Seeking advice on what to do in garden

doodledoo2

Hello gardeners. I’m hoping for some help in what to do with a large patch of muck in my garden. Garden at longest point is about 31’ and 20’ wide. Muck patch is 12’x8’ so takes up a lot of valuable real estate.

This patch is separated from the lawn by a row of red bricks, and then has a 6” railway sleeper which means it’s at a higher level. When we moved in it was planted as a raised bed but we removed the plants and lots of earth and covered it with a decking. Decking subsequently rotted in parts and as the estate now seems to have an issue with rats, I recently ripped out the decking to be safe. So now I’m left with heavy clay subsoil with lots of hills and dips.

I’ve done lots of work in the garden already this spring, tidying, clearing and painting, so part of me is tempted to just dig it over, add topsoil and sow grass. Problem is it will not then get any use. Other option would be same as above but plant it with evergreen shrubs, again would look nice but not usable. I think my preferred solution would be to have a patio where I could put a table and chairs. The area gets sun from morning until mid afternoon. Kids all 12+

Constraints....budget is fairly non-existent and I’ll be doing the work myself (am a small woman which might be relevant). I could get the bits for a cheap patio over next few weeks but nothing left for labour. I think I’d be ok digging, throwing in and levelling hardcore and then sand, but concrete is out of my comfort zone. While I love plants, I wouldn’t have the interest or time for something like growing veg. Evergreen shrubs and planting some annuals in summer would be about my level.

Anyway, all advice and opinions welcome please. Attachment might give some idea of garden now. Thanks.

looksee

I'd suggest levelling the worst of it without doing too much digging - no point in making it soft. Put down a weedproof membrane, splurge a bit on this, the better quality professional stuff is streets ahead of the cheap ones. Top up with pebbles - there are cheaper ones, small beach pebbles also known as pea gravel I think, which are fine. You don't need a huge amount, too much makes it slithery and insecure to walk on, but you need a couple of inches. After about 12 months you will need to top it up but after that it should be ok.

Only thing you need to be careful of is putting chairs with pointy legs on it, they will burst through the membrane, try and find something with biggish feet.

You can dig it out and put in hardcore which is whacked down - about 4 inches or so, then pebbles on top, but this is a lot of work, the other method would be more possible.

doodledoo2

Thank you looksee. That sounds eminently doable and I googled and it can look really nice. I possibly should have mentioned that cats are also in the equation. There seems to be some setting product you can use so it wouldn't be loose gravel but rather set in place...do you think that might work?

CelticRambler

doodledoo2 wrote: »

I’ve done lots of work in the garden already this spring, tidying, clearing and painting, so part of me is tempted to just dig it over, add topsoil and sow grass. Problem is it will not then get any use. Other option would be same as above but plant it with evergreen shrubs, again would look nice but not usable. I think my preferred solution would be to have a patio where I could put a table and chairs. The area gets sun from morning until mid afternoon.

Out of curiosity, why do you say that a grassed and/or planted landscaped area would not get any use?

doodledoo2

CelticRambler wrote: »

Out of curiosity, why do you say that a grassed and/or planted landscaped area would not get any use?

Planted area would get use in so far as it would look lovely. Grass would also look nice. But what would you actually USE it for? I'm genuinely curious, if you have some ideas, I'd love to hear them:)
There's a boggy area in grass in corner at front of shed that I'm going to plant up with fatsia and ferns, and I'll have lots of plants potted on the patio and in the bricked area in front of the house, I'll also grow sweet pea and a jasmine up walls. Oh, there's also lots of (very pesky) ivy on one wall. So there will be lots of greenery and colour.

CelticRambler

doodledoo2 wrote: »

Planted area would get use in so far as it would look lovely. Grass would also look nice. But what would you actually USE it for?

It's quite OK to put chairs and a table on grass! Or a picnic rug, or a swing-bench ... Your image isn't showing up, so it's difficult to give a considered opinion. I might well go along with looksee's suggestion of levelling it off and a layer of gravel.

Personally, I prefer gardens with quirky private corners and micro patios rather than lots of open space, so if you already have a paved area, I don't think I'd add more unless there was a good reason for it. My children, as teens, and many of my adolescent (and young adult) visitors really like having somewhere semi-private to go to in the garden, often finding/choosing spaces that I didn't deliberately create as such!

doodledoo2

Thanks CelticRambler, I would never have considered putting table and chairs on grass tbh. Would have figured the grass would die off from the shadows and use, and that it would be too uneven to be comfy. I would love one of the swinging egg chairs and that could probably go on grass.
I've lurked on this forum for a while and you have a heck of a lot more room than me! Where I'm at, sun is at an absolute premium, and I can't imagine screening off any areas as that would just create more shade. Shade is one thing I'm not short on! No doubt the young folk would appreciate privacy (as would I!), alas, the space wouldn't allow it.

doodledoo2

Not sure if it's of any use at all but here's a snap of the offending patch

CelticRambler

It's some use ... but would be better if we could see how it fits into the rest of the garden!

