Can you help me fix our sad, sorry front yard?

[MovingToPlan]

Pictures show the view from the front door, which is dreary and depressing for us going in and out, and not a great welcome for visitors either!

We only just moved in a few months ago, so have been taken up with lots of other things, but this is starting to really get to us. (and I feel like it will be even more depressing in the winter..)

It's northwest facing, so whatever plants we add need to be happy with that.

Things we've discussed so far -

1. remove the paint from the wall, and repoint the brick. The house is on a steep sloping hill, and that wall is holding back a road.
2. At the very least power wash the asphalt but eventually I'd like to replace the flooring entirely. Not sure what with, mind.
3. Wooden bin store
4. Some kind of seating area with an ornamental tree, maybe a small barrel pond to encourage wildlife out there
5. pollinator friendly plants in the raised bed areas
6. New gate

It's a large space crying out for love and attention. Any clever ideas would be gratefully received!

We'd like to do most of the work ourselves, I'm very much a 'have a go' type person but the wall does make me a tad nervous due to its size and the importance of it being solid.

I'm a big fan of climbing plants like jasmine, honeysuckle. You could put some up that tall wall

Yes, that would be lovely. :)

I'd clean everything, spray weeds to kill roots etc., to see what condition everything is in, then do any remedial works. The wall I'd ensure was a breathable paint / finish and not white but something that is softer colourwise. Put up trellis or boxes to the bottom (we made ours out of decking boards) and then trellis up the walls with climbing plants (ones that will wind round the trellis not into the wall. Possibly mirrors too on the walls. For the bins, a store where you can grow sedum on the roof of the bin store. You can get weatherproof plastic mats, but once the boxes etc., table in place, you'll probably not notice the asphalt (which needs a good clean too.

It has great structure with the lovely solid walls. Repaint the white one, which has peeling paint. if you can afford it, pave the whole area. If not, find a light coloured exterior paint . Then use lots of tubs to add colour and greenery. Plant jasmine, honeysuckle and solanum over the walls. Add cafe table and chairs. It will be very pretty

The sandstone wall and balustrade to your left is beautiful- your design should get people looking in that direction by having some feature in that corner I reckon.

This..don't completely cover that wall as its a beautiful feature and caught my eye immediately.

Paint the other wall in the same shade. If you can cover the floor with large stone tiles in a similar colour..that may be too expensive at the moment. Leave spaces in it for small trees/ shrubs. It could be a fabulous spot so don't panic..see it as a project..ongoing.

Assuming you don't mind spending a bit of money on it, I would lean into the courtyard feeling and...

a) remove the paint and repoint, as you suggest. Or go the other way and resurface and paint it white.
b) remove the asphalt and cobblestone or brick the floor

Then scatter with potted plants and small potted tree or two. A bit like...

And yes, make an absolute feature of the sandstone wall! It's a gem.

Just to be certain about the direction - NW is the direction of the low wall?

What sun did it get in late June? What time, where? What sun is it getting now? You talked about feeling winter would be depressing- can I suggest winter jasmine, Jasminium nudiflorum, small yellow flowers all through winter and early spring, and quite happy on a N wall (you can tie it to a trellis)

concentrate your plants for pollinators in the sunniest areas. Use a variety of foliage shapes and textures for the main interest in the shadier areas - as a rule of thumb, silver variegated leaves are ok in shade, gold variegated revert to green.

I was going to suggest what FountainsOfPens said - totally go for the mediterranean courtyard vibe. With that wall and balustrade, I'd go Italianate. As icing on the cake, I suggest that you incorporate the sound of moving water.

The trouble with painting a wall is that once you've done it then you have to re-do it every few years. It's easy painting a blank wall; it's not so easy painting a wall that is covered in climbers.

Find something to go in the niche.

For flooring, if it's a budget makeover, have a look at the IKEA interlocking decking tiles. Set out a patio area from one of the straight walls, and infill the gaps with plants in pots.

Great advice above. If it’s mostly shady then concentrate on lush green stuff - ferns, hostas and hydrangeas are a good start.

Assuming you are there for the long term and don’t need to use the space for parking, I would work towards something that makes you feel uplifted and pleasantly surprised every time you open the gate. A secret garden that you can use.

I would spend money on getting the wall restored/structurally checked/repointed given how much weight it is supporting.

