AIBU to think we could 'spruce up' this less than appealing garden?

[dottytablecloth]

So I should probably post this on property but I like the range of views on AIBU!!

We really like the house but the garden is dreadful (see pictures)

Is there anything we could do with it? The wall is a retaining wall so it has to stay.

Would a landscape gardener have ideas? Is that what they do? sorry! I don't really know!

Shame because it looks a nice house. But no. Green space is a top priority for me, and no amount of doing up that gravel pit would cut it. Sorry to say.

I think I replied on your previous thread.

It depends what's under the gravel but it could be v easy. We did similar. Gave away stones, ripped up the membrane underneath, added some topsoil and turfed. MUCH less expensive and time consuming than we expected.

If a lawn is easy to put in, then I would go for it. I always assumed it to be a mammoth undertaking to get rid of gravel.

I second rendering then painting the wall, adding a lawn, flower beds and a couple of miniature trees. You wouldn't recognise the place!
(Render is a type of external textured plaster, applied to garden walls that can then be painted. It gets rid of the breeze block stalag look )

No need to dig anything up, just make it a container garden with lots of planted-up pots. It'll look 8000% better.

I agree what is under the gravel is important. If it is soil then I wouldn't bother taking it up, you could spot plant some trees and shrubs, just take up the gravel in a small patch, rip the membrane, dig a hole then plant-replace soil and gravel. You may want to consider a raised bed, which again wouldn't involve taking up the gravel.

People pay shedloads of money for houses with walled gardens. Which, with some imaginative thought, this house might be.

It's not a walled garden...come on.

They couldn't have made it more unappealing if they had tried! Agree that I could be transformed, though will be a bit of a nightmare if concrete under gravel but suspect it isn't and they just lobbed gravel down to avoid grass cutting.

The beauty of a walled garden is it creates its own microclimate and will be quite sheltered. You need to decide what type of garden you'd enjoy being in - would you like a traditional English look, or a more tropical look etc.

If it were me I would start with some trained fruit trees up against the walls once they had been painted, along with some climbing roses, clematis and winter jasmine.

Don't know if it is possible to find the episodes on YouTube but Chris Beardshaw on Beechgrove Garden this year helped two families with new build gardens. That might help for inspiration if you can find it.

I definitely wouldn't not buy the house because of the garden as long as you are happy to sort the work. Think it could be lovely in a few years.

It's a garden surrounded by walls which give to chance to grow things up it and provide shelter so it kind of is, just looks very grim right now.

We bought a house with a huge proportion of 'hard landscaping', raised seating area, sunken seated area, concreted sections. When we looked into it, there was a lot of hard core to removed underneath the features (more than most people would put under a garage!!). The cost of removing the hardcore was more than we could afford so we used raised beds, trellises and containers. This picture might be inspriing though would take planning and replanting as the year goes on.

I think it needs a small tree. Also fruit on the walls is a nice idea.

I think I would invest in a couple of small garden design books first and spend the winter thinking.

Then decide what style of garden appeals to you.

Once you have your style and some information about how the sun falls in the summer and winter you can make a plan.

If you do get it rendered go for a through coloured render and you won't need to paint it again (great if you are going to train plants up it)
If the wall is pebbledashed then this will need removing before rendering otherwise it will fall off.
If you don't have the money to render then you can paint pebbledash but it's best done with a spray due to the surface texture.

Our garden was gravelled over except for a few beds when we bought. The main problem was getting rid of the gravel - it took a looooooong time to find someone to take it (the local dump wanted vast sums of money to take and dh just refused to pay to get rid of it). Eventually we found a few farmers who took a bit, and one eccentric guy who took the rest of it.

Sadly, getting the gravel out wasn't that easy, and the ground is still really really stony. Also we had to carry it through the house in buckets, which was a pain.

On a brighter note, that looks more under control than ours was. We had plants growing through the membrane under the gravel, which made it all worse. If we'd had the money, I would have got a load of topsoil before turfing.

