STRAT Posted June 22, 2005 Share Posted June 22, 2005 Hi guys, can i ask for your landscaping expertise help please? ok, my back garden was basically a grassy muddy tip. Then this weekend we had a brand new patio laid and also completely covered the lawn over with slate chip. (cant have grass in any shape or form as my dog would dig it up for sure) so now, we've got it looking very nice. but it's most basic. it's a nice blank canvas if you like. it's now at a stage we can mould it and shape it and make it looking really nice. but i'm no landscapist and dont really know where to start. so here's where you come in, if you have any time. i'm just looking for sketches and ideas. something to inspire me. nothing 3d cgi, just plain old sketching stuff if you prefer. my only ideas would be a nice planted wall trellis/arch feature separating the patio from the slate chips, some semi burried slab stones leading down to the washing line poll, and a nice pond feature somewhere in there. and oh yeah, NO GRASS what do you think? below are piccys of the garden. please feel free to do your worst Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STRAT Posted June 22, 2005 Author Share Posted June 22, 2005 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernest Burden III Posted June 22, 2005 Share Posted June 22, 2005 My wife is the horticulturist in my family, I man the shovels. But my first thought is a line or arrangement of boxes to have either flowering plants or food crops. My wife uses EarthBoxes for vegetables that are on a paved area behind our house. Eventually we will remove the paving, but for now the boxes are great, and you can move 'em. Even after that she will keep the tomatoes and beans in the boxes to avoid them picking up any pesticides in the soil. The boxes have a water resevoir in the bottom, so care is easy, and plants grow like weeds. You will put a table on the paved part? Oh, and what's with the toys--you don't have kids, do you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STRAT Posted June 22, 2005 Author Share Posted June 22, 2005 You will put a table on the paved part? Oh, and what's with the toys--you don't have kids, do you? yes, the patio table is shown in the phots. no, no kids. just a playful pup (also in phots) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Posted June 22, 2005 Share Posted June 22, 2005 I really like your garden/yard. It's like nothing I've seen in the US and it has great deal of character that I'm not accustomed to seeing here. It has a very cozy feel to it. You might try grouping your pots together into a few clusters in the corners of your garden, as opposed to having them somewhat evenly spaced along the fence. I think this adds more visual impact and interest. Another thing you might try is varying the height of your pots. Buy some cheap pots to use as a stand for another pot to raise it up, or find an old bench or something you can set them on. Some people cut holes in the bottom of an old wooden chair and set the pot in the hole (with the lip of the pot resting on the rim of the hole). I've also seen people turn old wheelbarrows into plant beds - drill some holes in the bottom for drainage. It really just depends on the overall look you're going for. Heck, some people lay a large pot on its side and bury half of it under ground - looks like the pot fell over and has since filled in around it with durt. They plant flowers in and spilling out of it - just like it fell over. If your picket fence will support the weight, buy some pot holders that hang from the rail on the fence with some nice cascading flowers. Perhaps plant a grape vine or a flowering vine at the base of your pickets on one or two sides and train them to grow along your pickets. Maybe you could pull your table further out away from the house and allow you to add some plants to that wall of the house to help cover up the pipes. Maybe remove the planter box and add two more, one to each window that runs the width of each window. Plant seasonal flowers, or herbs with cascading flowers. A couple more ornamental trees would be nice too - in large pots. Perhaps some fruit trees that you like to eat. I have a lemon tree - my wife loves lemonade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernest Burden III Posted June 22, 2005 Share Posted June 22, 2005 no, no kids. just a playful pup (also in phots) I should have guessed that. But there are no dogs in my vision of the world, so I often forget that not everyone thinks like I do. I'm not what you would call a 'dog person'. I don't like dogs. Do you think we're on the right track with planters, though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Posted June 22, 2005 Share Posted June 22, 2005 Get a clothes dryer, then you can turn that clothes line post into a permanent "Festivus" pole and be the envy of the neighborhood! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Alexander Posted June 22, 2005 Share Posted June 22, 2005 I'd mess with the perspective a bit WDA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernest Burden III Posted June 22, 2005 Share Posted June 22, 2005 Get a clothes dryer, then you can turn that clothes line post into a permanent "Festivus" pole and be the envy of the neighborhood! I recently learned that clothes dryers are very uncommon in the UK. Not washers, just dryers. I guess it's one less appliance to catch fire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Cassil Posted June 22, 2005 Share Posted June 22, 2005 I recently learned that clothes dryers are very uncommon in the UK. Not washers, just dryers. I guess it's one less appliance to catch fire. I think they are fairly uncommon just about everywhere except north america. I can say that clothes do smell a lot better coming of a line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sketchrender Posted June 22, 2005 Share Posted June 22, 2005 I see from your clothes line that you either live with a lot of midgets