please help me turn my garage into garden

[huntinthehornybacktoad]

So - I have a very unlovely concrete panel garage with an asbestos roof. It's the "normal" asbestos,not the super-dangerous asbestos.

I've been Marie-Kondo-ing it (plus the kids have got older...).

All I need to actually store is

• 3 bikes
• some gardening tools

I used to have no basement - it was a separate flat. But now I have one so there's somewhere else to store paraphernalia/temporary stuff, etc.

My garden is very lovely but extremely overlooked. I dream of privacy.

What I would love to do, at first at least - is take away the asbetos and instead have a permeable roof covering - so that it was private from the high windows above and around but the sun could get in and I could have a little shady private paradise there. I'm thinking like restraurants in the Mediterrean that are covered in trellis with vine growing through it.

I would really appreciate some advice. Does this sound feasible?

I would need to break open the narrow end opposite the doors. This would connect it to the rest of my garden.

Is this doable?

Sounds fun! I’d be very careful about light levels though. How much light currently falls on the garage roof? Even shade loving plants need some light, even if it’s not direct. Remember the Mediterranean gets a lot more sun than the U.K.

You could build a pergola style roof (beams or trellis) and grow climbers. Maybe clematis Montana for some quick cover, which you could remove or trim when other plants got established.

What about rainfall? Does the garage get plenty on its roof or is it sheltered by nearby buildings?

Finally you would need to think about soil(or pots) and drainage. Could you plant the climbers outside the walls to get a decent depth of soil? If there is a concrete floor then you’d have to make sure that it drains in the right direction, or add another layer of sloping concrete to stop puddles forming. You could test this with a hosepipe before starting any work.

You’d need a builder to tell you if the roof beams are actually holding the walls together I think.

So put in a pergola type thing? You could bolt the joists into the wall. Would you plant climbers inside the garage or In The garden? If in the garage then you’d need to break up the floor to get to soil.

Easier to put in raised beds and fill with compost. Think of it like a small back yard or a v small walled garden. You could plant small trees in big pots that would provide privacy. Look up trees for containers.

It’s a good idea. I might steal it!

I think I love you both.
Will post a diagram and more info tomorrow.

Bump