Anyone fancy designing my garden?!

[Tigger83]

Hi all.

Just bought a new house and have an entirely blank canvas garden... and feeling bit intimidated by it. We're having the trees taken out as the pines are huge and fruit trees so old they're no good. We will be replacing. It gets sun all day.

So requirements:

Kids garden/play area including climbing frame, mud kitchen, Wendy house, etc

Outdoor dining area including seating for 12 pizza oven and bbq

Fruit trees, raised beds and green house

Water feature

I like cottage style planting with a modern twist (so not really twee)

Oh and it's 30m long by 16m wide approx

You are not going to fit all that in there, space is too small.
Trees are the best thing abt that garden. Take them out and its a boring lawn.
Mud kitchens and kids play area rarely get used.

Please leave the trees. They are giving so much to that garden, including imaginative play for the kids.

Which way does what face? North/south, and where are the key sight lines from the house? I think we need a diagram. And I agree about at least some of the trees, they will make a much better play area + treehouse/swing opportunities than a blank slate. + bring in wildlife and give you noise screening. And I can see a lot of opportunities for hammocks out there.

I agree. Those trees are really doing a lot of hard work making that garden interesting. Loads of chances for hammocks and tree houses (even built on the floor/around a trunk). Made more beautiful with some woodland underplanting. My god! What I wouldn't give for such a feature in my own garden .

Old fruit trees are the best fruit trees, often. They just need proper management and they often start to fruit better than any new ones will for many years. There is a reason orchards tend to be made of old stock.

Lots of great inspiration in places like Chelsea Flower Show where modern is often married with cottage or woodland planting to give idea.

We've had a tree surgeon out and unfortunately the fruit trees are beyond saving I would love to try as I love them but we have been advised there is nothing we can do as some are diseased.

The pines are just too big, we could perhaps leave one on the side but honestly they are forest size huge and although I love the trees they are just too big. If we take the tops out of them they'd look really odd.

I will ask the tree surgeon again if there is anything we can do and agree with the adventure play/tree house etc just don't see how we can do it safely. The pines are very close to the house too....

Makes sense.

Then I think you're gonna have to see what you're going to be left with, in terms of any trees or any stumps. Pine stumps can be buggers to dig out and remove - which may be a consideration.

You then work round what you have left.

Full sun all day often means som areas do get better morning/evening sub and it's worth placing your seating areas based on your preference. If you'd like evening sun then put your seating where you'll get it.

If, like me, you find evening sun a bit much and would prefer to sit in the shade looking out onto a garden of sun then position for that.

Children's needs change as they grow so worth thinking about how you will change or undo any play areas for them as they get older.

Soil type may be the same all over but gardens do tend to have drier areas and wetter areas. Worth understanding this to try and get your fruit trees where they will get the most moisture (unless it's very boggy). Makes a difference to the fruit you can expect.

Water feature: both child safety and sun levels are a consideration and will depend on what kind of feature. But too much sun can result in algae in an empty feature. Too little can result in poor plant growth in a more natural/wildlife type feature.

@GonnaNeedABiggerGoat thanks! We're going to have the stumps ground out. We'll have another look at what fruit trees we may be able to save... not holding out lots of hope. With the kids area in the future was planning on using the space for a summer house for them to hang out in.

How best do I zone a garden do you think? I don't just want a massive lawn with beds round the outside.... my gardens previously have been lovely but quite traditional in the sense of straight beds round the outside and I'm looking to try and do something different...

I agree with your decision to remove the existing trees. They are too much. They might look nice in a picture but actually living with them is a different kettle of fish. I'll bet your neighbours will love you!

How best do I zone a garden do you think? I don't just want a massive lawn with beds round the outside.... my gardens previously have been lovely but quite traditional in the sense of straight beds round the outside and I'm looking to try and do something different...
Here's a webpage about lawn design. Some designs are good, some not-so but, hopefully, you will get some inspiration from the 20 offerings.
You could look at Pinterest, too.
On a practical note, be aware that a boring rectangle is the quickest to mow. Interesting shapes, curved edges and island-beds will take longer.

Is something my company can do.
How much are you expecting to pay?

I have PMed you Op.

We had a pine tree taken down recently - they made the trunk into a picnic area - stumps as stools/table and a couple of benches - all from the tree trunk. Looks lovely and I like that it's from the garden itself.

The trunks don't look straight but you may find enough for this.

Or simply like this

I would probably have a patio with dining area and pizza oven directly by the house. Next to that a small formal lawn surrounded by cottage garden flowers and shrubs. Beyond that, further into the garden some fruiting trees with a den, tree swing, climbing frame, mud kitchen and hammock dotted around between the trees. Where possible I’d keep things made of wood and rustic. Allotment, shed, greenhouse, water butts at the end of the garden.

however it depends on which way the garden faces.

You could also scrap the lawn completely, have a large patio type area surrounded by cottage garden. Fruit trees planted in a wild flower meadow and a path mowed through leading to a hidden fire pit with rustic seating. Beyond that a veg plot, shed, green house.

I think it's beautiful! I wouldn't do a thing.

Thevtree on the right looks like a Douglas fir - which can grow to 50 m.
I'd remove them all.
Graph paper would be useful - then you can mark on trees and shrubs and put a rough outline of their width after, 5 years. So things aren't too close together. Then you can plant less exciting , possibly faster growing things around them which you take out over the years as they outgrow the space.
Also you can put on sun direction. So as you probably bbq late afternoon you can position it for late summer sun ( or not). Perhaps shade is good for children's sand pit. Sun for bench. Also plant tree/s for privacy.

I like a more natural planting of trees and shrubs but a flower bed visible from the kitchen / lounge window would be nice.

Please don't remove those trees. They are habitat for wildlife and really give character to the yard.

Agree with getting rid of the trees, they aren’t right for the house. I’d probably keep one…plant trees more in keeping and interesting.

think about patio, bbq area, veg area and a pond. Look at middle sized garden blog.

I’d put a variegated Cornus in, a acer griseum for winter interest , 3 Himalayan or similar birch in, a flowering spring tree and think about evergreen structure. Also great some screening so you don’t see the whole garden. I loved as a kid having a secret patch behind the bushes….

Can you post a plan of garden & exterior of house including door / access / north orientation etc. that would be much easier to comment on.

Thanks so much for all your interesting comments. Will come back to you after work! We will definitely be replanting trees to maintain habitats for wildlife and also have a huge hedge which we will be keeping that runs the length of the garden front to back. Im also hoping that introducing water will improve things for the wildlife too.

We will be keeping the pine. A lot to season for next year for the wood burner but love the idea of using some for furniture.

If I'm standing with my back to the house looking down the garden the compass points east.

Maybe consider whether any of the trunks could be useful to provide structure for the play area? You could cut them to a particular height and build on top?