The Garden Project! Starting from scratch - ideas welcome
Matt Heggie
6 years ago
Hello Houzz people :-)
After an extensive refurb of our first house, we have been left with this final project..... a blank jungle canvas.
With the property being mid-terraced we unfortunately have no access apart from coming through the house (which we have just renovated) - doh!
Although we have been able to successfully negotiate with neighbour to bring materials through previously, so this is an option if needed.
The garden is south east facing so we have a lovely sunshine coming into the house in the morning and a 'potential' sun trap at the end of the garden.
We have an inspection chamber just outside the door which for obvious reasons cannot be built over permanently. I am reluctant to use wooden decking due to the maintenance, are there patio solutions which would allow me keep access to the inspection chamber??
We do have a bit of an eyesore at the rear with the side of a house which we cannot do anything about. This does mean that we are not overlooked though which is nice. The back of the garden has about 4 different materials from the neighbours lean too. It is their intention to build a single story side extension at a later date so I'm not planning to put anything permanent up but would like ideas on how best to cover this for the time being. It's higher than our fence height which makes it a bit awkward.
Any advice / help / images / inspiration will be great!
Thank you
After an extensive refurb of our first house, we have been left with this final project..... a blank jungle canvas.
With the property being mid-terraced we unfortunately have no access apart from coming through the house (which we have just renovated) - doh!
Although we have been able to successfully negotiate with neighbour to bring materials through previously, so this is an option if needed.
The garden is south east facing so we have a lovely sunshine coming into the house in the morning and a 'potential' sun trap at the end of the garden.
We have an inspection chamber just outside the door which for obvious reasons cannot be built over permanently. I am reluctant to use wooden decking due to the maintenance, are there patio solutions which would allow me keep access to the inspection chamber??
We do have a bit of an eyesore at the rear with the side of a house which we cannot do anything about. This does mean that we are not overlooked though which is nice. The back of the garden has about 4 different materials from the neighbours lean too. It is their intention to build a single story side extension at a later date so I'm not planning to put anything permanent up but would like ideas on how best to cover this for the time being. It's higher than our fence height which makes it a bit awkward.
Any advice / help / images / inspiration will be great!
Thank you
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Comments (15)
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6 years agoSomething like this but with just gravel and no patio slabs could work? You would need to take a lot of gravel through your house though!
temple274
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Juliet Docherty
6 years agominnie101
6 years agoHi. I like this garden which is 5x11m so probably not too different to yours. I agree with colourhappy that diagonals will make its feel wider as can circular'ish shapes. I also think different floor levels, tree height etc help too. More info is needed re garden requirements though unless you just want inspiration pics. Budget, family friendly, maintenance, soil type, any other requirements such as vegetable bed, water feature etc, and obviously what kind of styles you like!
Hyde Vale · More Infodorsetdor
6 years agotamp75
6 years agoJonathan
6 years ago
rachelmidlands
6 years agoI like Colourhappy's idea for diagonal lines. Think this will draw your eye into thinking the space is a lot bigger. Interlocking circles, different heights and materials (lawn, decking, slabs, gravel, etc.) will also have the same effect. I would tidy up the back fence and get a small corner shed or summer house for storing outdoor furniture, garden tools and what nots. Pleached trees would be good as would bamboo in containers, I was thinking upright cherry trees (prunus 'amanagowa'). Anyway some ideas:
Carolina
6 years agoCarolina
6 years agoAnd yes, circles and diagonal lines make a garden seem larger, but the trick really is to distract your eyes so they don't go in one straight line to the back of the garden. Borders that are perpendicular to the fences, for example. Or a pergola or tree that lead your eyes upwards.
Anyway... two examples of perpendicular borders...
Rose Williams
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoRose Williams
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoMatt Heggie
6 years agoThank you one and all for your suggestions, a good few things for us to think about. My apologies, I didn't really do a good job in explaining the style or anything! but the second image Carolina has suggested is the look and feel we would be going for.
I really like the idea of using different materials and levels for the garden which we can achieve quite easily (I hope!)
I have cleaned and stored all of the bricks from the chimney which was removed in the he house reno, and will be planning to build a flower bed, seat area along the left side (attached). I'm steering toward patio more so than decking especially given I can use the cover for the inspection chamber. Thanks for info on the cover guys!
I am looking for low maintenance and have even considered adding (dare I say it) artificial turf. Better for slide tackling the kids!
The idea of using diagonals is very clever and I shall give them some thought.
Time to start sourcing materials and getting some quotes me thinks!
PROBlooming Planters Garden Design
6 years agoIndian sandstone paving is good value & can be cut to fit an inspection chamber frame for easy lifting. I love trees so like to use pleached Hornbeams or Beech which can be planted at 1 metre spacing & kept trimmed to screen ugly buildings. You could also think about trellis panels which are easy to remove & add lots of climbing plants in pots until the neighbours finish the extension. Here is a client's photo of newly planted trees with similar view.
dorsetdor