Garden design/planting

[samwi123]

Hi everyone, need some advice and inspo! Sadly can’t afford to do much more than dig out the beds and buy some plants rather than full on landscaping but thought I’d ask for some ideas. We have a really long, narrow garden. There is a small bed already by the patio with a beautiful ceanothus and cordyline on it however they were planted by previous owners and now too big so I am thinking of moving them and just having perennials in that border. plan so far is roughly a border up the long side of the garden and another border at the top going across the garden horizontally followed by a gravelled area near the shed. We are on chalk and the garden recieves full sun

I'm not sure ceanothus likes having its roots messed with, and if you are going to move anything big, early autumn would be the best time to do it.

Yeah I did think that. It’s sad it’s been planted where it is as it unfortunately blocks all the light coming into the house as it’s elevated where it is too

You could draw a side view to show height of trees as where you plant them will have different effects in the long run.

Personally I would stick shrubs in a triangle across bottom corner - not fancy ones just ones so you are looking at green not fence -amelanchier tree, flowering cherry, rhododendron, hawthorn, field maple (native). You have a lot of space, and I’d make an island of plants half way up to break it up , so if triangle on left, island on right
But there’s space for sand pit, bbq area, pond, seating area. And near the house climbers on fence, clematis,roses.

We have a really long, narrow garden ... plan so far is roughly a border up the long side of the garden
A long border up the side will only accentuate how long and narrow the garden is. As Scintella says, you should think about planting across the width, which will break up the length.

If you want inspiration on planting across the width, look up GardenThirtyThree on instagram. Their back garden is beautiful and broken up horizontally with fencing and planting.

Your ceanothus can be pruned, but it depends which type it is at the when you can do that
Pruning ceanothus

To make a garden feel bigger, you need to create a journey through it. So instead of doing a straight path do one that curves through it and you can then create borders on each side. That way you don't see the whole garden in one. Picture three on this link shows what I am on about

Find out where the sun is at the end of the day and have a seating area there, even if its just a bench. It's lovely to be able to just sit there to enjoy the last rays.

Yes a curving route through or a series of rooms. We have a long garden in rooms - courtyard, pergola, lawn, raised veg beds greenhouse, pond and flower beds with sitting area.
We have climbing roses, tall shrubs and fruit tress dotted around for height.
Pinterest has some good ideas for long, narrow gardens.

Agree with @Beebumble2. Create interest.Have more than 1 sitting area. Do you know where the sun goes?

Keeping the current set up would be easiest if funds are limited.
Making some design tweaks, with areas that could be developed over time could enhance the space and disguise the narrow layout.
Such as
Planting across the space, rather than along the length
Widen the path and fill with pea gravel and offset slabs - sounds counter intuitive to narrow the lawn further, but the textures of the path would catch the eye and offset slabs would make the area seem wider.
Larger planting beds with small winding paths for interest and easy access - cheaper and much easier than trying to install a long curved path throughout the garden.

I'd break it up, so you can't see it all. Think figure of 8 lawn. Borders planted with a mix of shrubs and herbaceous. Could have a rose arch at the narrow point. Pond pot for the wildlife? Bee friendly plants as much as possible. Raised veg bed at the bottom maybe? Visit a few gardens under the NGS if you can for some inspiration.

Who uses the garden?
Adults? Children?

What do they do in the garden?
Play games, read, sunbath, eat, socialise, gardening, hanging up washing, composting food waste, picking herbs, fruit or veg to cook with?

When do they use the garden?
Morning coffee on a terrace or dinner and drinks after work catching the last of the sun? All day Saturday playing football?

Think about these before planting anything.

How about thinking in a series of overlapping circles of different sizes? A pp's suggestion of a figure of eight is good. In a long, narrow space, you need to avoid straight lines running down the garden, whether it is a long border or a path, or whatever. They make the garden look longer and thinner. It also helps to include a focal point part way down, to draw the eye. Pergola, statue, lovely tree, something like that.