A blank canvas... what would you do with this garden?

[bodgersmash]

I'm so useless at gardening but I really would like a nice garden. Moving to a new build as a single parent with one DS age 12 and Ddog.

What would you do with this blank canvas?

Other possibly relevant facts:

-new build so soil is probably rubbish

• will be turfed
• slope is more than it looks from the picture
• there is road noise coming from the left of the garden

I'd really appreciate any suggestions or tips to make this a lovely place

Maybe start off by thinking how you want to use it?

For example, we thought we’d use our garden mostly for looking at (from inside the house) but also wanted to grow stuff and have garden parties.
So our garden has a lot of ornamental planting with visual interest year round, two seating areas so either is always in the sun. It also has some cleverly incorporated herbs and fruit trees.

If the slope is that significant, I'd tier it - maybe one to the edge of the patio, then a lower tier to the fence.

Then plant something against the fence to stop the road noise- ideally evergreen I suppose.

Do you want a lawn?

Agree with pps - start by thinking about what you need - shed, washing line, water butt etc, then where the sun is in the evening and at lunchtime as that's most likely when you'd want to sit out there. Definitely trees along the noisy side. Have the builders put in a decent sized patio area - if not they often will for a couple extra £££s - worth asking!

Have you ever seen Garden Rescue on Bbc1. It was on iplayer. You would get tons of ideas from that.
I think having a blank canvas is exciting but I agree the soil may be not great. I had a new build once and there was so much rubble underneath the soil. Also it sloped towards the house and the patio became a pond when it rained heavily.
I would say, live with the garden in different weather conditions for a couple of weeks so that you can see the faults.

Which direction does itface ?
Path of sun?
What do you want to use it for ?

I’d definitely create two tiers - a flat patio then a sloping upper tier with steps. I might put an arch over the steps and grow a climber up it. The upper tier would have a central lawn with plants around the edges. Plant a tree right in front of those house windows at the back to provide privacy. Evergreen bushes along the left to reduce the road noise. Maybe some planters for the patio, your spring bulbs need planting in the next couple of months.

I think the first thing is a patio. There is not much point in doing anything else till this is in.

A lawn needs weekly maintenance. It's not compulsory to have one - think about what you'd use if for and decide whether you need one.

Think too about what you will use the whole garden for - what sort of activities do you need to cater for? Sitting out, children playing, hanging out washing, messy hobbies, entertaining?

A garden tends to look best with a mixture of hard landscaping and planting, and avoiding straight lines. Best to get the hard landscaping in first, while there's no plants to get in the way. I'd suggest you don't concrete in any patio or paths, that way it won't be so difficult to move if your garden needs change a few years down the line. This chap is brilliant on how to do all the hard landscaping - good to read even if you'll get someone else to do it, so you can see if they're doing a good job. www.pavingexpert.com/

The alleyway is too dark - will be difficult to get anything to grow there permanently. If you want to brighten it, you could put pots or hanging baskets in there for a couple of weeks at a time.

I'd argue against decking - needs maintenance, can get slippery, gap underneath is rat heaven.

Definitely look at how the light moves - it can take a year to see this properly - to think about where you want to enjoy your garden and when. We added an second seating area in our (much smaller) garden, to make the most of light at different times of day.