Post Your Garden!

e36Adz · 20 Nov 2016 at 22:10

Finally got the keys this week, first time buyer here. I've been busy with the inside of the house, needs a lot of work doing but even more work out the back.

The garden hasn't been maintained at all, and the ground isn't even so that needs sorting. The reason why the garden has been sectioned off is that behind the low fence the land actually rises.

There is a fair bit of land to the side of the house, there is a large shed which you can just make out in which tbh needs taking down. I also intend to take down that low fence and go at it with a chainsaw. The weather is shocking atm so this will probably have to be over summer but I reckon there is huge potential. The idea is to take that low fence at least 2-3 metres back because it only really gets very steep after this point. Beyond that I've no idea really, I've been googling some ideas on 'steep gardens' and there are tons of possibilities. Weather doesn't allow anything atm but I'll post some more pics towards the end of summer to see how it looks then.

e36Adz · 4 Dec 2016 at 23:37

Picked up an electric chainsaw for £25 of gumtree, it's definitely served it's purpose although at present the chain has come off. Never used a chainsaw before but got the hang of it fairly quickly. Put in a few solid hours this weekend, just myself and one mate helping me out. Here are the before and after shots:

Before:

After:

Another pic from the far corner of the garden:

Next job will be to shift the huge pile of wood/branches/leaves. Any ideas? Skip? Man with a van? Burn it? These are some of the things that have been suggested to me.

FurryLemon · 5 Dec 2016 at 12:36

Branches - hire a wood chipper for a day or take to the tip.

Leaves - burn or use as compost/mulch

Wood - most of it looks like laurel to me, so it's useless for burning. Take it to the tip.

Putting the chain back on the saw is easy. Post up a model/pic of saw if you need a hand.

e36Adz · 5 Dec 2016 at 20:54

Cheers mate, I've had a little look on Youtube and as you say, seems fairly straight forward. Weather is supposed to hit double figures this weekend! Planning to get a lot of it shifted.

#Chri5# · 12 Dec 2016 at 15:12

Nice sunrise the other morning over our garden (excuse the phone pic):

Freefaller · 6 Mar 2017 at 22:05

I've decided I'm going to take some radical action this year in the garden and get rid of a lot of bushes.

As you can see from the aerial shot - we have a few....

From the above, the evergreen shrub to the right of the garage will be significantly chopped/reduced. The acer to the front right of the garage is staying as it is beautiful. The dome-like bush in the middle of the garden is going, as are the round bushes at the back of the garden. The camelia and other bushes on the right are staying.

I want to reduce the paving and get more grass in. The paving needs a refresh anyway.

And from this shot, everything in front is going - including that rockery (I hate rockeries), and the bushes to the right, plus that large sprawling evergreen shrub is going to be reduced significantly which is to the "right" of the garage in the aerial shot.

I already got rid of the rockery around that tree in the middle of the lawn - that will stay as it is rather nice.

I also moved an acer, from a pot, the front garden and it is starting to thrive.

I have A LOT of work to do... but it keeps me busy, and is a good bit of exercise too! The space behind the garage needs attention, but I might just add an extension to the garage and make that the gym and use the garage... as a garage!!

Dynix · 12 Mar 2017 at 13:04

This is the garden of our new build:

It's approx. 17m x 11m. The turf was lovely when we moved in then we decided to get a dog who destroyed the first half of it when he's having a mad one and running around. We're fairly certain there's more mud in our kitchen at this point than outside.

Considering it's a new build, I love the size of it. Wouldn't want it any bigger at this point and definitely no smaller. We're very lucky as out of the 500 or so houses being built, ours is in the top 10 for size going off the phase plans. The bonus is that we're not overlooked by anyone - neighbours either side can only see into the back end of the garden and there's only a small bungalow at the rear which don't face onto our garden.

We've been here since June so now it's time to start looking at the garden now we're in Spring. So far our plans are:

Pull up all the current slabs. The site manager has offered to give us any extra we need but we've never been a fan of the colour and chances are they wouldn't be a colour match to the existing ones anyway.
Extend the patio (seen to the left, behind the garage). The patio right now is 4 slabs in width, so either double it to 8 or 10 should suffice.
Sleepers across the back fence. It's currently at an angle so we'd like to make it straight. Wouldn't mind some bushes or a small tree or something.
For the longer part of grass, we're thinking on digging it up and laying artificial grass. We're having to clean the kitchen every few days because of the dog and the carpets are starting to get dirty from it also. Not sure how artificial grass will handle dog mess so research is needed and we've ordered some samples.

That's as far as we've got so far.

a1ex2001 · 14 Mar 2017 at 12:38

Dynix said:
For the longer part of grass, we're thinking on digging it up and laying artificial grass. We're having to clean the kitchen every few days because of the dog and the carpets are starting to get dirty from it also. Not sure how artificial grass will handle dog mess so research is needed and we've ordered some samples.

Artificial grass is generally alright with dog mess, just clean it off using your normal scoop method then hose down, it can be beneficial to train your dog to only mess in one area as then you will only need to wash this area to remove mess!

Molep · 14 Mar 2017 at 12:57

Some work needed to be done with a few retaining walls to tier the lawn and shed to remove and put another in

bulletv1 · 16 Mar 2017 at 10:00

A view of my garden while re felting my shed. Had my patio finally done after have a rubble pile for 2 years. Still got to level and seed the other half of the garden.

Any my little corner of plants. Not sure what the green things near the rock in the middle will look like. There were some seeds i bought on honeymoon in Madeira

martin363 · 29 Mar 2017 at 08:25

New 'low maintenance' front garden for a rental property. wall is still to be rendered. Everything used to die / or grow like mad in it.

