What would you do if you could start over

[WorzselMummage]

My garden is being completely gutted in a few weeks as we having new fencing and patio done.. I will have a 30x40ft blank canvas.

I have been planning it in my head for months and think I'm leaning towards a kind of 'tropical' look with lots of bamboos and bananas. We are very over looked so need lots of quick height but I think it's going to be a lot of hard work.. and i'm not usually that kind of gardener

Inspire me, what would you do with a new garden ?

Veg plot, area for eating alfresco, borders for flowers and some fruit trees. Also would have lots of evergreen shrubs so that the garden is not bare during winter

Veg plot, area for eating alfresco, borders for flowers and some fruit trees. Also would have lots of evergreen shrubs so that the garden is not bare during winter

I would do (and have tried to do) much the same as veg2grow. Tropical gardens are lovely but are you willing to do all the wrapping-up which (unless you're in the Scilly Isles) you'll probably need to get things like bananas through the winter?

If you have lots of empty beds this summer, you could chuck down one of those packs of mixed, grow-anywhere annuals to fill the space. Are you a member of a local horticultural society? They can be excellent sources of cheap plants when you need to fill beds quickly.

I would use mixed shrubs as a hedge/border. My neighbour did this and I am green with envy. Preferably with a combination of evergreen and deciduous.
Agree with having a small veg plot and fruit trees.
I like tropical palm type plants and I had quite a few. Last winter the temperatures were too low for them and I have lots of dead plants now.
You can get quick colour from annuals, try some multi stemmed sunflowers for both colour and height.
If the soil is heavy as mine is you can sow seeds in pots or trays and transplant later.