Serious lawn work - advice please.

[Kitchster_uk]

Hi all.

We have some issues with our back garden at present. It's horribly uneven, has a sunken lawn and generally is a mess. I do, however, have a plan. I need some thoughts/suggestions/costs if that's possible.

At present, our neighbour who doesn't join us has her garden at the 'narrow' end and it at the higher level. The neighbours who join us at the longer side, they are at the 'lower' level and finally at the real, they are also at the lower level. There is, however, a retaining wall at the bottom of the garden. As you can see from my masterful MS Paint renderings, there are some delightful flowerbeds built up along parts of the garden and those eat up quite a bit of room in what isn't the biggest garden to start. Add to that we are both in full-time employment and it's too much hassle to deal with to be honest.

My plan, and a cunning one at that, is to 'fill', the majority of the garden , ripping out the flower beds, and levelling up to the same level as our back door. Then, about 75-80% along, building a retaining wall and having a sunken patio/gravel area, few pots and such-like. Easy maintenance, with a nice turf lawn. THe depth of the area to fill is between 2ft and 3ft. It should look someting like this amazing piece of artwork that would shame Monet and Van Gough

I'm thinking fill the first 12-24" with rubble/hardcore/whatever and then slotting another foot of top soil, finally a nice layer of turf ver the top. Am I off the mark? Is there anything else I need to onsider? I've thought abut drainage and that should be ok. How hard is is to build the retaining wall?

Cheers in advance, enjoy the eye-cany artwork.

 

[RandomTom]

Your plan seems quite solid, but are you not building steps up to the higher level?

How many feet higher is it at one side from another? 2-3ft?

When sitting at the patio, you may feel a bit closed in when using the area without the access.

 

[Kitchster_uk]

Your plan seems quite solid, but are you not building steps up to the higher level?

How many feet higher is it at one side from another? 2-3ft?

When sitting at the patio, you may feel a bit closed in when using the area without the access.

Going to be 3' from the top level to the bottom, planned that the 'wall' wouldbe usefull sitting area also. I had wondered about steps at the bottom (the steps at the top would remain as they lead out from our french windows) but I am worried about not having enough lawn.

 

[Duke]

Can you take some photos of how it is now and put up?

 

[yermum]

Have you thought about decking? I know that it's been overdone in all these gardening programs, but it may be a simpler solution. All you woul need to do is to put in a platform with a weed suffocating membrane underneath and then you would have a level area at the height you need. You could add steps to the back end to take you down to the garden and I would suggest beds / borders between the deck area and the lawn. The lawn could then be levelled of if you wanted, but you would need to take into account your neighbours' levels.

If I might suggest, there are some very good books that you could get from the library, such as The Ultimate Garden Designer by Tim Newbury which has chapters on gardens with slopes and changes in level. It even has planting suggestions. It also shows how to incorporate water features into your design.

Don't rush into this because sloping gardens need some care in their planning and you would want to enjoy your garden for many years to come.

 

[Kitchster_uk]

Have you thought about decking? I know that it's been overdone in all these gardening programs, but it may be a simpler solution. All you woul need to do is to put in a platform with a weed suffocating membrane underneath and then you would have a level area at the height you need. You could add steps to the back end to take you down to the garden and I would suggest beds / borders between the deck area and the lawn. The lawn could then be levelled of if you wanted, but you would need to take into account your neighbours' levels.

If I might suggest, there are some very good books that you could get from the library, such as The Ultimate Garden Designer by Tim Newbury which has chapters on gardens with slopes and changes in level. It even has planting suggestions. It also shows how to incorporate water features into your design.

Don't rush into this because sloping gardens need some care in their planning and you would want to enjoy your garden for many years to come.

Doesn't resolve my issue of wanting a lawn all on one level and also hee need to have a two-level garden. I'll try and sort some pics tomorrow after work, bit dark now