Please come and tell me your experiences of long, long, sloping gardens!

[EagleRay]

I viewed a property for sale yesterday - the main reason for moving would be to have a bigger garden, and this garden is big! But also awkward...

It's a semi-det house on a hill and the back garden slopes down the hill from the house forever in a north-westerly direction (it's about 15 times as long as it is wide). The house is in good nick, but the garden is very, very overgrown. In fact, it was like walking down a narrow leafy tube as there was v overgrown shrubbery on each side. And actually I didn't even see the bottom half of the garden is it just became like a jungle!

There's a few features - patio at top, then steps, a little terraces for veg and I did spot some fruit trees further down. The views are stunning too.

I was wondering though how big a job would it be to make it nice? Am thinking it would have to be levelled into terraces as the slope is rather dizzying, plus lots and lots of cutting back. My fantasy garden would have areas for sun loungers/dining, a nice lawn, veg plots and a play area. Oh and seeing as there's plenty of space for a summer house, let's stick that in too.

Has anyone worked on a similar garden? Are we talking years and years of work and/or tons of money? Would it be best to tackle a few feet each year?

thanks in advance if you have any useful info

My mum's garden isn't as extreme as this, being 30ft wide and 100ft long approx, but it does slope.

She has divided it into 3 compartments:

1 Patio and lawn (with clothes airer when in use)

2 Summer house, fish pond and garden swing

3 Sheds and work area

15 x width is extremely long but I wouldn't be able to resist it as a project. You could have an allotment, wild flower area, patio, play area, pond, clothes drying and storage split up into equal segments.

I do have garden envy at the moment so I should also admit that it took my mum 30 years (!) to get her garden in order, and it's a fraction of the garden you're looking at.

Thanks for your help DiddyFace! The garden does look ridiculous on the maps as it's just endless. A wild flower/meadow area would be great, and probably best left for the bottom bit of the garden.

There's side access from the front of the house so a work/storage area could be fitted in very easily (we currently have a garage for bikes and outdoor gear but would be losing that if we moved)

The sad thing about this garden is that just 10 years ago, it was very well-kept with lawns and beds etc (have seen the pics on the Rightmove archive). But it's a blank canvas now for someone to work on for the next 30 years

It's horrifying to see how quickly gardens deteriorate. I have a tiny 1m x 10 metre strip outside my windows that I have to keep tidy, and it goes WILD overnight. DP is currently looking at it and trying to tempt me out there to help with weeding

But, sorry, back to your potential garden ...

Big bump

If you can get a tractor round the back,I would have a word with a local farmer & get a price for them to use a bush wacker,they could prob.clear it in less than a day & save you a heap load of work

Gardens go wild easily and by the same token are also easy to tame.

However with a garden that big, basics like hedges and lawns and weeding will take regular upkeep so you might need to budget for a regular gardener to come and do that for you, once it is tidied up. I hope you don't think this is too obvious a comment.

Yes, it's actually quite shocking seeing the old pics of the garden and how much it's turned into a jungle. I think the owners must have spent so long working on the house they didn't have the time or energy for the garden. Would be great if there was access for a tractor or similar, but there's only a little path to the side and the end of the garden is a mystery!

I imagine it would look incredible once it had been cleared, even if it wasn't landscaped - a bit like giving a tramp a haircut! It really is no more than a tunnel at the moment.

And definitely a good idea to budget for a gardener - definitely not too obvious as I think initially I thought I would be able to do it on my own but having spent quite a bit of time today on my own v small garden, I can see now how much work it would be.

And of course at the moment, it's just a possibility and there's every chance I won't even buy the house, but it is the main reason for even contemplating it so I need to have some idea of what I'd be getting into!