Long narrow family garden... how to stop it looking like a green corridor

[LeeMiller]

We are in the process of buying a house with a longish narrow garden which is a blank canvas (patio, then a big expanse of grass (or currently weeds) and shed at far end). I’ve looked on Pinterest etc for inspiration but while there are some incredible narrow town/terracegardens a lot are a bit over landscaped with too much space given over to pathways, and not terribly practical for young kids. DS is 2 and loves running and kicking a ball so I want to leave as much grass as possible while avoiding a bland corridor effect.What are your tips/tricks?Anyone fancy showing me their garden?

I’m hoping I don’t have to give up on my ‘mini sissinghurst’ dream until DS leaves home

Interlocking circles is the way to go, with something large like a pergola or small tree (or even the shed) about halfway down to bring in a focal point and stop the eye being led straight down to the bottom.

Break it up into 'rooms' and you won't have to try and accomplish it all at once either.

Forgot to mention - try and avoid straight lines that lead down the garden and use curves or diagonals instead. You could leave the entire bottom end as just grass.

I had a long garden like this and made use of curved edges and a meandering path.

Excuse the washing line, that was usually put away !

Break it up, have a patio with seating at one end, and maybe consider something at the other end like a pond (if safe).

Friend who had similar had various vantage points where she put in paving stones/sundial/reflective mirror etc to add 'interest'.

Thanks all!

Your garden is lovely @TheDogsMother , I actually mistook the washing machine for some kind of parasol or hammock till you mentioned it :) Ours will be a bit narrower than that, especially at the far end as it tapers towards the shed (currently a laundry room but eventually to become my home office). The curved shapes are really nice and gentle.

We have a potted fig tree I want to put into the ground, perhaps that coud go halfway down.

Ideas for 'rooms' that I'd like to include (aside from lawn space for DS) are a small potager area, a mud kitchen/sandpit area for DS, perhaps a shady bench or space for loungers. We'll put a pergola, table and chairs on the patio... Tap and tool shed are at the far end. Beyond light/shade, are there any pratical reasons for the 'rooms' to go in a particular order?

@LeeMiller thank you. This was my last garden and at this house we have the opposite problem, a wide garden but not very deep. In that last garden I also had table and chairs on the patio, the shed and log piles at the very end and a small seating area half way down. I think the only thing that really influenced this was how much sun each area of the garden got. In your case perhaps the lawn area nearest the house then DS play area so you can easily keep an eye on him. Potager beyond that as you won't need to access it all the time but you could incorporate a nice little seating area where you can take a break and admire your hard work. The fig tree would be great to draw the eye though they can get a bit unruly so would need to be kept in shape.

Garden Rescue

I think they had long gardens on Garden Rescue recently.

In previous programmes, I’m sure they had grass circles, or a winding path that broke it up.

Monty Don’s Big Dreams, Small Spaces series are excellent for this kind of inspiration.
(think they might only be accessible on Amazon prime though at the moment)

Ooh great, will get watching once DS is in bed.

Beyond light/shade, are there any practical reasons for the 'rooms' to go in a particular order?

Bins are better kept within a reasonable distance of the back door - you don't want to be having to traipse a long way on a dark wet winter's night to put the rubbish out. And preferably don't have a gravel path as it makes it difficult to wheel the bins out.

A veg patch needs to have access to a water supply, and think about electricity supply to outdoor buildings too - it pays to install that early on in the planning. If you have grass at the end of the garden and an electric lawnmower, you will thank me for this

A sunny spot near the kitchen door is a good place for a herb garden, otherwise put it near a seating area, as herbs smell lovely in the sunshine. They do quite well in pots anyway.

If there is to be a sandpit then think about how to cover it when it isn't in use, otherwise the local cats might use it as a litter tray.

Don't site a barbecue so close to the house that all the smoke comes in the windows (either yours or your neighbour's), but don't have it so far down the garden that it's a nuisance to carry all the food down there. It's best not to have it under overhanging tree branches either.

The washing line is best sited near a paved area and within a reasonable laundry-carrying distance from the house.

Think about storage for things like bikes, outdoor toys, garden tools, watering cans etc.

Basically, make a list of all the things you need, the things you'd like to have, and then compare all that with what you've got now.

No pressure

Amazing advice @Yamadori! Lots of practical stuff to think about. This will be our first garden bigger than a postage stamp - we've mostly been container-gardening on balconies and terraces - so I may be a tad overexcited. Water and electrics are sorted so it's just the small matter of the rest....

I am going to spend a few evenings with Monty Don and make a list.

