If this was your garden what would you do with it?

[JacobReesMogadishu]

It’s mainly just grass. So the main part of the garden is lawn with a herb border down one side and then a conifer hedge the other.

The top third is veg plot and chicken run and a couple of sheds.

I’m not a keen gardener and don’t want to spend ages weeding. I like the idea of plants in containers but not sure if that would look shit just dotted around on the grass. I’d like to mask the conifer hedge but we still need access to cut it. In an ideal world I’d remove it and have a high fence but that would cost a fortune. Maybe I could put a slab path down there and some containers?

I’d like a better patio , we have a small one tucked behind an outhouse but it’s too small for a table and chairs so is just a dumping ground. Not sure whether to put a patio at the far end between the sheds (the rabbit run is going as rabbits are dead) or near the little wall and the apple tree?

I need Charlie dimmock but applications for garden rescue are closed!

First off work out where the sun is at times of day you use the garden. If that hedge means that bit of the garden is always shady I'd put a bed there an fill with shade loving plants that would add colour. White always looks fab against a hedge.

Plants in ground are much easier than containers. Far less watering and feeding.

I'd be thinking about where I wanted to sit - so we are going to build a patio in the bit of the garden that gets sun in the evening and build some big raised beds to plant scented shrubs/flowers.

The previous owners built a pergola which has a huge clematis montana on it - very very easy, pretty, and gives height.

I'd have said the garden lacks height and would think about planting some trees. On small rootstock so they don't get too high - you can check height of trees on websites.

But a couple of fruit trees if that's your thing, or a flowering tree for some interest in the spring and a mountain ash for autumn colour and for the birds to eat the berries.

Put a wide border in that gets the sun and plant a hydrangea and another couple of flowering bushes for colour. Choose ones that get reasonably big but not out of hand.

I'd plant a climber up the building too.

Maybe make the veg plot larger?

I'd divide the garden up with a hedge - roses or a mixed hedge or shrubs and put an archway in so it makes it look inviting to go beyond it. Put some paths in too.

I’m severely allergic to grass so the first thing I’d do is get rid of every single blade of grass!

I’d then divide the garden up somehow using circles, I’ll post some pictures demonstrating what I mean.

I’d fill the circles with small paving stones if you have cats or small single type type gravel if you don’t have cats (cats like to toilet in shingle!) and put a nice seating set, like one of those circular rattan chair and table sets on the biggest one with a nice big potted, preferably fragrant plant on the table and I’d plant small, long flowering ground cover around each circle; things like campanula, dwarf trailing sweet peas, sweet alyssum, munstead lavenders.

I’d mix edibles in with the flowers rather than having a ‘separate’ dedicated vegetable/herb bed.

In place of grass I’d opt for things like creeping thyme or Corsican mint or Trenague Chamomile.

I’d put a large circular pond in at the front of the garden on the side of the shed with a nice big fountain, maybe 2 or 3 goldfish (they grow BIG if well cared for - needs to be a big pond) and put lots of red lobelia and iris and purple loosestrife and other brightly coloured, long flowering plants around the pond.

I’d get rid of that crappy plastic greenhouse and plant clematis Montana or honeysuckle over that brick outhouse and wall.

I’d put a small pot of strawberries at the edge of each of those three steps.

Id probably plant a few small fruit trees too and underplant then with chives and flowers.

Thanks bot of you.

I think I thought that pots might be better than a flower bed down the side of the conifer hedge as I'd read that conifer makes the soil really lacking in nutrients and it's hard to grow anything there. Plus we need to get to the hedge to cut it. DH hates hedge cutting and will grumble if his life is harder - pots could be moved. But I take your point about needing more watering-which I'm not good at.

I love the photos of the circle ideas, really like the one with the water feature and I think we do need more paths. I think we're going to need some sort of garden landscaper person as I don't think I'm up for it.

Please don't get fake grass. I hate that so many people are replacing nature with plastic

No, I wouldn’t get fake grass. I do like grass. Though we do have quite a lot!