If being used by the kids to play basketball etc, I would add some elegant pots/toughs and planters in the short term, pressure wash the asphalt, string up some festival lights to welcome you home when you open the gate. And a bistro table and chairs for coffee and contemplating Stage 2.

Long term I would add some larger, deeper, more curved beds that will trick the eye into not seeing the whole space at once, add some water with movement so you hear it too, plant with some small trees, poss espaliered fruit on the currently painted wall, evergreen shrubs and pollinator friendly perennials (buddleia, salvia, lavender, penstemon) as well as the climbers mentioned above. Daphne near the front door smells divine in deep winter. Add an outside tap if there isn’t one, a bench, permanent electrics/lighting plus irrigation system. It’s got so much potential!

The wall and balustrade is beautiful and framing that and borrowing from beyond the space will really bring it all together.

ahh these are amazing ideas, thank you. I need to pay more attention to where the sun hits throughout the day so I can plan accordingly, thanks for that reminder.

That sandstone wall is part of the neighbour's house, I agree it's lovely - apparently it was taken from a Georgian property after it was demolished many many years ago, then added to the front of that one. It gives them a bit of a terrace.

definitely paint all the walls the same pale honey colour as the sandstone, I would be careful re climbers as some are detrimental to walls, if facing NW hostas in tubs with a copper band as slugs love them but they don't need sun, power washing tar mac to start with if more funds then paving, do you actually park vehicles there too as that would influence what replaces tarmac

No, we don't need to use that space for parking. These ideas are really making me feel excited about fixing it up. We are here for the long-haul, so I like the idea of planning it out in stages.

The white wall looks like it's got lots of loose render on it, if you remove that and repoint it may not be pretty underneath. I would just take back all the loose render and repair then paint it, then grow climbers up it.

I think you need to give consideration to the floor. It is access to the front door so it has to be pedestrian-friendly; no slippy or uneven surfaces. It will also be a large area (though you could add in some beds) so it needs to be easy-clean; something where you don't need to be continually weeding the cracks.
On the easy-clean theme, courtyards aren't like normal gardens. It is an idea to choose evergreens so you aren't permanently sweeping up leaves.

The right floor will make all the difference to that space.

I'd definitely add a bench in amongst the ideas here. A focal point and a place to escape where no one will think of looking for you!

Agree on ferns as they will love those conditions and be low maintenance.

If you go for jasmine, look at the evergreen variety for coverage all year.

Pots, pots and lots more BIG pots. Winter flowing jasmine, verigated holly, sarcococco, all great for brightening up winter days and scenting the garden.
Honeysuckle will be lovely for summer evenings and encouraging pollinators. You could plant lots of woodland bulbs, calla and hosta tend to be tolerant of northerly aspects! Primroses are cheerful souls and brighten up an early spring morning, as do aconites, again although they do well in full sunshine, mine still brighten up my north facing border.
Summer flowing in north facing, can be a bit more of a challenge, you can get some roses which will tolerate a shady corner.
I have large fibre glass pots, they look like terracotta ones, but they don't crack in frost, are much lighter to move around, tend to hold water better in summer and have good drainage. Mine are 20+ years old now, they were cheaper than the same sized terracotta ones, but I don't know how that compares with modern prices.

for pots - remember that they will need watering. So either go big, so they hold the water, or as you set them up, set up an irrigation system (like pubs have for their hanging baskets) so all you need to do it turn on the tap and they all get watered.

I am loving these ideas, thank you all so much. :) Really excited at the thought of blooms across the seasons, evergreens over winter, and a nice spot for a cup of tea in the afternoons where nobody will find me. 😁

The ideal solution for the tarmac would be to cover it with patio slabs, decking or similar, but you would need to carefully check where your damp course is and make sure that it is not covered by raising the ground surface.

Agree with a pp about getting someone out to structurally check that wall with the peeling paint and holes in the render, and to advise on what needs to be done to it.

If you choose evegreens, you are permanently sweeping up leaves because they drop all year. Deciduous confine their shedding to the autumn.

evergreens have longer lasting leaves so you get a fraction of a tree-full spread over the year rather than a whole treeful over 3 weeks

Summer flowing in north facing, can be a bit more of a challenge, you can get some roses which will tolerate a shady corner. I have Rosa Mundi on a N facing wall. Red and white stripes.