Sun and light is the primary thing. But if they will get enough sun, herbs near the back door is useful. I's herd to summon motivation on a wet winter evening to walk half way down garden for a bayleaf and a handful of oregano.

Some sort of seat near the back door is good - you'll wander outside with a cup of coffee or your lunch if you're sitting outside, if you have to carry it all the way down the garden to the main seating area, you'll probably go outside only for "special" meals.

Herbs near the door makes sense. There will be a table and chairs on the patio for easy access from the kitchen.

Is a path necessary? What about stepping stones? I don’t want to sacrifice too much grass but maybe a path has more play value (scooters etc) than stepping stones. I’m assuming nothing is annoying when it’s muddy and you want to hang laundry out or fetch something from the shed.

Both our gardens have been long and thin, and we've almost literally broken it into rooms - in our current one we have a trellis dividing the lawn area from the next area which is a sort of parterre with (originally) vegetables and apple trees, then the "woodland" (a few ornamental trees beyond that.

The longest section was the lawn, and that looked more interesting once we transplanted a mature lilac to half way down, and added a couple of smaller bushes, so you no longer walked straight down the lawn but round a curve instead.

We had a climbing frame with a slide on the lawn when the children were young, but once the youngest was sensible enough not to fall off, and the slide was a bit babyish for them (when the youngest was about 4) we moved it into the woodland area up against a tree trunk so it operated as a sort of tree house. Or whatever else their imagination made of it.

Your garden sounds amazing @MereDintofPandiculation ... I don’t think I could cram in a woodland, it’s really not that big at all, but I am thinking I could add curves to the lawn with a fig tree and pomegranate bushes we already have growing in pots as a first step. I dream of a potager in a formal parterre style (if that description makes sense)... but I think a raised bed might be more realistic.
I am resigned to DS’ play stuff ‘spoiling’ my perfect garden for the next few years but moving stuff out of sight as soon as he’s old enough is a good call.

Starting to feel inspired now!

What about stepping stones? They're fine. Grass will always try to expand over the path or stepping stones, and there's more edges in stepping stones, so a bit more work on maintenance. Make sure the stepping stones are level or slightly below the grass surface so they don't get in the way of the mower. Yes, you do need something else the grass will turn into mud in the winter, and the muddy strip will get wider as you walk wide of it to try to avoid getting your shoes muddy.

Raised beds in a parterre style works.

Remember to use buried paving slabs or similar to limit the fig's root growth, helps to limit size and encourage fruiting. Check whether the pomegranates will survive over winter where you are.

More than one seating area is good, somewhere to walk to, gives you more than one view of the garden. We have chairs and a small table on the terrace outside the back door, the main seating area on another terrace behind the garage and greenhouse, then a couple of benches at the end of the lawn area, one each side facing in different directions, then a horribly uncomfortable stone bench at the end of the veg/orchard area, and, in summer, a hammock in the "woodland". Was nice in lockdown - a bit of variety to take our lunch to a different seat each day.

I know that makes our garden sound huge, and it is a decent size for a town garden, but it's not enough to express it as a sensible fraction of an acre. I think it's a quarter of a rood

Thank you @MereDintofPandiculation I admit I had to google a rood! Our garden will be smaller but not dramatically, so I’m inspired about how much you fitted in. DH is also very keen on the idea of a stone bench under an arbor, though I know we’d always sit on the loungers. Would be pretty though.

Thanks for the tip about the fig!

I've just watched Love your Garden in Bolton, lady was a RSPCA inspector. She had a long narrow garden which was split into different rooms. Worth a watch!

Creating a series of "rooms" is good. Alternatively, I was once in a great garden of this type which had all the plants in the middle and a path going all the way round it. The greenery was quite high in places.

Alternatively, I was once in a great garden of this type which had all the plants in the middle and a path going all the way round it. The greenery was quite high in places. That's doing the same as "rooms" in a different way - making sure you're not just looking along a long narrow stretch. Anything to make sure you can only see a bit at a time. Because a long length will make the plot look narrower.

Would some different heights work?
Put your herbs into a rockery, built up to one side?

Thanks for the tip @sparklystarshinebright , I'll try to watch that episode

I think plants will need to be mostly at the sides to maximise lawn space for DS.

Contemplating ways to divide it up. DH is very keen on box hedges but I'm nt sure we're skilled enough... I might let him try some around a kitchen garden area. I like a cottagey look so thinking about soft barriers/dividers through curved beds and plant, plus our fig and maybe a dwarf fruit tree or two.

Does anyone have any tips for doing a scale plan? I'd like to do some sketches of shapes etc but I'm terrible at judging size/distance. Any apps or websites, or is some graph paper my best bet?