I wouldn’t try and plant anything directly in front of the hedge for that reason; the soil is often too lacking in nutrients and combined with heavy shade most plants just won’t do well.

I would plant shade tolerant plants like heucheras directly in the ground 1 and a half to 2 feet in front of the hedge with paving stones or shingle behind them, DH could step over the heucheras (they don’t grow too tall) and stand on the stones to trim the hedge without squashing any plants and heucheras are really gorgeous, they come in pretty much all colours.
I have acid green ones and they are very easy maintenance.

Do you have children or pets? Where is the sun in the evening? Are you good at keeping on top of mowing? I'm not great with plants but the questions above will determine good ideas from bad ie if you have dogs dont get bark, you can't search out the poo very easily haha 😂

No kids.
Yes to a dog.
The far end of the garden gets the most sun.

And yes, we keep on top of the mowing.

Also how do you use your garden or plan to, do you entertain friends, relax during the day, or just hang washing out sorry if this comes on twice I wrote it and it disappeared.

I would cut the hedge - the constant maintenance and shade would outweigh the cost for me. If you're doing it on your own, then I would be tempted to cut it down to stumps and then plant lavender or something similarly low maintenance and sizeable to hide the stumps.

I'd put in a nice path, and keep the grass in the lower section. I'd do something more interesting with the top half - a BBQ area, herbs and rockery, a couple of fruit or nut trees etc - and put in some sort of divide between the two areas.

A seating area in the corner of the garden opposite the outbuilding might be nice - it seems to be the suntrap (from your picture at least).

The hedge has to go. A fence will be a good investment.

leave the hedge, it will be a good habitat for birds etc.

First, I'd pick a spot for the patio that is sunny and not too far from the house. And then make that stone covering the full width of the garden. Then you can have pots of herbs / flowers on the patio to enjoy - lavender is good.

Just after that, I'd have some low-maintenance shrubs on the sunny side of the garden away from the hedge - Cistus and Philadephus. And then the lawn after the shrubs.

But start slowly with the bits nearest the house and then do the work gradually over several years. that will give you time to see what works and for things to settle in.

At the moment we pretty much just hang the washing out in it.

I'd like to sit out in it more. The noisy neighbours used to annoy me too much but I've discovered noise cancelling headphones and think I'd now spend more time sat out there reading.

I would also get rid of the hedge. A fence doesn’t such regular maintenance and the hedge looks quite dominating.

Definitely better to plant into the ground than in pots if you’re lax with watering. Pots need watering every day in warm weather. I would have some borders along the edge of the garden instead, with colourful shrubs that can be left with little to no maintenance. Put a weed membrane down and no weeding required.

I'd get rid of the hedge, too. Conifers do make the ground difficult to grow anything for a while.

You need to work out where you get the sun at the time of day you would most want to be out there, put the patio there and work round it.

I'd probably have honeysuckle - mine is just coming into flower and smells gorgeous in the evening.

In the autumn, I'd plant spring bulbs, because that early colour in the garden is important, and once they're in, you can leave them to it.

This is a bit of a long game one but in autumn put crocus and other small bulbs In the ground under the grass. Then when it's bleak winter there will be little flowers popping up everywhere.

If you make a flower bed or border make it really nice and deep - it will look generous and have more impact, plus room to leave a 60cm+ path at the back for hedge maintenance (if you decide to keep it). Skinny borders look mean and pointless.

Maybe a couple of semi-circular beds along the sides? Full with low maintenance shrubs, one third evergreen to retain some winter interest.

Ok I think keep the conifers, and knock down the out houses sort of like this, the coloured in purple lines either pebbles or flowers and the bits I have drawn around the pond are supposed to be large rocks, move the shed to near the house.

I’m guessing the budget doesn’t stretch to adding some decking or a patio? I think ideally you need a nice sitting area. The deck chair in the middle of the lawn is a bit unusual...😄

If you have a nice area to sit in, it would incentivise you to be out there.

I’d also plant some borders where you face, and then plant some pretty flowers. You could also get some climbers to go over the fence and add some interest.