Our filthy embarrassing garden needs help

nickyjellybaby

Oh woe is me, I'm now having nightmares about my back garden!

We have a narrow(ish) 40 ft x 20 ft wide garden that houses a dog run and she'd as well as 8 month old decking (around 15 ft square flush from our patio doors)

The garden is slightly (what's that word!) (gets higher further back!) so rainwater tends to collect at our house hence the decking we put in so that we hid the puddles!

Since our high energy Doberman joined us at Christmas along with the very wet weather out grass has gone to some derelict looking muddy mess and I'm really beside myself with grief looking at it
It's a state
Not to mention that when my toddlers are out there they need to put on 'garden clothes and shoes' because of the levels of muck

We've also got hardly any spare cash to bring in a landscaper or adviser too

I've been thinking about artificial grass,some paving leading up to the dog run and also installing some drainage

But I haven't a clue. I might as well be honest about it.
Ill post a photo tomorrow in the daylight

Is there any good starting places I should look into about garden design or are there schools where I could ask for help before we undertake anything?

I also know nothing about plants/soil except that we live near the sea and our ground is lumpy (typical Celtic tiger built home with rubble in the ground)

I am not afraid of learning or hard work, I just need to know where to go

Thanks in advance
Nic

fryup

post a pic to give us a better idea

genuine leather

Hey Nic
dobermans sure are energetic
Imo, the First thing i would consider is to dig 1 or 2 Shores(trench 12/16 inches wide 16/20 inches deep all depending on the sub soil conditions). One just outside the line of your decking and one say half way up the garden that would be part filled with broken stone with a layer of tiram( porous membrane) on top then back filled with soil( remaining soil could be used as a base to make a raised flower bed)
Paving slabs would be nice to break things up a bit, i would then fit tiram/weed block throughout the rest of the garden and put a layer of bark mulch on top of that( prob the cheapest option for now)

Raised beds could be made of salvaged scaffold planks,2/3 high( can be got very cheap these days) and planted up with maybe some tough shrubs like dogwoods, pyracantha, some evergreen shrubs. You may have to just enclose the bed for a season so the plants can establish
Hope the helps
GL

Oldtree

Dont rush into it, make a plan, it takes a while to do proper garden.
I'm not sure how you are going to keep the dog out of the beds?
Do a little bit of what you end up planing often and dont dispair you will get there in the end. It takes 8-10 years to establish a garden fully.
Your first step is to clear it out of all the stuff and rubbish you dont want.
Design your own garden to meet your needs, kids and dog too and dont mind formal designing. Do what you think you would like, it is going to be your garden after all.
You can grow plants from seed or cuttings.
Go to the garden center once a month to see what is in flower or attracts your interest and either buy small or make a note to grow. Having somthing of interest year round is helpful too.

magicbastarder

40'x20' is a small enough garden for a doberman without further restricting what area the dog will have access to.