Fab house - dire garden!

[YourSpleenIsDamp]

House hunting at the moment, and struggling to find anywhere which fits our needs (can't be flexible on size or location). I've found a house which ticks all the boxes, but the garden is a hideous concrete yard. Wondering whether it could be nice if we removed all the concrete, and screened it off for some privacy - right next to a pretty busy pavement/junction. Or whether I'm on a hiding to nothing and should keep looking. WWYD?

Would you have the budget to completely re-do it? If you were able to remove the concrete and put down turf and some trees, shrubs and greenery then I don’t see why it wouldn’t look lovely but imagine it would be costly to do. How nice it would look presumably depends on your budget.

How old are the DC (if any) we had a yard and it was brilliant for all year around play from them being born.

I would have some deep raises beds made and grow any amazing variety of plants including planters. Would totally change the vibe.

I love that it's got a wall round it. I'd get a quote for removing the concrete and turfing with some basic landscaping (footpaths, washing line) that you could do quickly.

Depends how important outside source is to you. You could do some of it yourself to save money but it's graft.

It would still be next to a busy junction.

It could be nice with the concrete removed. If you really like the house, you could get a quote. I'm not sure about the junction - how busy is it? We would have had trouble keeping balls in that garden and therefore having to go out of the gate to fetch them back, and I might be worried about my cats, depending on the traffic. It depends if you think it could work for you after it has been transformed, because anything can be made to look nice.

Ooh - I hadn't thought about raised beds - thanks! That could look awesome. I've heard you can get relatively mature trees delivered too 😍Maybe some trellis attached to the wall with climbing plants to give us a bit more privacy - it's pretty near my current house, so I know the area well. More pedestrians than cars. Just that people are nosy, and the wall's only about five feet high! I've never peered over the wall, honest 😬 Youngest DC is 13, and not into ball games. Cats are very old and fat, and incapable of jumping onto a wall to escape 😂I think I'm going to look into quotes for smashing the concrete up...

Does it have other parking, because that's what it looks like it's used for?

Build some raised beds against the walls and put some pleached trees in the to screen. Then pave some of the concrete with decent stone and more raised beds, stick a pergola in with some climbing/scrambling plants for a covered seating area etc, could be really good.

Ooo so actually I think that has loads of potential! Love a walled garden. I think you would have to be prepared to 1) pay a decent amount for the hard landscaping (probs a lot more than would think 2) either pay a lot for mature plants OR be prepared to wait a while (couple of years) for things to grow.

I think you could get reasonable privacy quickly with wooden slatted screen trellis on top of the walls - and then actually clever planting can give loads of privacy. Check our “courtyard garden” or “private urban garden” on Pinterest.

basically, could be fabulous, but be prepared for time and money investment 😊

You’d get that sorted fairly easily if you had the concrete removed and laid turf, putting in beds and trees.

If that want an immediately option financially, even loads of potted shrubs and flowers would do wonders in the interim.

You could absolutely make that nice. A word of caution - mature trees are horribly expensive - anything from £500+ each. You might be better with laurel or Photinia red robin hedging and giving it a couple of years to grow.

I don’t know if I would take the concrete out- unless you really NEED grass for some reason. It would be expensive and there is no guarantee that the soil underneath would be up to much. Definitely second the idea of lots of deep raised beds - you could set benches into them, break the space up with paving / seating/ BBQ area etc. you could get some massive pots for courtyard trees. Think about what you want the space for and go from there.

Have a few landscapers come out and give you a few estimates.

Then come tell us what it costs and what you decide to do!
I'm sure a few other people would be interested to know too.

I wouldn't take the concrete out either.

Raised beds of differing heights in various locations etc. adding trellis to the wall gives instant privacy and as you get evergreen growing up it will improve further.

Think of it as a lovely courtyard and how you'd decorate it, horizontal trellis, raised beds, lovely garden furniture, colourful plants and flowers. Rugs and lights to finish it off, just need the sunshine and a glass of wine to enjoy it.

It's not just a question of lifting the concrete. It will have been laid on a bed of compacted rubble/ stones to give a solid level base. The earth under that will be highly compacted and subsoil not top soil.

It will be expensive to remove and replace & will need specialist equipment.

I think it has loads of potential. I probably wouldn't remove all the concrete either. I'd remove a bit for some grass and add some raised beds too. You could pave or deck some of it to break up the concrete or even add some gravel on top.

I know mumsnet doesn't like fake grass but that would help to break up the concrete expanse too.

This sounds great

Based on quotes I had for my garden (not concrete but a mudscape) you would easily be looking at £7-10k yo get that perfect. Assuming you're wanting to go all in and put mature trees in there rather than saplings.

What direction does it face, when and where does it get sun?

YY to raised beds (including a wooden surround at least one one side to make a reasonably comfortable sitting bench plus wooden trellis to raise the height of the walls and add some fast growing climbing plants

There might be a reason it was paved in the first place so that digging up the concrete might return it to its previous mud bath status.

Agree with others, think you can make this look beautiful!

That's an amazing space with sooo much potential!

www.estatetogarden.co.uk/product-page/4-in-1-modular-galvanised-steel-raised-bed

Raised beds are great but they take a lot of filling!

I would keep the concrete. The yard has the potential to be a beautiful courtyard. Screen off your parking area with bamboo in huge decorative pots. As pp, have said - deep planters and raised borders - easy to maintain. Put down a rug, corner sofa, coffee table or have a fire pit. Endless possibilities - and no lawn to maintain.

This. Plus you would need to know exactly where the mains services run.