Please show me your small terrace house garden

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If you have one! My garden is teeny tiny and all mud. Nothing on Pinterest looks like it and can’t find much inspirational applicable content.

Would love to see some real life examples please if anyone has a similar sized garden.

Ginger - you are spot on about the dry shade! Even watering it twice a day and using some retaining gel stuff didn’t help :(

Yes, the buddleia is purple. Get so many bees and butterflies that I cant get rid of it even though it is a monster. Going to chop it right back this year so we have some sun.

Sadly we have never had a single bird in the garden :( not even a pigeon. It’s upsetting as we have flicks of parakeets locally and would love them to visit.

When I put up bird feeders before all we got was rats, which the cats gleefully caught and brought in the house.

Argh I hate it when you lose a long post!

Shame about the birds but understandable. My cat catches one from time to time and I hate it (feeders are way up in a spindly tree, I need a ladder however the occasional ground feeder chasing fallen seed is unlucky)

I love nasturtiums but they have a tendency to go crazy don't they. Mine went zooming across the lawn too! I found out I could train them up the fence using wire rings from Wilko, so easy:

here

I feel I need a photo of your four cats now squeee!

I usually buy my grass seed from Wilko, it's sold loose in barrels that you weigh out. They do two types and I believe one is more suited to shade/ suboptimal conditions if that's any help. I filled in a 3-4msq. scrubby patch at the end of my lawn and it took really well. Just remember to rake/rough up the soil prior, scatter seed, keep watered and keep off until it establishes. Adjust your mower to a high blade to start with to encourage bushing/filling in. Add more seed over time if needed. I think mine probably ended up with a mix of both varieties when I've been filling in gaps across the whole lawn with premium seed

Or consider turf or artificial grass

Here's a link to some dry shade loving plants. I had to laugh that ivy features! Also surprised to see fatsia japonica (castor oil plant) one of my faves - I thought the lush leaves would need more moisture but seemingly not! I need to get some Japanese anemones from my parents' garden this year

here

Good luck!

Marking my place, we have a front garden that I want to do up nicely in similar circumstances (back garden is kids domain as I childmind!)

A friend of mine with a worm phobia put artificial grass in her small back garden, and it really works very well, along with decking. She hoovers it periodically. If you really can't get grass It's not a bad idea for a small lawn.

Gardengeek - thank you for that info. I think half my problem with the living wall was I bought one with 24 little pockets. Rather than big pockets. Like an idiot.

I have some geraniums in there and bought some gel stuff too, so hopefully this works! If not, I might give up!

The ground soil tip is really useful too. We are about to dig out some mud to reenforce a wall so will have loads of soil to spare.

Meme and lily- your gardens are gorgeous! Actually Pinterest worthy!

This was mine last summer

OP, here are some shady border plans from Crocus to give you an idea. When I find a plant I think I might like in the garden, I also google ‘[plant name] invasive’ and ‘plant name’ toxic]. Think you’ve done an amazing job so far!

https://www.crocus.co.uk/bomcard//ready-made-border/shady-sanctuary/classid.2000009678/#prettyPhotoo_

https://www.crocus.co.uk/bomcard//_/ready-made-border/lush-shade/classid.2000019446/#prettyPhoto

And it’s great seeing such lovely gardens.

doctor, love those acers, wonderful layering of plants. Sadly the acer we planted in the corner near the seating area totally dried up and died, seems really windy where we are and it was getting too much sun.

MeMe, what a great outdoor living room setup, so cozy and fantastic colours! I regret letting Greenthumb scarify the lawn in November, it’s stayed a muddy mush through winter...

porkinmyteeth, those borders are so neat and chock full of variety, how did you choose what goes with what?

ginger, would love to see your garden. Lots of great advice here from you and everyone, I’m taking notes.

