*PHOTO* Blank canvas - who wants to help me plan my garden?

[littlecupcake]

We moved house in July and have got a reasonably-sized garden which has very little in it. I say very little, I really mean nothing, apart from a Siskiyou Pink Gaura in an L shaped raised bed (back garden) and some lavender bushes (front garden). I'm not what I would call a 'keen gardener' but I must be getting old want to make our new garden look lovely. I have been on the internet all night looking for planting plans and inspiration but I'm still none the wiser. I'm sure there must be someone out there who would love to help me plan my garden, or point me in the direction of some good websites.

The back garden gets the sun for most of the day (comes up behind the back left corner then sets at the front of the house), and the soil is 'loam clay' (whatever that is)! It is a wide garden, but not very deep, consequently we have a lot of fence which feels quite close to the house which I would like to train plants up in a bid to cover up some of the fence.

We have bought a 6x8ft shed to put up where the swing is (toys belonged to previous owners so they are no longer there) and I fancy growing something in front of / along it to try to make it less obvious. I would like to grow runner beans, raspberries, sweet peas and anything else that might encourage the DC to eat a bit more fruit and veg but don't know where the best place to plant them would be. All tips welcome!

We were given a Clematis Natacha as a moving in gift which we have planted (with an obelisk) at one end of a row of lavender bushes, which seems to be climbing already very encouraging for a novice gardener like me. There was a gap in the lavender bushes so I have planted some bright yellow/orange Coreopsis Early Sunrise and Ganzania Big Kiss Yellow Flame in the gap, which has added a lovely splash of colour.

So Mnetters, over to you... please help me to plan my garden so that it is easy to maintain, not too expensive to get going, but a lovely spot to relax and watch the DC (5 and 2) playing in.

In the far corner I would make a secret garden for your children to play in.

If you mark out a quarter circle and plant tall grasses (6ft and 4ft)into the ground and two bamboo s in a pot that could be the front entrance to the garden. Inside the garden I would leave enough room for a tent or a play house. Plant things like Japanese anemones, which are pretty but tough and have jungle like leaves. Also various cornus will give the children good hide and seek places and will look very striking in the winter when the grasses at the fonts have died down a bit. Buy three different size logs with smooth tops for jumping on. Collect up old wood, concrete or slates,garden debris and paper to create a wild life garden. I would also lay paths through secret garden using play bark.

Leave some bare earth where your children can plant forget me nots and nasturtiums

If the fence feels imposing you could paint it a sage/willow shade (see Cuprinol Garden shades or the Wilko copy). Put climbers up too but at least you'll have something pleasing to look at while they get going!

I'm a fan of evergreen climbers and shrubs to lend some structure during winter. I've just added a clematis armandii and an evergreen honeysuckle. Ceonothus is also lovely and the bees love it in spring. I've seen regular and variegated versions.
Off the top of my head I have several pyracantha, variegated ivy, jasmine and Clematis 'Freckles' which are all evergreen.
My fences are probably 50/50 evergreen-deciduous climbers. Buy the biggest you can afford

I'm rubbish at garden design Your garden reminds me very much of one I saw on TV that they divided up with trellis. Will see if I can find it...

Does the shed have to go in the corner you have earmarked for it? It will be very conspicuous when you look down the garden (it might be nicer to put something more attractive there, although you could paint it the same colour as the fence and put trellis and climbers on it) and also not very convenient to have to trudge over the lawn to get to it. Could it go on the patio and/or nearer the house?

Look at Pinterest to see what style of garden and planting appeals to you.

I would think about a design that involves large beds and a curving path in a kind of a Y shape that starts at the mid-RHS of your patio and curves round to the far corner, with a small branch to your RHS. You can then plant a bed outside the windows on the left front with larger shrubs behind it, and have a revealed area in the far left hand corner that only becomes apparent as you walk down the path, maybe with some seating.

This means placing large shrubs not at the back of borders but at the bend of the curve to break up the space so you can't see the entire thing at once from the house. Takes a bit of guts to do that! The temptation in a rectilinear space is to do what I heard referred to as a 'washing machine garden' where plants and shrugs are all placed at the edges and you have a large and rather empty looking lawn in the middle. It can work well in small spaces, but it looks like you have a bit of a bigger area there so you could be more adventurous.

In terms of shed placement - think about your light! You don't want the shed in a brilliantly sunny part of the garden and everything else languishing in deep shade.

My 2p worth:

It sounds like you like yellow flowers and thats quite a nice starting point to decide what you want to plant so you could carry on the yellow into yellow winter jasmine, azalea lutea, yellow crocuses and daffodils in the spring, softened with white snowdrops and anemone blanda alba.

Roses are needed and yellow climbing roses can be lovely with a contrasting blue or purple clematis running through.

Plant fruit trees in Nov/Dec: quince, damson, morello cherry, apple, pears, because the sooner you plant them, the sooner you will get fruit and I do think the blossom is pretty in the spring!

Importantly, set a budget and try and stick to it. It is easy to buy plants on impulse and a lot of money can be wasted. If you think before hand what plants you want you can often get them cheaper on the internet, in poundland or in Aldi and Lidl and you can sow seeds.

Start a compost heap

Get garden design books from the library or Barnados charity shops they have good tips on paths, design, etc