THREAD BUMP: New build garden - seriously where do I start!?

[ritcH]

This is what I found today when I visited this new build I'm buying.

The garden is in Northern England, is north-east facing towards the back fence with a side part (around to the right of the house) which extends 2-3m from the edge of the house and is south-east facing.

The builder will sell the house with just a skim of top soil. The only fences are are on external boundaries only - e.g., to the left of the picture is a neighbour boundary without a fence currently.

The ground slopes gradually away from the house, the drainage doesn't look good but not sure if that's just because there is no grass there.

I'm a complete gardening novice, where do I even start? The builder said they would rotavate it for me but not sure if that's going to be enough!

Any ideas welcome!

 

[gort]

You've got a blank canvas there.
Decide your budget and have a look for garden design progs and/or get some quotes in to design what you want (you don't have to use them but it gives you ideas.)
Or just get it as level as you can and lay lawn fence to fence for now and decide down the line if you want borders, shrubs etc.
I'd let them rotovate it for nothing. Worse that can happen is you'd have to do it yourself or pay.

 

[Kaka]

While it is bare like that, I would try and add in some sharp sand and organic matter before laying down your lawn.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=620

New builds are renown for their poor drainage clay soil gardens.

 

[Dynix]

Nice sized garden!

If this was mine, I'd be thinking ahead about the drainage issues you will have. Drainage on our new build lawn was decent last year, but with the vast amounts of snow and rain we've had since December it's really starting to hold water on the surface. We have about 3-5 inches of soil then sand layers, then what seems to be mostly clay after that.

With that, I'd be putting in some french drains - something I'm considering and would be dead easy to do with yours - and possibly be doing something similar to hollow tine aerating in a few places by making some cylindrical holes and filling with sand. Not sure if the latter is a good idea or not - I've only aerated with spikes on top of already laid/growing grass - but I'll be doing this later in the year to ours.

For the actual grass, it depends how quickly you want a lawn. Easy option is to turf, or grab some decent seed + fertiliser and do it yourself but could take a couple of months.

(edit) That link Kaka has above is a good read and the suggestion of just laying it on top of sand sounds good.

 

[Glaucus]

Massively extend patio for a start.
Then plan depends what you want. For me it would be nice big BBQ area with fire pit and plenty of seating. Then mainly raised beds and green house for veg growing.

As said just Google gardens see what you like and what you want from the space and go from there.

For me it would be something along these lines.
https://photos.unilock.com/residential/project/patios/rvc_bhf_ch_fischel_auggie_8396-jpg/

Having to put seats away is annoying and anything in gardens is annoying so would want it to be up to pressure washing.
I like the sunken seating areas even more, but drainage becomes a big issue. Helps to cut wind and helps the fire heat up the area better

 

[Kaka]

To add to my post, you would want to mix the sharp sand and organic matter into the existing clay soil, so changing the composition. You mix this in using something like a rotavator.

This will aid in both drainage and will promote better root growth.

 

[platypus]

That is an incredible sized garden for a new build!

What type of soil is it? Under the surface? It looks claggy but that could be just down to the winter and effect of building works. Regardless - I would personally ask the builder to knock off a few hundred and not bother with a topsoil skim. Get them to rotavate it properly with organic matter, eg peat moss and manure.

If the soil further down is sandy, adding clay based soil can really help improve the structure. And if the soil is clay then adding sharp sand is important for better drainage.

 

[samcat]

As above, before ANYTHING is done get a load of sharp sand and organic matter down and rotavate it into the soil. This will help everything grow.
Draw a scale plan (graph paper will do), use that to scribble ideas on.

Figure out where the sun rises and sets at times of year that you would want to be outside and base decisions on patio locations on that. http://suncalc.net/#/51.486,-0.2853,19/2018.04.13/08:30 is really amazing for this, choose times and you can see sunrise/sunset and can adjust the slider to see where the sun is at different times of day. Invaluable!

And when it comes to plants, plan for autumn/winter and spring... Almost anyone can make a garden look nice in summer/best months... Getting colour late into the year and early the next year is really nice. Dont forget some evergreens!

