Ideas and suggestions please!

[Bunnyfuller]

We have approx 20sq m at the top of the garden that is doing nothing. It was a wreck of old crap left by the previous owner combined with nettles which we’ve had cleared and levelled.

We are really stuck what to do with it.

We already have a large patio with a metal and glass gazebo and other seating area.

The bit of land is up at the end of the garden, with neighbours garden next to it, we wouldn’t want to have a sitting area up there.

We were toying with the idea of raised beds with pebbles and pathways in between, but honestly, neither of us are super keen on gardening.

We don’t have the money at the moment to make it into a hone office/den etc.

We do want to put some English hedgerow trees/bushes along the back fence, and we’re kern on wildlife, but don’t want to go back to the jungle it was previously!

The rest of the garden is lawn, trees and some shrubs/flowers dotted around. Garden for a 1900s semi so garden is huge, have a large shed and a couple of wood sheds too.

Help me, world of MN!

Anyone?!

Photo would be really helpful.

Lawn, so easy to mow? You could make it a bit more interesting and wildlife friendly by leaving it to grow and just cutting it back late in the season (September) although you would probably need a strimmer. Could add suitable wildflowers there - but what will thrive will depend on you soil/sunnyness etc. If you mow a border round most of it it will look deliberate rather than just a mess (but do leave some long bits as a wildlife corridor).

I wouldn't go the pebbles and raised beds route - pebbles/gravel whether over membrane or not gets very weedy which is very irritating. And raised beds are just more gardening - and will cost money.

Also you will get much more traffic if you ask HQ to pop this over to Gardening!

A small veg plot, even if you’re not into gardening, growing just salad leaves is really easy and means having them fresh all summer.

Or a small wildlife pond, and plant meadow flowers. Let grass grow long with mown paths. Dave goulsons book on this is very good.

If it’s visible from the back of house, maybe something architectural, or a statue, specimen plant, or moving water. We have planted a living willow arch in our garden.

Good luck and have fun.

Pop a photo on op xx

Shove a fence or 6' trellis across the garden with access at one side behind a hedge and build an insect den, let some stuff grow wildly, chuck a bee bomb on it to get some wild flowers, hang some bird feeders of different types, make a couple of hedgehog houses... you'll get the wildlife but won't have to see the shitty mess it takes to have it. Win win!

@BlissfullyIgnorant

That’s a really good idea!

@sleepymum50
Like the idea of the veg plot, but not the weeding. We had a pond at the last place we were in and a bit too hard work on the weed etc. Maybe a small one for toads tho (we have one in the garden).

I will post a pic tomorrow, a bit dark now 😂

@Bunnyfuller You're welcome! And you can always add an old dustbin lid or two with some rocks/pebbles so local amphibians have somewhere to chill and the birds can bathe

What about planting a couple of fruit trees or something? Not too much work but hopefully a nice crop in a few years - could potentially add some raspberry canes or gooseberry bushes ah well?

I don't think you can grow proper wild flower meadows anywhere that's been previously fertilised can you? I thought they needed poor quality soil.

If you want go low maintenance, probably shrubs and ground cover. Guelder rose (Viburnum opulus, not V opulus sterilis), wayfaring tree (V lantana), honeysuckle, sweet briar with scented leaves are all natives. Bark path for access, especially if you wanted to hang birdfeeders in there.

One of the outstanding gardens in the UK was York Gate in Leeds. The owner completely put me off large pebbles as an underlay for shrub planting by describing how she took them all up every year to get rid of the accumulated dead leaves and other crap. Gravel/small pebbles are an excellent germination bed, not good if you don’t like weeding

This is the pics of the area.

Spoke to DH about the wild area, he likes too, combined with an apple tree 😊😊😊😊

Thanks all