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clubb699 · 31 Mar 2017 at 18:02

Part of my garden Enjoy

Street · 1 Apr 2017 at 15:19

clubb699 said:
Part of my garden Enjoy

That looks really good! I'm trying to think of something to do to the top of my garden. I did post another thread but it got no replies so hopefully I'll get some ideas here. It's currently a bit of a waste of space with some flower beds and pond in the middle but as it gets the most sun it would be nice to be able to make use of it more. The area is about 7m x 7m so is a decent space and I'd like to keep some sort of pond there, just make it a bit more usable in the summer for BBQs etc.

clubb699 · 1 Apr 2017 at 15:29

Street said:
That looks really good! I'm trying to think of something to do to the top of my garden. I did post another thread but it got no replies so hopefully I'll get some ideas here. It's currently a bit of a waste of space with some flower beds and pond in the middle but as it gets the most sun it would be nice to be able to make use of it more. The area is about 7m x 7m so is a decent space and I'd like to keep some sort of pond there, just make it a bit more usable in the summer for BBQs etc.

Thanks a lot, looking at your pics i would put decking around the pond i would probably follow where the chipping are, you would need to push the decking out on one side so you can fit table and chairs so you can enjoy the sun the BBQ and the pond together.

But first of all i would throw the dog a ball its waiting so patiently LOL

Street · 1 Apr 2017 at 20:05

I'd love to dig it all up and start from scratch but I'm not sure I can be bothered with the hassle. Decking is definitely an easier option. I'm tempted to move the pond as currently it's just a deep hole and not suitable for plants and being in the middle it's a bit of a pain.

clubb699 said:
But first of all i would throw the dog a ball its waiting so patiently LOL

His ball is behind me, that's why he's sat there staring. If he had his way, I'd be throwing it 24/7!

Madwelsh · 2 Apr 2017 at 00:01

Hi street, thanks for sharing, (esp the dog he's awesome!) In the pond.. natural or fish? By the way you say you want the water, why not make a feature? Make bigger and maybe some larger rocks/stones and a pump so it'll flow down into the pond, extend to the size of the gravel, then put a deck to the right.. Very nice with the tinkle of water in the background..

Street · 2 Apr 2017 at 13:36

There is a pump running into it at the moment, and a filter in the shed. I had to replace the pump and pipes when I moved in as the pump failed and the pipes leaked and they were very undersized! There are a few fish in there but I don't think the pond is ideal for them as there is no plant life etc. Something like Clubb posted with the waterfall would be perfect. I think I need to sketch out some ideas.

ergonomics · 2 Apr 2017 at 15:32

Some really nice gardens in here. Makes me want to start sorting out the summer project of renovating it. It's been untouched since I moved in over a year ago. I've picked up some free limestone slabs to make a patio but have to sort out the basics first.

There is a brick shelter in the garden and concrete path. What tools should I be using to get rid of these? I'm going to rent a digger to dig up the lawn one weekend and in doing so, will probably make a big old hole to just hide the shelter once it's broken down..

Madwelsh · 4 Apr 2017 at 09:30

Heh, digger fun! I wouldn't be burying bricks, storing up trouble for the future. Lump hammer and masonary chisel to take the shelter down, skip the bricks, if your area is anything like mine, have the bricks down and ready to go straight in the skip otherwise it'll be filled by others!
How thick is the concrete path? Old paths like that are usually incredibly tough, so you need to figure out a way of breaking this up, if it's thick, hammer drill to make holes then a sledge hammer. Careful with the speed of the drill though, like I said some of these old paths are like made with 1:1 cement dust !!! Very easy to melt the end of the drill bit. Again I'd make sure everything that will be skipped is ready to go before you order the skip, might be an idea about asking skip company about weights they'll accept, a work colleague filled a skip with bricks and they refused to take it, he had to have a larger one stuck next to it and then had to transfer them over. He was not a happy chap!

Good luck and show us your progress!

ergonomics · 9 Apr 2017 at 16:41

Madwelsh said:
Heh, digger fun! I wouldn't be burying bricks, storing up trouble for the future. Lump hammer and masonary chisel to take the shelter down, skip the bricks, if your area is anything like mine, have the bricks down and ready to go straight in the skip otherwise it'll be filled by others!
How thick is the concrete path? Old paths like that are usually incredibly tough, so you need to figure out a way of breaking this up, if it's thick, hammer drill to make holes then a sledge hammer. Careful with the speed of the drill though, like I said some of these old paths are like made with 1:1 cement dust !!! Very easy to melt the end of the drill bit. Again I'd make sure everything that will be skipped is ready to go before you order the skip, might be an idea about asking skip company about weights they'll accept, a work colleague filled a skip with bricks and they refused to take it, he had to have a larger one stuck next to it and then had to transfer them over. He was not a happy chap!

Good luck and show us your progress!

Great advice. Don't have a drive and parking is a nightmare so skip might be a problem to get arranged but you might be right. I have a boat load of rubbish leftover from previous owners that needs to go somewhere too. They fenced off a 3m x 9m area and filled it 6ft high of junk. Old beds, mattress, paint cans, you name it they had it in there.
Think the concrete path and base are 6 inches or so thick. Ordered a couple of sledge hammers and asked a couple of mates to come over in a few weeks for a bbq and demolishing session!

faulway1 said:
My garden looked terrible

I had to use the services of a special company, now it's better.But far from the ideal.

Out of interest - what did they charge you for getting rid of all that?

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