This is lily btw

Argh I just typed a really long thread and lost it! Hi Antheia/Lily

My garden is approximately 5m x 18m. My focus to date has been on planting, pruning, improving the lawn and building a pair of small wildlife ponds. I tend to garden on a budget but I'm beginning to notice the absence of hard landscaping/ structural elements so that's something I might focus on this year. Probably wont do anything much due to funds/ability but we'll see

I'm planning a wooden arch midway down and another around the side gate near the house to screen my neighbours out
I put some gentle curves in the lawn two years ago as I didn't want to widen my flowerbeds too much at that point. I didn't have enough to fill them properly and couldn't be doing with the weeding. I'm now ready to introduce some dramatic sweeping curves and make my arch a feature!

I'd like to do something interesting at the end of the garden but also can't really be bothered Maybe I'll raise the height of the flowerbeds with a low sleeper wall.

I have a little patio near the house and go a bit mad with planted containers/baskets

Photos don't seem to want to load!

I can't seem to find any of the whole garden in one shot, will keep looking...

Ohhh what lovely gardens you all have! I have garden envy!

I love pretty gardens but I'm not in the least bit creative and get overwhelmed with all the plant varieties, sizes, textures etc. I have a new build small garden so a blank canvas which is great in some ways but feel it will be a long time before it looks anything like the gorgeous gardens posted here.

Ooh post a pic Panda, we can help you plan! One thing I've heard about new build gardens is that they tend to have loads of rubble just below the surface, sneakily hidden under the turf! But there are ways to improve that so your plants will thrive

Came to post a pic of mine but this thread is in a different league!

@gingercat your borders are amazing!
Our garden was basically a boggy dog toilet when we moved in so we’ve worked hard to cut back overhanging planting (by several metres in some areas) to let the grass breathe, and cleared out more weeds than I can count from the beds. We’ve managed to create two nice seating areas and on the whole I’m pleased but the borders are fixing me now. I love traditional planting (lavender, roses etc) and now regret sticking in a couple of grasses to get some instant height. Any suggestions?

So the winter pic was just this week. Have started with putting some evergreen shrubs along back fence as when I'm in my lounge that is what I see most of, winter and summer.

L-R Kerria Japonica (Mum gave it me), hebe, golden privet and virburnum not yet planted as can't decide on location.
Some sweet Williams (I think?) but they are coming out after next flowering because they don't like the shade and are growing out over my lawn.
Then I've got in the right corner a Portuguese laurel, and on the right fence a camelia, a patio rose in a pot and out of view a hydrangea

I've also attached a summer photo which is mostly annuals and have come out now. Had loads of my parents pots as they were moving house, plus the garden was 'overgrown' as I'd had a baby so it had not been touched for weeks!

Thanks Frosties! I just kept bunging stuff in and occasionally moving it to a better position if it didn't flourish over time. I'm very much still learning, I was struggling with the front of the border looking quite empty until I introduced a billion forget me nots I always saw them as a weed but actually the blue colour is very appealing, especially with other stuff poking up through them. And they're easy to haul up once finished, scattering seed for next year. Ditto my foxgloves, I'm on a mission to spread them everywhere, I love watching the bees wiggling inside the flowers! I understand foxgloves (digitalis) are poisonous so not a good bet for little children.

Love the description of 'boggy dog toilet' You've done loads of improving by the look of it! I love your seating area with the bench. What's the tree/shrub to the left of the shed? Is it possible to remove the lower branches and raise the canopy to nearer the top of the fence? I've done that with a couple of things in my garden, giving extra screening above the fence line and allowing interesting planting below

I'd be tempted to put a curve in the corner of your lawn to the left of the shed to enlarge the flowerbed slightly and give some interest (my garden was right angle central when I moved in)

Sorry split my post in two as I was worried about deleting it!