 

[platypus]

Another thing to consider as well is planting trees. Personally, I couldn't have a garden without then, but you really need to plan it. That link above from @samcat is awesome - use it to work out where the sun lines are and make sure you don't block them with trees! Also take care what you plant that the roots won't start to cause long term damage to the fence/house.

 

[Daaaavvveee]

When we got our new build, first job was to call the builders back out to dig out our air bricks

 

[#Chri5#]

As above, before ANYTHING is done get a load of sharp sand and organic matter down and rotavate it into the soil. This will help everything grow.

Also means you can pull out all the bricks and rubble just under the surface.

 

[samcat]

Another thing to consider as well is planting trees. Personally, I couldn't have a garden without then, but you really need to plan it.

Agreed!

Be careful with your choice of trees, some grow huge, some are a maintenance nightmare, some drop sticky stuff all over the place, some drop a lot of leaves/flowers etc...

Work out where you want your patio, place trees to provide some privacy and some shade when you want it. Remember that they will grow and get larger so pick carefully (probably best to take some advice).

 

[samcat]

Also means you can pull out all the bricks and rubble just under the surface.

Was just thinking this!

When we rotavated before putting manure into in in front garden when redoing it a few years back (1970s build) we spend quite some time pulling every stone larger than a large marble out and putting them in buckets/wheelbarrows and then into a skip we had at the time.

Not a large garden, we pulled a LOT out. Rotavate, get everything out we could, rotavated again and pulled the same again out... repeat a few times until nothing comes out/you get bored. Get some friends over, slab of beers in the fridge and promise of a takeaway once the job is done... Many hands makes short work!

After thats done add sharp sand, rotavate, add manure, rotavate... I then raked it flat, then did the same 90 degrees different... Grass seed all over, thin layer of compost on top of that, walk over every inch of it to compress the seed/compost in, then some short stakes and some net to keep the birds off. Water daily if it hasnt rained.

Its a bit of a chore but it is the most healthy garden/lawn in the street and has been since the job was done. Everything grows/flowers really happily in it, grass looks amazing shade of dark green!

 

[psd99]

Looks like a good project to get stuck into!

North east facing, so it means depending on how much clearance and the height of other buildings nearby, you won't get much sunshine there in the winter months. Summertime will be slightly better though.

it all depends what interests you the most, do you like BBQ's? kids? Mrs?

I like the idea of the patio being bigger, then there an option for flower beds or place to grow veg, but what stands out to me are trees and big shrubs! Have some trees for sure, otherwise it will just look plain and boring.

 

[Quartz]

How much time are you going to be able to devote to the garden? Because, if it's "not a lot" then consider paving the whole lot and having big tubs (aka raised beds) of greenery.

 

[Randomface74]

Having been through this with a new build, if I could go back I'd pave the whole thing. Stick some plant pots and furniture out there and call it done.

Keeping grass alive will be a constant struggle.

 

[Rroff]

That is an incredible sized garden for a new build!

My first thought seeing the pics was "Wait... you got more than 3 paving slabs worth of garden with a new build?!" around here the new builds have pathetic amounts of outdoor space.

Makes me a bit sad as around here all the older houses have around 40% larger gardens or bigger than that - growing up as a kid without the garden space we had would have been very dismal.

 

[danlightbulb]

What have you been offered by the builders OP? Im somewhat surprised to see its been left like that.

Will they pay for a truckload of manure, a few tonnes of sharp sand and lend you a rotovator? If so Id be inclined to get them to give you the materials and do the work myself.

 

[Kemik]

1. Where will you sit? Work out the patio area you want. I recommend against using decking as it requires maintenance and is a pain in the bum! Use the tool mentioned above to get a good idea for best placement. There should be a path back to the double doors if it is near the back of the garden.
2. Drainage. Which way will water flow? Try to dig in some kind of basic french drain before laying grass.
3. Storage. Do you need a shed? Where do you want that to go?
4. Grass. Prep the soil for general drainage then use seed if you're not in a rush. Loads of guides online.

 

[Skillmister]

My dad has just got a similar sized garden with his new build. Its grassed over and gets hilariously water logged.