Help with front garden, I'm clueless!

[emelsie]

Terrible front garden and I am a complete gardening novice , the area was full of weeds which I am slowly beginning to pull up , what next? A weed membrane ? And gravel/slate/wood chip? Should I try to grow grass?

There is a tall brick wall to the front which gives privacy and the area is quite the sun trap so was thinking of a bench/chairs ?

Any ideas please? Thanks!

Picture

Depends how much maintenance you want to do. Grass will obviously need mowing regularly spring to autumn. We've put membrane down and some pink-tinged stones on our front garden as we'd rather concentrate on the back garden, not have to mow etc. You could add pots to provide colour or plant some small shrubs which won't take much effort

Obviously it's all a matter of taste but I think plants look a million times better than gravel, slate etc and are much better for the environment. Grass can be a faff to look after and does not offer the same level of diversity for wildlife that a range of plants do.

It's easy to have a low maintenance front garden which looks natural and is bee friendly.

How big is the area? Does it have paving? Are there any plants that you want to keep and what kinds of plants do you like?

If you want to keep it simple to maintain but nicer to look at then get the weeds out, put down a member range and a layer of wood chip to suppress (won't eliminate but will help) weed re growth.

I would then get gravel and put that over the top and get some big bright coloured beautiful pots or troughs and do potted plants.

I would put shrubs in, ones that don't need much looking after but will provide year round interest. I love lavender, salvia, rosemary and there are some lovely evergreen shrubs like hebe or pyracantha which are good for wildlife.

Grass is a bit dull and takes work to keep it nice tbh, but better than gravel/slate which looks lifeless.

I’d get some nice paving stones and get rid of the grass area as it’s too much maintenance if you aren’t into gardening. Then I’d get a bench and one of those nice padded bench cushions off Amazon or somewhere for when it’s nice. Then lots of pots and planters and a hanging basket with a trailing flower plant?

Thanks for all the replies , yes now thinking about the grass and having to mow so often that's a no no , main priority is low maintenance.

There were shrubs before (pictured below ) they grew very quickly and I couldn't manage them, would block windows at house and get you wet when passing and in a pregnancy rage I got some local teens that were offering garden services to cut them all down (roots are still there) in hindsight I wish I hadn't because I have been left with an eyesore since as I had no plan and then a newborn to look after.

The area is around 2x5m rectangle with the path to the front door running up one side.

I like hydrangeas and lavender but I don't really no the names of anything else

Could I plant straight into that ground?

Thank you

(I keep replying on a different account ) Picture of shrubs before

I would fill it with shrubs - larger at the wall.,low by the path then put bark between . Gravel looks nice but will get leaves in it over time.
But buying lots of shrubs is quite expensive.
Plus I'd put some in with the plan to remove them as they grow so it's not too bear for too long.
Viburnum davidii is good ground cover and evergreen, not fast goeing but v easy. Ends up about 1m high by 1.5 across. Buddleia, deutzia, weigela at the back, rosemary by the oath. Hebe . Lavender.
Or one tree in the middle (you can get tall narrow flowering cherries. ) surrounded by gravel (leaves not such a problem with one tree!

Please don't put down gravel or pave it over! To keep it simple I'd consider seeding a bee-friendly wildflower mix for now, then in early autumn sow some sort of green manure fertilizer crop like alfalfa, mustard or cress to suppress weeds re-emerging and also to improve the soil which looks rather poor from your pic. Lavender, thyme or sage should do well amongst that and will also give you a mini-kitchen garden.

www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/grains/cover-crops/green-manure-2.htm

@GrumpyPanda this sounds like a pretty simple but good plan , would a wildflower seed mix grow in what soil is there currently or do I need to prep it beforehand In anyway? Thanks!

If you are buying shrubs I'd try to look for ones that are slow growing, or will not grow too large. We found some plants overtook our small front garden, meaning there was no longer enough space to sit out.

Is it important to you that the garden stops people from looking in your windows? If so, having something nice in your garden can act as a distraction and mean that people look at that rather than through the windows.

We walked past a house today that had a similar size patch at the side of their drive snd they had done it as a sort of wildflower meadow and we commented how nice it is. Don’t think you’d have to do anything to the soil

Wildflowers generally thrive in poorer soil so you can just give it a quick turn over with a fork to get the rest of the weeds out and break up any chunks of soil with a rake then sow your wildflower mix.

Shrubs are all different sizes and grow at different speeds so don't fear the whole category - some only get six inches tall at full height.
Lavender is a shrub, for example.

Hi emelsie,

as Twig said above I think. Just break it up a bit, get rid of what weeds you can see, and obviously make sure to keep everything well watered after seeding.

Good luck with it. Tbh this looks pretty easy to deal with. I'm in a house that had been rented for several years, with the tenants completely ignoring the front yard. Total mess - not just weed weeds, but most of the plot had been taken over by Canada goldenrod - a very aggressive neophyte that is next to impossible to eradicate by weeding because it's so good at propagating through the root system. Nightmare, some of the sources I looked at said there's basically only two choices, have the entire soil replaced or poison them. I reluctantly went for the latter last year, and the green cover crop thing does seem to help keep them at bay since.

If you want to sit there, I'd get slabs in a suitable sunny area, but not to the edges, and not a rectangle but missing some slabs around the edges, (not explaining myself well). So not rectilinear, I'd put roses, (Iceburg. White, flower 6 months of the year) & clematis growing up the wall, & various different medium & low shrubs in front, easy plants like lavender & giant daisies, Go to the garden center & ask for perennials that are generally bug/ treatment free, & stay low/ easy maintenance, also ask for plants that flower early, others later. You can add in plants as you discover them, (remember to choose your colour theme, ex white with touches of blue/pink pastel etc. Or yellows with touches if white,
You can also put some herbs, thyme, parsley. avoid mint, unless in a pot, it smells lovely but is a triffid
So, the limited maintenance required will be pruning the roses in the autumn.
Get some lamps/birdbath...
Ahhhh, I can picture it ,I love gardening