Post by ivy on Jun 21, 2015 21:32:35 GMT
Hi there, first post here and never had a garden of my own before 
Hope the attached pictures all work.
So bought a house recently and attached is what we have to work with.
Really need some ideas. I gather the man who lived here before kept it in good condition and had a gardener come regular but when he passed on the garden got a bit neglected whilst the interior was 'done up'
The tree is a laburnum tree which I guess we will keep for the time being.
The garden is North West facing so not massively sunny although most of the garden gets a fair bit of sun this time of year. But can be shady especially near the house and on the left side (when looking out from the back of the house). Sunniest side is probably the stretch between the pergola and the tree.
In the medium term we would look to extend to one side of the house which would cover up the area with the pergola where the wheely bins are in the pictures.
We have two small kids so something child friendly (good for kicking a ball about) and we like minimalist style and low maintenance. We like Japan so some Japanese style flowers/bushes would also be a plus. We need something in those borders but the bluebells have died off now. Love to have some nice colours and contrasting shades but not sure what to put and where.
The side which runs from the pergola up to the shady area behind the tree I am planning to get repaved in the next few weeks. Is there any way of preventing weeds from growing up in the cracks when you have an area repaved? I am also planning on putting a new fence up along this boundary since the old fence is looking on its last legs.
I am really looking for inspiration/ideas as to what would look good. Would like something easy to grow in a shady garden and preferably something which looks quite nice in the winter too. My neighbour has lots of tiny conifer looking trees dotted around the garden which are a lovely bright shade of green and look good in the bleak winter too. This is one idea but where would be the best place for them?
The area behind the tree in the far corner gets little sun and is a bit hidden by the big tree. Was thinking if we extended the house and lost the garage we may put a shed there for storage but any other ideas welcome. At the moment its just a bit of under utilized waste ground where the cats like to poo
Going to try to attach these photos now and a bit of a garden plan to illustrate the space. Hope it works and thanks in advance for any advice
Hope the attached pictures all work. So bought a house recently and attached is what we have to work with.
Really need some ideas. I gather the man who lived here before kept it in good condition and had a gardener come regular but when he passed on the garden got a bit neglected whilst the interior was 'done up'
The tree is a laburnum tree which I guess we will keep for the time being.
The garden is North West facing so not massively sunny although most of the garden gets a fair bit of sun this time of year. But can be shady especially near the house and on the left side (when looking out from the back of the house). Sunniest side is probably the stretch between the pergola and the tree.
In the medium term we would look to extend to one side of the house which would cover up the area with the pergola where the wheely bins are in the pictures.
We have two small kids so something child friendly (good for kicking a ball about) and we like minimalist style and low maintenance. We like Japan so some Japanese style flowers/bushes would also be a plus. We need something in those borders but the bluebells have died off now. Love to have some nice colours and contrasting shades but not sure what to put and where.
The side which runs from the pergola up to the shady area behind the tree I am planning to get repaved in the next few weeks. Is there any way of preventing weeds from growing up in the cracks when you have an area repaved? I am also planning on putting a new fence up along this boundary since the old fence is looking on its last legs.
I am really looking for inspiration/ideas as to what would look good. Would like something easy to grow in a shady garden and preferably something which looks quite nice in the winter too. My neighbour has lots of tiny conifer looking trees dotted around the garden which are a lovely bright shade of green and look good in the bleak winter too. This is one idea but where would be the best place for them?
The area behind the tree in the far corner gets little sun and is a bit hidden by the big tree. Was thinking if we extended the house and lost the garage we may put a shed there for storage but any other ideas welcome. At the moment its just a bit of under utilized waste ground where the cats like to poo
Going to try to attach these photos now and a bit of a garden plan to illustrate the space. Hope it works and thanks in advance for any advice
I am in the north of England so fairly cool climate with a fair amount of rain. Thanks again
You could try a mix of various conifers like your neighbours for year round structure, just make sure they are miniature ones, I ended up with one labelled 'slow growing' which got to about 15 foot tall! 
Hellebores would be good for winter/early spring in the borders & box balls give year round structure but you would have to trim them once or twice a year to keep them small & in shape. If you want some summer colour in the borders you could just put some bedding begonias which like shade, violas & maybe aquilegias but they wouldn't go with your 'Japanese' feel. Fatsias would be good as well, big evergreen plants happy in a big pot or the ground & sturdy plants (again thinking of footballs) & evergreen ferns. Be careful to warn the children if your tree is a laburnum, they're poisonous especially the seeds if they pick them up & try to eat them, if you do eventually get rid of it I'd go for an ornamental cherry or even put one in anyway in a corner, something like prunus 'Amanagowa' which is a tall slim tree, very pretty blossom, very Japanese. You could also try irises, fuchsias, azaleas, camellias & bamboo ( often best in a big pot or they can take over) which will all take a certain amount of shade & have a 'Japanese' feel.Good luck with it all, keep us updated.
