Levelling a tiered garden

[Creativebee]

DH and I have seen a house that we really like but the only problem is the back garden is completely unusable. It’s a tiered garden that is on a major slope and the side gardens are on a slope too. The house itself is in a great area and we really like it but I’m worried that there is no way the gardens can be levelled and if they can we’d be looking at a huge job, cost and hassle. I’m assuming we’d need some form of planning permission too. Has anyone ever done this and found it relatively simple?

How much of a drop/ rise are you talking about? We have levelled a bit of our garden but because of the slope we could just move earth from one part to another.

Why not post a couple of pics just of the garden? Usually tiering the garden is to make it flat and useable in the first place. Any remediation is moving hundreds of tons of earth, maybe correcting fencing and drainage also, and undoubtedly more retaining walls.
If everything is accessible to machines, it may not be too bad, and they can even crane them over the house if needed.

The pictures don’t really show the level of slope but when we viewed the house it was a lot steeper than we expected it to be.

That garden is destined to always be either terraced or a slope. If you need a bowling green, find a house that's not on the side of a hill...

The rear garden looks great. I’d leave that alone. It’s also the most difficult to do anything better with.
The side garden can be leveled by the looks of it, with a wall or something fancy ( cages full of stones, railway sleepers, sheets of slate ) along the drive, then drag the soil from the high point to fill in behind the wall. Any decent landscaping company would quote for this. Need not be too expensive as it has access for a digger. A mini digger would make short work of that.
Would the side garden be used/private though?
Also, what’s with all the moss? Is it in permanent shade from the neighbors trees? I’d be more concerned with that than the landscaping.

Well its possible but it will be expensive just to remove the spoil. You would need to build retaining wall on either side which would keep the slope back from sides gardens. Having a much lower area may be prone to flooding then depending on the lay of the land.

If it were me I would keep the tireing but lessen somewhat with the above method, so short, shallow flights of steps and make as large areas as possible. Making the slope steeper at the back and sides would allow for a gentler slope in the majority of the garden for you to use.

@C4tastrophe I apologise for my stupid question in advance (I’ve never been lucky enough to have a garden so I’m really a novice). What does the moss indicate? There is a large tree and an outbuilding on the neighbours side, could this moss cause issues in the future? Like I said I most probably sound stupid but I genuinely have no idea.
Just talking to DH and we could leave the tiered area and level each tier so it’s usable for maybe some seating but the side garden we’d want it to be levelled as our DD has a disability but has really taken a liking to gardening at college and is loving planting vegetables so it would need to be accessible for her. If we levelled the side garden that would mean we’d be using that as a back garden and we’d have to move the front entrance to the other side (which wouldn’t be an issue).

It’s a very expensive job. We had three tiers in our garden and we levelled part of the back tier in order to build a garden gym. The groundworks cost nearly as much as the outbuilding. Whilst it was worth it for us, I doubt we’d see the money back if we sold the house.

I’m not an expert, but the moss can only survive in damp, shady areas. The roof of the house, and moreover the garage roof, are covered in moss. That suggests the rear tiered garden would be very shaded. There’s also a huge damp patch, well looks like anyway, on the side wall of the house.
The moss on the garage roof will retain moisture so the roof never dries out. On the main roof it can get under the tiles. Ultimately it will cause some damage. In any case, it suggests that the house and rear garden may exist in predominant shade.
If the landscaping is going to be so crucial, get a quote before making an offer. It needn’t be detailed, but should be easy enough to get within 20% accuracy.

@C4tastrophe Thank you so much. I think although there is a lot of potential with what we would like to do with the property, there’s a lot to really think about and our current living situation is making us impatient. This property was number 2 on our list we are waiting for a viewing on our number 1 property, the estate agents apparently have difficulty in getting viewings done (not enough staff or something 🤔). Like I said I think we’re rushing it because we’re so desperate to move.
Thanks to everyone else who responded too. If we do decide to go with this property, I’ll definitely update with pictures but at the moment we’re really undecided 😫 and definitely want to view the other property before putting offers in. If this sells up in the meantime I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.

the tiered side garden could be great for wheel-chair gardening if you just make the paths a bit wider, if that might suit you DD. you keep the flower beds at a higher level at waist height and then have a wheelchair path next door.

The rear garden won't be any good for growing veg if it is in shade. You need plenty of sun for veggies. The side garden could be levelled but you won't be able to dig down too near all those trees next door or they might fall over!

That is a nice garden but if you need level access you need to find a different property. To level a garden properly without causing risks is very expensive.

You could have ramps put in and make the separate levels accessible, that might work for some people.

I would really not level that off. You will need party wall agreements with any neighbours, retaining measures, drainage measures etc etc.

At least get a specialist survey on what you want to do before you buy it!

Not only will it cost a fortune you will spend 2 years in 'debates' with work people and garden experts.
That will be the worst cost. IMO

I'm not sure the moss indicates shade so much as that it indicates the house is in a damp area with a lot of rainfall - to the west of high ground. Moss needs moisture, not shade. It will grow quite happily in bright areas as long as it doesn't dry out.

It's an old garden that looks like it was laid out and planted in the '80s. Lots of potential. but not the most obvious choice for wheelchair access unless long flowing ramp paths can be laid for a motorised chair to link the levels. There are quite a few raised bed areas that may be (or could easily be made) accessible.