If it's a sunken patio you want (and those in the photos are only a foot or two below soil level) I'm sure that's doable. You'd need to remove the topsoil anyway to lay permanent paving like that , and it could be used in raised beds.
I had a lower level area in my garden round the corner - unfortunately, no pix as it was pre digital camera and we created that by terracing the sloping, grass covered garden. An extension meant the garden was considerably lower than the house, and I often preferred sitting in the lowest part rather then the deck which we created along the rear of the house. It felt very sheltered and secret even though it wasn't!
I think this requires a bit of thought before going ahead with it. It would need to be a paved area like the last pic - gravel if it's on the shady side as it's non slip. Even a small area of soil removed will be a big quantity to shift, so you need to factor in how you get it out. Three metres square dug down a metre is 9 cubic metres. That's a decent skip's worth!
Some pix of your plot, including the rear of the house, would really help vw1978 .
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
vw your idea seemed mental at first but now that i have seen the images you have in mind i think that would be really beautiful, and as fairygirl said it made a part of the garden a bit more a private area which sounds great, now you've got me thinking along these lines with my back garden slope .... hmmm It looks like quite a massive project, and the drainage system required sounds somewhat confusing
I found a couple of pix of my 'sunken' garden. First one shows the level of the area of grass - which wasn't quite the lowest part of the garden. There was a lower gravelled area - about a foot lower
This one shows the area to the left of the previous pic - you can see the deck adjoining the house (and a red admiral butterfly!)
The gravelled area was about three feet below the level of the deck. The steps (on left) led down to that, and that's where I often sat with a cuppa
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Posts
If it's a sunken patio you want (and those in the photos are only a foot or two below soil level) I'm sure that's doable. You'd need to remove the topsoil anyway to lay permanent paving like that , and it could be used in raised beds.
I would think some sort of grill/grating and drains leading to a soak-away would be needed.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
If you look at the second photo, there's a metal grid along the far end.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Yes - NOT into the sewer - the less potential ground water lost to the supply the better.
Whoops, not the second photo, the third one
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I had a lower level area in my garden round the corner - unfortunately, no pix as it was pre digital camera
and we created that by terracing the sloping, grass covered garden. An extension meant the garden was considerably lower than the house, and I often preferred sitting in the lowest part rather then the deck which we created along the rear of the house. It felt very sheltered and secret even though it wasn't!
I think this requires a bit of thought before going ahead with it. It would need to be a paved area like the last pic - gravel if it's on the shady side as it's non slip. Even a small area of soil removed will be a big quantity to shift, so you need to factor in how you get it out. Three metres square dug down a metre is 9 cubic metres. That's a decent skip's worth!
Some pix of your plot, including the rear of the house, would really help vw1978 .
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
vw your idea seemed mental at first but now that i have seen the images you have in mind i think that would be really beautiful, and as fairygirl said it made a part of the garden a bit more a private area which sounds great, now you've got me thinking along these lines with my back garden slope .... hmmm
It looks like quite a massive project, and the drainage system required sounds somewhat confusing
I found a couple of pix of my 'sunken' garden. First one shows the level of the area of grass - which wasn't quite the lowest part of the garden. There was a lower gravelled area - about a foot lower
This one shows the area to the left of the previous pic - you can see the deck adjoining the house (and a red admiral butterfly!)
The gravelled area was about three feet below the level of the deck. The steps (on left) led down to that, and that's where I often sat with a cuppa
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...