a new garden!

[SarfEast1cated]

Hi everyone - I'm sure you're all outside in the garden at the mo, but just wanted to ask for some advice.

We are moving to a new house with a small garden and I have attached a photo from the EA website. We're not in yet, but will be by August.

I am rather excited and inspired after a day at HCFS yesterday, and wanted to use the garden design programme that used to be on the BBC website. It has gone! Where can I find something similar? Any suggestions?

It is a south facing garden 5.4x4.3 metres so pretty small. It is roughly paved, and my plan is to plant mediteranean plants in the gaps - like thyme, rosemary etc rather than taking all the flags up. DD also wants a water feature.

I think it's possible, but want to rough it out on a computer programme before hand.
Any help gratefully received :)

How exciting! Are you a novice or experienced gardener?

I'd Have a think about what you will use it for...
Bbq's
Parties
Socialising sort of thing
Footie pitch?
Playground?
Sunbathing?

Do you want tables, chairs, bbq, as you may need storage/shed.( for all your gardening equipment, lawnmowers hoses etc)

At first glance I'd paint all the fencing one colour, jet wash the flags, then maybe shape your borders so they aren't straight lines.

If there are gaps in the borders now or dead plants then put a stake there so you know where your real gaps are once deciduous and herbacous plants die back in winter.

That's my starter for ten

Hi Penny, we've just had our buyer pull out so it's possible we might not get the house after all but just in case it does go through these are my thoughts.
Garden would be for sitting out in and for DD to make mudpies, also want a wildlife element. DD is desperate for a water feature, so I thought of a Mediterranean courtyard garden with pond. So lots of 'hot' plants, like thyme, lavender etc, and flag irises (which I love)
My DH is from New Zealand so I'm keen on having a few NZ plants too - like Leucadendron and agapanthas, not flax or tree ferns though.
So maybe we need raised beds around the edges? I would like the garden to be quite minimum upkeep too if poss, so no lawn...
I expect that we would need to pay a landscaper to redo the paving etc and do it properly. It is only small though so maybe it won't be too expensive!

And Leptospermum too !

Paint the fence black.
Jetwash the paving.
Make a mud kitchen out of pallets.
Then relax and just see how you are going to use the space before you do anything else.

Why black fence Doreen? I haven't been keeping up with gardening trends over the last 4 years, what have I missed?
I see Charlie DImmock is coming back though - this time with bra!

(Hooray for the bra, Sarf! )

OP, do you have to leave all or any of the paving in situ?
You are very likely to find the soil impoverished or absent in areas.
IIWY I would lift the slabs as they are uneven and could use relaying, then clear the whole area to see what you have underneath. We did this a few years ago over the course of year when we had time off and it also gave us time to see which parts got the most sun or shelter, etc. throughout the year.

Design programmes online may or may not suit you, looking for inspiration in other gardens is a better idea IMO. If you want a recommendation for something that you could translate to a small garden I would suggest Great Dixter in E Sussex, but if you want something super trendy look at the photo galleries of designers' websites like Charlotte Rowe's. Good luck, it will be fun.

PS, I would nix on the black fence as well.

Just don't paint that awful orange.
Raised beds are a good idea. Lots of pots that you can move around. How old is DD? Thinking safety. A half barrel can be a lovely feature. Line it first. Or if still young, pebbles and a fountain. Bird of Paradise, lilies. An area(screened) at the back where you can dump pots when they have finished and grown on something new so you can swop over. Have a look on Pinterest at small gardens. Fingers crossed that it goes through for you.

Oh just thought re getting inspiration from other gardens. Look at the NGS gardens. Take a camera and ask if you can take photos, most people don't mind. I love going to NGS gardens as there are such a variety of different ideas. All the donations are for charity too.

I think I have an idea of my 'vision' I just want to know whether what I want will fit where i have. I really liked this garden from Hampton Court, and would like a kind of rougher version of it...

So , large paved area in the middle
Raised beds round the edges
Large pergola painted a bright colour
Some mature trees and evergreen shrubs with perennials for summer colour

That's all perfectly doable . Biggest expense will be the large paved area as nice looking hard landscaping is expensive to buy and needs to be well laid. If you don't have the £££ right now you could do some paved and the rest gravel ( Gravel is cheaper and easier to put down )

I see you prefer a modern style so painting the fence black as a PP suggested would work well for a contemporary garden

It could all be a lot more ramshackle/rustic than that, but I like the raised beds, the pergola (for privacy) and the low maintenance. I'd like the plants to be special though, lovely shrubs rather than any old thing. I don't need the water feature to be quite so slick either, a pond in the corner would be fine
This is the whole design plan, but I don't need a lawn/shed either!

Lovely design ! I like the way it's set on the diagonal, makes a long thin garden look wider.

Why don't you need a shed - do you have a garage to store tools and garden toys ?

Is you DD old enough not to drown in a pond ?

Do you need space for bins ?

Yes it is a lovely design - Catherine MacDonald designed the garden for Squires and the plan and plant list is here
We will only have a small garden so just the front half of the plan would be needed.
There is a side return to our house so I thought a storage shed could go there.
DD is 8 so hopefully won't drown in the pond - should ponds go in sun or shade.
The pergola in the plan is pretty nifty, when it rains the beams rotate and create a roof! probably costs more than our car, but what a fab idea.
I have no idea how much the landscaping would cost - £2k? I'm not that fussy about the stone used as long as it is not concrete... :)
Thanks everyone for your help!

8 is fine, we waited until our youngest child was 8 to put in our pond. Sorry to ask so directly, but I'm amazed at the people who install a pond with toddlers and say " oh we always supervise them in the garden " !

Pond should go in the sun and away from overhanging trees. A small pond is hard to get right and expensive for filters etc so you might want to do a water feature type of thing instead, especially if you like the sound of running water.

Landscape costs depend on size, materials, where you live, how many quotes you get. Just don't get cheap slabs as they will look nasty .

Nice plant list, I lkke the warm colours .

im assuming that the small trees are the Prunus serrula as hornbeam are not small garden trees. Maybe the hornbeam is the hedge as well as the yew ?

The pale yellows are lovely and will stand out in the evening light

These are the colours I love. Not so keen on yellows unless they are creamy.

Sarf, are you SE London based? If so, go and have a nose around the garden in The Dolphin in Sydenham. I think it might be the sort of thing you're looking at

A public house LBOCS - I couldn't possibly 😳

LBOCS I looked on-line at the pub garden and it looked like it was mostly grass and hedges? I am happy to nip down there and have a closer look though

It has structural beams all around it and nicely laid out little patio areas. Or at least it did last time I was there...

Sounds nicer than my local Wetherspoons! Thanks for the recommendation :)

No probs. The Golden Lion opposite is very nice too. Especially now that people don't get attacked with axes in the car park any more