Help me plan my front

[B0D]

After many years, I’m determined to replant my front garden this Autumn /Spring.

today the last of the rubbish is being cleared and it’s almost a blank canvas.

its 3 m wide x 4 m and east facing. fairly open aspect with a hedge about 5 ft on one boundary. We are on a semi busy residential B road. It’s a period property with black iron railings,
I want to put a small tree thinking of a crab apple toward the front boundary and keep the rest low maintenance.
At present there are some irises at the front and lots of California poppies seeded. in summer loads of blue campanula in the walls I have to keep on top of. There are some tough weeds ( some kind of small bindweed ) and a paved area for bins across the width nearest the house.

So far I’m planning to enrich the soil with manure a plant a tree in Autumn and possibly some spring bulbs . Also I’m wondering if I should put down a weed suppressant fabric at the same time and leave it over winter before planting again in Spring.

I thought this was going to be about breast implants. 🤣

yes to the membrane, you can put bark chippings over it. Or pea gravel.

How about a mini fruit tree so that it has more shape and is less unwieldily and in need of pruning?

consult a gardening calendar and choose plants which offer colour and interest all year round.

If your house is a period property, I'd be tempted to go with an English cottage garden look, or some structure, with box hedging/topiary and paving.

The small bindweed is convolvulus aka morning glory. You will need to get rid of that before you do anything. It will grow out from under weed membrane, paving slabs and tangle into you plants. Round up tough weeds is the way to go.

@TheGirlattheBack
yes, I’m generally not a user of chemicals but have been digging this out for a couple of years to no avail. I’m hoping Round up won’t kill everything in the area?

I am the same about chemicals but it really is the only thing that gets rid of it. If it’s growing too close to other things that you can’t get a clear shot, gather up the leaves into a plastic bag and spay into the bag. You can leave the bag on until it’s dry and won’t transfer to other plants.

The roots can be up to 13 feet long so digging it up is impossible.