Any chance of a wider view?

doodledoo2

The initial post mightn't be showing the pic I tried to embed so it's attached now. It's not exactly to scale but will give an idea of the garden layout.

I went out to paint the bottom of the house today and realised I never pay attention to the little 8*2' redbrick area outside the kitchen window. It looked like someone had used it for mixing concrete as 1/3 of it was buried under a couple of inches of the stuff. I spent an hour or so chipping at it with hammer and chisel and now the area looks lovely and ready to put a small bench and some flowers. I can sit out and admire my muck patch:D

CelticRambler

Right: seeing the sketch of the garden, I'd be even less inclined to turn this space into yet another "recreational" space. You already have the patio and the lawn - would you really want to sit up the end of the garden and look back at the kitchen?

I know you weren't keen on only filling it with plants ("would look nice but not usable") but surely that'd be the very best thing? Sitting on the patio, lying on the lawn, or looking out the kitchen window, you could have a lovely corner of ever-changing colour and structure to look at.

What *I* would do with it, though, is grow fruit or vegetables. Give the children responsibility for one or two of the crops and foster in them an interest in the whole "farm-to-table" process. Given the relatively small size, you're not going to be able to achieve self-sufficiency so I'd say go for fun and visual effect instead - carrots, onions, cherry tomatoes (in the sunniest corner), a few spuds, lettuce, shade-tolerant herbs, edible flowers (e.g. nasturtiums - they'd love that horrible soil! :pac: ), runner beans for height ...

You could combine that with looksee's suggestion of a gravelled area, and even a chair or a bench, if you planted everything in containers. These wouldn't have to be anything fancy - my brother grew potatoes last year in an old bucket! (I gave my nephew a single potato as a Christmas present ... :rolleyes: ) but those railway sleepers are perfect. If you have any of the decking left, you could easily knock up a few planters to get you started.

looksee

Oh yes, having seen the plan I completely agree, plant it. Whether you do veg or flowers or a mix of both. 12' by 8' is a very nice manageable area. Put in some peas and beans and a root of rhubarb (for next year and ever after, not this year though). Get the kids growing some sunflowers and poppies - both can be put directly in the ground though its probably better to give the sunflowers a bit of a start inside. You can feed the birds with the sunflower seeds, and the poppies will continue on year after year, given a chance. Put a nice small tree/large shrub in the corner for a bit of colour and interest.

doodledoo2

Thanks both. You've given me great food for thought there (no pun intended!).

I'll spend some time coming up with a plan and either upload it here for feedback or else just post up some lovely photos of the area in summer! You've given me a great steer and a little push to get going.

CelticRambler

Quick question: what do you have in the way of a boundary - is it a block wall, a fence, or something else? Walls are great.

Quick suggestion: use the google image search function, with the terms "veg in small containers" "courtyard vegetable" "vertical garden" "upcycled containers" for ideas on how to make the most of the space. You'll see (way too) many beautifully manicured unrealistic photos, but there'll be some sensible, practical ideas in there too.

doodledoo2

CelticRambler wrote: »

Quick question: what do you have in the way of a boundary - is it a block wall, a fence, or something else? Walls are great.

Quick suggestion: use the google image search function, with the terms "veg in small containers" "courtyard vegetable" "vertical garden" "upcycled containers" for ideas on how to make the most of the space. You'll see (way too) many beautifully manicured unrealistic photos, but there'll be some sensible, practical ideas in there too.

Back has a wooden fence set in short concrete sheets but they start a good bit above the height of the sleeper, so in other words there's a sizeable gap under fence, I only noticed that when I dug away some earth.
One side has block wall. Other side open to a wooden shed. So I guess I'll have to put in a border of some sort on two sides.

I get garden envy every time I Google! I will indeed check out your search suggestions.

CelticRambler

doodledoo2 wrote: »

Back has a wooden fence set in short concrete sheets but they start a good bit above the height of the sleeper, so in other words there's a sizeable gap under fence

That's another good reason for making yourself some planter boxes out of the old decking, if you still have it; or other scrap wood if you don't. This gives you a good solid barrier at the base of the fence, while also giving you the freedom to chop and change what you grow in that location until you've finalised your plans.

I don't know if any of the Lidl's within your lockdown area are still selling the cheap packets of seeds, but if they are, it's a really cheap way of getting loads of different plants (veg and flowers). At this stage in your makeover, rather than going all out for a final layout, it's probably better to use the coming year to mess about with different sizes and shapes and colours and textures. Figure out what grows best in which part of the space, and what do you like (or think is missing) when you look at it from a distance.