In need of creative guidance.

[Davie_GLA]

Hello all.

I have a nice size garden which i want to do something with. I have no creativity when it comes to this stuff and I can't see past decking and a couple of slabs for a BBQ.

If I take some photos with measurements etc, is there anyone able to give me some inspiration?

Thanks,

David.

[CraigW]

Ive done a few, happy to help.

Mine generally turn out fairlly contemporary, budget more than you think. I have always been amazed!

[Davie_GLA]

Thanks Craig - and apologies for the mistake in the title - could a mod fix?

I'll try and get some pics this week, if not it will be a couple of weeks as i go on holiday.

David.

[Meeja]

Title fixed.

[Davie_GLA]

Thank you!

[herbialfa]

I'm happy to help! :-)

I'm no gardener but I used railway sleepers to creat different level planters which to me look great and visually look a lot better than brick walls!

I scheduled all the timbers out in CAD and faxed the details to the company I bought them from. It all went together in a day - Saturday - we then planted and put down a bed of slates on the Sunday.

Tip Top!

Let me know!

[Davie_GLA]

Excellent. Sleeps sounds like a good idea.

Show me some pics for inspiration if you dont mind.

Looks like i won't get anything to you until after my break, but that gives me time to think about how i want it done and what i want from it.

I'll keep you posted.

Thanks again,

David.

[herbialfa]

[Meeja]

Davie_GLA said:

Excellent. Sleeps sounds like a good idea.

Show me some pics for inspiration if you dont mind.

Looks like i won't get anything to you until after my break, but that gives me time to think about how i want it done and what i want from it.

I'll keep you posted.

Thanks again,

David.

I'd be interested to see pics too.

We had to remove our old apple tree a month or so ago (it was large, and diseased beyond saving) - So we now have a rather large empty garden, and we are thinking of a complete re-design as well!

[herbialfa]

[Davie_GLA]

That's surprisingly effective!

I'll take photos tonight if I get a chance, measurements will have to wait though.

[Mobile Chicane]

Part of mine is planted as a 'Mediterranean' garden with limestone slabs, large pebbles, hardy shrubs, grasses, herbs and self-seeding annuals in between.

This needs almost no maintenance other than trimming the grasses in spring and picking out the odd weed that's found its way there:

[HiRich]

The 'in thing' at the moment is height, be that raised beds, or a fk off big pergola like Mobile Chicane's. Also popular are informal seating (like Herbialafa's sleepers) and radical ideas like the Mediterranean hints of both - anything to break away from the typical new build 'lawn & borders'.

First steps, apart from measuring up, are to think about what you want and don't want - lawn (for playing or sunbathing), fruit, veg, trees, or any particular plants you like (maybe roses, maybe a tropical feel). You could do worse than record Gardeners World for inspiration - both the programme garden and the weekly guest.

You could do worse than Titchmarsh's How To Be A Gardener as a starter for ten. I haven't read the book, but the series it is based on spent time explaining how to design a garden and select plants. Search Amazon for garden +design, and there are several quite cheap books well rated and perhaps worth a punt (look for a name author or a title specific to your style of garden).

Ditto, a few copies of the Gardeners World magazine (also check the website) or similar (browse in WHS before you buy) may lead you towards some basic concepts and a list of things you would like.

[Davie_GLA]

Right, here's three rushed pics. 2 from each side and one from above.

Thoughts?

[CraigW]

good space to work with. Think about the following..

1. what sort of lifestyle do you have, family, kids, have lots of parties?
2. what do you want from it? kind of links to q.1
3. any must haves or things you dont want.. allergies..bbq..hot tub..decking..paving
4. what sort of budget do you have
5. any preference in style, rustic, contemporary, themed like japanese?

[Meeja]

I'd want something that would offer a degree of privacy. Seems to be very overlooked.

[Mobile Chicane]

That's a big space to fill - be prepared to get your wallet out! Reason being that in a garden your size and shape, any landscaping you do around the patio area will need to be balanced with complementary elements elsewhere, else it will look as though it's been dropped in from Space.

Presumably the main use for the garden is for the kids to play / hang washing, so I'd leave the majority of it as lawn rather than plonk in paths and beds for the sake of it. Access to the street is also another consideration as to how fancy you can be with landscaping. Is that a gate in the fence? If not, you'll have to take a section of fence down, or have mud and crap dragged through the house.

If you're not awash with cash at the moment at the very least I'd recommend screening that fence with brushwood fencing and take this up a bit to give yourself more privacy. The developers have 'considerately' left your side with the ugly horizontals so you've got something to fix it onto.

I love the railway sleeper idea and patio idea, and would plant this with hardy bamboos and grasses plus perennials such as thyme, ornamental sage and marjoram, with some random rocks for these to spread over and in between. Avoid rosemary - mine has really suffered over the winter and I'm in Surrey, not Scotland.

Balance the raised sleeper beds with massive clumps of different types of bamboo in each corner of the garden with smaller ones either side and some grasses in front, add a few large rocks among them and you're done. A few solar 'border balls' dotted about would look great as well.