I'm totally on board with the pruning, I had to do loads when I first moved in. It's really transformative isn't it

Re. planting I decided which flowerbeds had the best potential (I chose the sunniest one which is also the one I face most often) and started with that. I made a plan of what was already in there - what I loved, hated, what wasn't working with the conditions, things that had outgrown their location. I was able to prune or relocate almost everything that didn't fit, losing very little in fact (I very, very rarely dispose of plants!) The RHS website is brilliant for figuring out how much sun/shade/moisture/pruning particular plants can tolerate. I'm forever googling gardening questions and I watch the occasional gardening youtube vid for advice

Taking cuttings is also an option but it's not my forte Dividing perennials works well to beef up flowerbeds and create a rhythm/ repetition. Apparently you're supposed to have two or three of every plant dotted around the garden to create visual harmony. It certainly cuts down on the thought process in the garden centre if you buy everything in pairs or threes. Space eventually becomes a factor down the line but it's amazing how many plants you require to truly fill a space

I'm getting to a nice balance now (after 4yrs) where it's not all about filling glaring gaps but managing what I have through gentle pruning and removing less favoured filler plants.

I wouldn't worry too much about the grasses. If they no longer fit you may find you can dig them up and move them (I did this with a stipa gigantica oops) or even put them into large pots to move around on a whim (I use those wheely bases you can find in the pound shop gardening section).

Wow! Thank you @gingerkitcat! I’ve not heard that about having two or three of things but it makes complete sense. I’ve got some lavenders that I brought on last year which are huge now so planning to move those into the beds this year and I’ll add in some more lillies and fuscia too on that advice. I feel bad about the grasses but they just don’t fit very well with the rest of the garden now. Like you though I never throw a plant away. They’ll find a home somewhere - ironically I do have 4 of those 😂
We can’t have anything poisonous as we have both a toddler and a spaniel but otherwise I would love foxgloves for their height.
Any suggestions for what would go well with lavender, roses, camellia, lillies and fuscia? I was wondering about cornflowers, large headed daisies and maybe some dog roses?
I can’t raise the canopy on the planting to the extreme left (over a flower bed) annoyingly as it’s as high as it’ll go but have put in heathers, cyclamen, lobelia type plants to give some colour. Might try some forget me nots too - good thought!
Any other suggestions welcome and thank you so much for all your advice!

Sounds good! My style of gardening is very much trial and error I went fuchsia mad last year as Morrisons sells small ones for £1 which get going quite quickly. I wanted maximum value so I bought hardy varieties, hopefully they'll come back this year!

Yeah relocate the grass to another property () if it's getting on your nerves, life's too short! My one thought was would it work in a tall planter at either end of your decking where you're unlikely to trip over it? It has a nice swooshy quality (technical term) in the vicinity of seating.

Everything's covered in snow and my mind's gone blank...I think the plants you mentioned would work? I have various erysimum Bowles Mauve on the recommendation of Mumsnet gardening experts. Hardy geraniums (as opposed to pelargoniums) are good for filling a gap and later dividing. I have the pinky-purple ones but actually prefer Johnsons Blue. I have a wild dog rose winding through a hedge. It's in the shade of a tree so doesn't go too beserk. Clematis are always cited as a companion to roses but I'm a rubbish clematis grower! Mine don't flower much despite cutting back at the right time based on their group and giving them lots of support to clamber up and tlc . I'll try again this year...Roses and clematis on obelisks/fences would add to your cottage garden look. The lavenders sound fab!

I rather like acers and fatsias for the mini tree look (obviously quite different in appearance)!

I made a list of alternatives to foxgloves so I could introduce more tall flowers but I don't know what I've done with it! I had a go with hollyhocks and gladioli (both Morrisons bulbs) with mixed success (didn't buy enough for the effect I was after). Giant allium bulbs are fun too - pom poms!

Loving this big thread. I’m place marking to come back to. We have a VERY unloved small backyard garden with a tiny patio at the backdoor (that gets no light) and a little patch of garden maybe 4m by 6 which also houses the big oil tank.

Ooooh giant alium bulbs! What a fabulous idea. You are clever! Can’t wait for planting season now. Come on snow. I’ve got a week off soon - roll on spring and some colour in the garden.