Deb. you are right. You are overwhelmed. And of course you are grieving for your old garden. Mine faces east and while I would love more sun I find the mornings wonderful and after all that is often the sunniest part of the day. And a new project!! Lucky you!!
The plus side of moving into a horrible garden, is you need not feel guilty about undoing anything which has been done before. If the ground is very compacted, try to break through and incorporate lots of bulky organic matter, garden compost , stable manure ( even available in cities ) and try to raise the borders behind a little timber edging, even adding a few centimetres to hold all that lovely organic matter will make all the difference.
Try to avoid lawn in areas which are particularly damp / shady if possible. Gravel / paving / planting will be better there.
Whatever you do, get gardening and you can transform it to something magical.
If this was mine I would double dig it all over, burying the grass as deeply as possible ( plants will feed off it, and you don't have to worry about disposing of it). Remove any perennial weeds.You may find the cause of the poor drainage. Chances are you will cure the problem which is probably compaction of some sort. Just to put in a pond is unlikely to be enough in the long run. You could incorporate some muck and magic, but if the garden has been left fallow for a long time the chances are it will be reasonably fertile as there is nowt to deplete it of it's natural goodness. You can then focus on feeding the plants you put in rather than the whole acreage!
Having dug it you then have a blank canvas. Don't forget that in good design, less is usually more so keep it simple, with a few quality features which appeal to you. How do you want the front of your house and garden to look to those visiting you. How do you want your outlook to look?A winding path, some discreetly placed shrubs and a small tree or 2 to subtly screen you from the road. Have a pond if you want one. Why not alpines in a gravel bed. No grass??, but definitely no concrete either. Go for as good a quality as you can afford and you won't regret it. And please don't rush. Plenty of time to think through want you want. Hope this helps........
I have to admit, I was feeling pretty down about these gardens but you lot have given me some great ideas, I really appreciate it. But be warned I will probably be asking LOTS of questions on the forum lol
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Deb. you are right. You are overwhelmed. And of course you are grieving for your old garden. Mine faces east and while I would love more sun I find the mornings wonderful and after all that is often the sunniest part of the day. And a new project!! Lucky you!!
OK, be warned, here are the horrible gardens! Taken at about 11am this morning. The back faces west.
Debs I closed my curtains today at 11.00 am as the sun was hitting me in the eyes.
late spring and summer the sun doesn't hit that spot until about 5 or 6 pm
just a example of what the sun is doing NOW so I would wait until may until you can see what the sun is going to light up
James
It's unloved Deb
You'll kiss it better very quickly.
In the sticks near Peterborough
The plus side of moving into a horrible garden, is you need not feel guilty about undoing anything which has been done before. If the ground is very compacted, try to break through and incorporate lots of bulky organic matter, garden compost , stable manure ( even available in cities ) and try to raise the borders behind a little timber edging, even adding a few centimetres to hold all that lovely organic matter will make all the difference.
Try to avoid lawn in areas which are particularly damp / shady if possible. Gravel / paving / planting will be better there.
Whatever you do, get gardening and you can transform it to something magical.
If this was mine I would double dig it all over, burying the grass as deeply as possible ( plants will feed off it, and you don't have to worry about disposing of it). Remove any perennial weeds.You may find the cause of the poor drainage. Chances are you will cure the problem which is probably compaction of some sort. Just to put in a pond is unlikely to be enough in the long run. You could incorporate some muck and magic, but if the garden has been left fallow for a long time the chances are it will be reasonably fertile as there is nowt to deplete it of it's natural goodness. You can then focus on feeding the plants you put in rather than the whole acreage!
Having dug it you then have a blank canvas. Don't forget that in good design, less is usually more so keep it simple, with a few quality features which appeal to you. How do you want the front of your house and garden to look to those visiting you. How do you want your outlook to look?A winding path, some discreetly placed shrubs and a small tree or 2 to subtly screen you from the road. Have a pond if you want one. Why not alpines in a gravel bed. No grass??, but definitely no concrete either. Go for as good a quality as you can afford and you won't regret it. And please don't rush. Plenty of time to think through want you want. Hope this helps........