirl, no longer overlooked with that careful use of small trees!

februarysgirl · April 2023

@KeenOnGreen I was mainly motivated to do it by my mum. She loved gardening but by the end she just wasn't physically able to do anything. She died in March 2018 and in the August the heatwave killed off most of my grass. It was a pretty rubbish lawn already and I didn't want to get it fixed then face it looking dead for half of the year because of a couple of weeks of hot weather. I'm not getting any younger so I figured I'd be best off doing something that would be more manageable should my mobility decrease over the years so I went with raised beds. It might not look it but my garden now takes significantly less work than it did when it was mostly lawn. The lawn was weekly mowing and the constant frustration of dandelions and other weeds. These days I do an annual tidy early spring, top up the raised beds with soil, put in any new planting and replace the bark chippings. In summer the fruit trees have an annual prune and there's some occasional deadheading. There's virtually no weeding due to the bark chippings and gravel. If anything does sprout, it comes out with no effort because they haven't been able to root properly. That's the sum total of my gardening and to be honest, most of the work is planning!

@Plantminded The fruit trees are full of blossom at the moment so it's looking like it could be a good year for plums and green gages 😊 I'm seriously tempted to hand pollinate the green gage though to get as much fruit as possible. They taste sublime.

GardenerSuze · April 2023

@februarysgirl Thankyou for sharing your photos and the beginnings of your garden. The love and attention you give it is for all to see. Gardens can be emotional spaces but I like to think mostly happy peaceful ones.

Help on new build

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