or you have children, can i ask why no grass, as every child should have grass to play on, if the dog dose dig it up, so be it, but stone just seems harsh, and none inviting. I will be in the same situation soon i will post my garden up in it's raw state then you can have a good laugh. phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derijones Posted June 22, 2005 Share Posted June 22, 2005 If you're in to fresh veg and herbs - build some raised beds down the side - railway sleeper type depth (or any other free wood - we built ours from a heap of conifers we found chopped down on the side of the road - a very rustic looking attempt at log cabin building. Fill them with soil / cowshit / compost and plant - we've got garlic (grows like stink, minimal hassle to look after and a million times nicer than shop stuff), courgettes, peas and marrows growing in ours (about 6' x 8' total space). That's in a very windswept garden with 2" of soil on bedrock (hence the raised beds) at 900' elevation - so they should grow in Cardiff OK! Mint and rosemary seem to work outside OK as well if you get the sun - yet to get a decent basil plant to survive for long (fresh pesto made with your own basil and garlic........mmmmm!). Go for some useful sculpture as well - design yourself up a garden seat from plate steel and have it plasma profiled (email me if you want contacts) - if you design it so that it has about 0.5mm tolerance on the slots to put it together like a chinese puzzle, you shouldn't need to weld it if you get the cross bracing right. You can either get it galvanised or leave it rust - we've got a couple of drain covers I did as a demo in basic steel and they look quite nice after 3 years of rust - sort of "Angel of the North" like.... It'd look cool against the slate as well - have you ever been to the slate quarries in North Wales - loads of huge rusting machines against the blue slate - it's a pretty mad place! Were trying to tame a garden that hasn't seen TLC for 30 odd years and been used as a builders dump - but at least we have unlimited supplies of cowshit from our neighbours.... we live on a farm! Best of luck Deri Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernest Burden III Posted June 22, 2005 Share Posted June 22, 2005 If you're in to fresh veg and herbs - build some raised beds down the side - railway sleeper type depth (or any other free wood) In the US railroad ties ans other wood meant for outdoors use has been treated with any number of poisons to keep bugs from eating it. Arsenic is popular. So you do NOT want to use that sort of wood for a planter to grow food in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vizwhiz Posted June 23, 2005 Share Posted June 23, 2005 Ernest Strat could have a "special" veggie growing planter reserved for just In-Laws doesnt formeldahyde preserve people ?? Randy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STRAT Posted June 23, 2005 Author Share Posted June 23, 2005 Ah, ideas! cheers fellers. Eric - the pots are tempary at the mo, but i understand what you mean. we like the idea of pots in the garden. and i like the idea of getting a trailing plant or vine to weave in and out of the fence allot. EBIII - yup, planters sound good. something to integrate in with the pots idea. we got an indoors clothes dryer. in the UK they're called 'tumble dryers'. very common indeed. WDA - cheers m8, more ideas to play with. i'm looking into the pond idea big time as we speak. Philip - midgets??? cheeky bugger. my girlfriend is only just over 4 ft 5 inch. we do have young children over a fair bit (grand children), but we just cant have grass. i've had grass the last year and the dog leaves it in a nasty state. Also, quite ironically, the slate chips are suprisingly quite soft and padded. not like a solid surface atall. not too bad for children. Welsher - i like the idea of railway sleepers - very 'ground force' ish also, we''re looking to build a raised vegetable bed somewhere. Vizwiz - i prefer to call them 'out-laws' rather than 'in-laws' keep 'em comming dudes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derijones Posted June 23, 2005 Share Posted June 23, 2005 Philip - midgets??? cheeky bugger. my girlfriend is only just over 4 ft 5 inch. we do have young children over a fair bit (grand children), but we just cant have grass. i've had grass the last year and the dog leaves it in a nasty state. Also, quite ironically, the slate chips are suprisingly quite soft and padded. not like a solid surface atall. not too bad for children. Grand children at 32...... - you sure you don't come from Ponty??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STRAT Posted June 23, 2005 Author Share Posted June 23, 2005 hehe, not mine luckily enough. they're the missus's from her previous marriage. she's a tad older than me. lol, i was actually born in Church Village just outside Pontypridd (and no, i dont own a track-suit before you ask) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sawyer Posted June 23, 2005 Share Posted June 23, 2005 Ah inside Welsh jokes. We used to "pond" and I loved it. Nohing better than sitting in the backyard listening to the waterfall and watching the koi swim around. Not quite as fun when the liner breaks and the water is everwhere. Or when the raccons catch the koi and leave the part they don't eat at the back door perhaps as a tip. But what do you use your backyard for? Do you garden? Do you want herbs? Do you want to just sit hang out? Or is it just a dog run? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STRAT Posted June 24, 2005 Author Share Posted June 24, 2005 But what do you use your backyard for? Do you garden? Do you want herbs? Do you want to just sit hang out? Or is it just a dog run? yup, all those. i'll get back to you when i figure out what i'm going to do. cheers for the help fellers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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