New front garden

fromtheshires · 9 March

I am currently buying a house that has a decent sized (east facing) front garden for a change. Behind the hedge is a low wall.

my thoughts on this are to remove the stuff inside of the circles, put in obelisks and climbing roses.

i am also considering removing the hedge to let in more light due to it being east facing and these hedges being over 6 foot tall.

The bin would also be moved to the bottom of the drive.

With the border thats there what sort of plants would people consider putting in that are low maintenance as ill be sinking all my time doing up the house and back garden so want fairly low maintenance?

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6030279/uploads/editor/ul/vsuw9x6c1hw1.jpeg

Busy-Lizzie · 9 March

Did you post a photo? If so, is it a big one because it hasn't appeared on my laptop?

Fairygirl · 9 March

I can see it @Busy-Lizzie - perhaps it'll just take a little while to load

To be honest @fromtheshires - I think you might regret taking the hedge away. I'd be inclined to wait and see what else might be in the beds too, and then see how you feel.
I don't think it would matter about light if you wanted a rose though - the sun would be high enough to reach across, and I'm sure others will advise re ones which will be happy with some shade anyway

fromtheshires · 9 March

The reason for removing the hedge is its half dead (its looked like this every time we have viewed) and I think it would look worse with bits missing but could try and see what it looks like chopped out and see if it regrows. Im hoping to exchange in the next few weeks as the solicitors are taking forever so i guess i will see whats in the borders when we move in

Fairygirl · 10 March

Is it privet? I can't see well enough from the pic.
If so, it will regrow from being cut back hard, as long as there isn't an underlying problem. It can be prone to honey fungus.

Good luck when you get in there though - always quite exciting, but also time for planning

ViewAhead · 10 March

That looks a nice space to play with. 🙂 I would have a look at what sort of plants are doing well in other gardens along your side of the street. That might give you some ideas. If you do take out the hedge, it will give you more room and probably more moisture in the soil (hedges suck up water and create a rain shadow area), but that will be at the expense of privacy. Maybe keep it for a bit while you get accustomed to the neighbourhood. You could create a lower hedge of flowering plants, eg hardy fuchsias, which would give you colour as well as greenery.

fromtheshires · 10 March

@Fairygirl not really sure what type of privet it is but a chunk of it definitely is privet looking. I may just cut it back hard when I get chance and see what happens.

@ViewAhead but the immediate neighbours all around seem to be super low maintenance (aka driveways or slabs) or have no discernible gardens.

Theres so much to do inside this will be my weekend vanity project really which will get me out the DIY mayhem im signing up for

Fire · 10 March

There is a received wisdom that one should sit with a new garden for a year before doing any major work. I think that would be wise in this case. Get to know about the hedges, what they are and why they were planted. If they are ill, you might be able to help them. Mature hedging can be a valuable asset to have onside. Privet can be straight forward to reshape.

Fairygirl · 11 March

It wouldn't really matter which type of privet it is @fromtheshires, but if some of it has died, you'd need to take a look at the reason to see how to proceed. If it's a mix of hedging, that could explain those bare areas, but it's not possible to see from the photo. If it's honey fungus, then it wowuld need proper attention and possibly removal. Hedging is generally a bonus, especially for wildlife, so if that's important to you, and you don't mind the little bit of time trimming through the year, then it's certainly worth investigating how healthy it all is, but if you don't like it, then it's down to you oan dyour personal choice as to what you do with it

Busy-Lizzie · 11 March

I can see the photo now and I can see why you would like to replace the hedge. It does look dead on the border with the house next door and it's not exactly pretty. However, there is no rush and I would get on with the work inside your new house and deal with the garden later. By then you will have more time and you may have some more ideas about what to do with the front.

In the meantime, when you have a moment, you can research hedges and low maintenance plants. If you decide to get rid of the hedge don't forget to enrich the soil with lots of compost and/or rotted manure as the hedge will have taken goodness out of the soil.

New front garden

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