What to do with this wasted gritted area (see pic)

[Vibbytu]

The fence is NE facing and the area shown is generally shady yet practically everything I plant in the borders flourishs.

I'm wanting to make the gritted area which is 3m square more attractive yet low maintenance, probably removing most of the grit. I like a wildy, country garden look. No pets or children to consider. Already have a pond. Don't want a greenhouse or lawn and have another area for sitting.

Any ideas for design that I can do myself at minimal cost would be much appreciated.

is that a spot that you see from elsewhere, so that you might want a feature like a statue in the middle of it?

or is it a hidden corner that you don't really see.

either way, i'd start by planting more ferns and some ground cover plants like Vinca if you want it to just look after itself.

it could also be a good spot to add some bird feeders? or some kind of statue or sculpture if you get a view of the area. an artistically placed dry tree branch could work. or scrap yards have all sorts of sculptures that don't cost too much

Plant some pots - different sizes and heights. Have some for spring/autumn bulbs, then ferns, hostas etc, may be a taller shrub/tree.

parietal It's a relatively small garden so the current gritted area can be seen

This would make a wonderful woodland feeling area.

How about a couple of Acers underplanted with shade loving plants e.g. foxgloves, bergenia, dientra, London's pride, brunnera, ferns, hellebores, spring bulbs, hostas, sarcococca (sweet box for winter scent), maybe add a climbing hydrangea to the back fence (hydrangea petiolaris doesn't need trellis to climb).

Do you have or could you get a couple of big rocks? In that area they would hopefully get mossy and lichen on them and would look stunning surrounded by ferns and spring bulbs.

If you put in a little bark pathway leading to a wooden bench, a bird bath, some bug hotels you could enjoy sitting there in the shade and greenery watching birds come and go and bees buzzing around.

All the plants I've listed can be bought really cheaply at Morrisons.

OH just noticed you already have a bird bath. You're halfway there already.

I would get a variety of different pots, all different sizes and colours and plant lots of beautiful, leafy and colourful things. Relatively low maintenance but high reward, once in bloom.

My social media algorithm is heavily pushing disco balls in my direction, currently. Thought I am, admittedly, very much the disco ball target market. I'd hang a few of them around the place as well, if I had a nice garden.

I am no gardener but I would probably put a wee table and chairs there

If you remove most of the grit or mix it in to improve drainage then make a woody shaded spot. I have one of these which is the main view from the kitchen. I put a Acer Sango Kaku in the ground that has light green leaves so brings a lot of light into the space (and red stems in winter) and fatsia japonica spider web and other (mostly rescue from Tesco) acers in pots. There's also a silvery brunnera. My pride and joy is a large tree fern that I bought for my birthday.

I put pots of daffodils out in the spring - mostly white ones and white foxgloves later in the year.

Astilbe do well in pots. Lots of ferns too - there are some lovely silvery or lime green ones - and I love how their shapes change early in the year. Hostas would do well too.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/apr/25/aint-no-sunshine-how-to-embrace-your-shady-north-facing-garden

Some lovely ideas, not sure about the disco balls though 😆