We had a concrete yard on our old terraced house, we painted the walls white, put up trellis & raised beds, trees & shrubs in pots (couldn't afford to take up the concrete), wall planters and after a few years of effort it transformed the space.

I wouldn't put grass in a tiny space like that - it's bound to get muddy if you use it at all because each bit will get walked on so often.

I'd be going with pots and flowers (and not $$$ at the garden centre on mature shrubs and trees, I'd be growing some seeds and begging some cuttings from friends), and some grobags for veg, with the aim of raised beds as finances allow. Trellis up the retaining wall and grow some sweet peas or something on it initially - or it looks great for something like a loganberry.

I have wondered before how one gets rid of gravel from a garden like that. When we were house hunting we dismissed a handful of properties owing to gravelled or concrete/slabbed gardens, as we could only see labour intensive expense to put it right. It's not like replacing a kitchen or fitting a new bathroom...it's a BIG undertaking.

I'm sure there are landscaping and gardening companies that would do it for you (no idea) but I can only assume it would cost a fortune. If you can afford it, that's cool. For us though, it would be like Jux describes. DIY.

If you are below the level of the field there may well be issues with soil (subsoil level, so clay or stones?) and drainage - could make lawn v difficult - agree, would probably work better like a 'courtyard' garden w raised beds/ built in seating/ pots etc - if you want grass for dcs definitely dig a test hole or ask surveyor to do so. Even good soil gets totallytrashed & compacted during construction. And lawns need to drain or the grass goes yellow & drowns!!

Wd also check it does not act as 'drain' for adjoining field - I guess this weather means you might have an idea if you look!

Just as a suggestion from the left field...
I'm guessing there's kids involved here - it's a family home? Gravel isn't ideal in that instance for all the reasons you can think of, mainly involving skin and the inevitable painful removing of the same.

A friend of mine had a small slabbed garden and two young kids. She had a significant portion of it rubbered...like the stuff you get in a playground. The rest has been given to pots and raised beds, and table and chairs. There is a large space with play equipment on like a slide and a swing, where her kids can throw themselves around safely. I think it cost about three grand to do.

I'd still not fancy that for myself, but it's definitely an attractive garden and works for them as a family. Worth considering?

Look on the bright side at least you've got a blank canvas to start with.
I'd keep the gravel as it's low maintenance and burglars don't like it.

Build some raised beds with reclaimed timber and plant bamboo, grasses, asparagus, artichokes to give it height and lavender for all year interest. Maybe some wigwams or trellis. A pergola in the corner would be nice where the table is. Sorry I'm getting carried away. Look on Pinterest for loads of ideas for small gardens.

It's got potential as they say!

Not sure I got it right with the levels& drainage etc when I just replied but hope it made some sort of sense ??

However, if field of crops, would want to be sure tractors weren't up above us spraying showers of pesticide! Not being funny, they are nasty, if you look at how operatives are meant to protect themselves when spraying

Have you thought about fake grass?

We've only got a small garden that would have got too churned up if it was lawn, but we wanted something more child and dog friendly than gravel or slabs.
It is honestly lifechanging! The garden gets used all year round, because there is no mud to tramp into the house. Plus no more arguments about who's turn it is to mow. It genuinely looks like lawn from a distance (although not in December when it is still bright green and pristine!) and is nothing like the stuff greengrocers have outside their shops.

It isn't the cheapest, but it is very easy to lay (a few bags of sand, level it out with a plank and back of a shovel, roll the grass carpet out, pin it down in the corners) and is really long lasting and durable. The only thing you need to watch out for are smokers at BBQs! And probably not ideal if you have guineapigs
You can also use lots of pots, containers, paddling pools, chairs, wendy houses etc without having to worry about killing the grass off underneath.

not rtt all the way through, but this has been on before hasn't it ? are you the same original poster or a new one ? Can't find the old post tho.