What Do With Backyard?

[dave]

I'm trying to help my friend do something neat with her backyard. I'll try to post a picture of it so you can see what she is working with.

Right now it is pretty bad...

[Gnomeland]

Are the shrubs in the pic on her side of the fence or the other? Because they're going to take a while to grow, and that's one ugly fence. It may be an idea to plant something attractive along that fence to hide it.A flagtone patio under that ground story window would be nice, if she wants that sort of thing, and she could lay a trellis against that wall with a few wall clibers to add a bit of colour, as long as they're kept away from the window. It looks like she has a fairly decent sized plot of land there, so maybe a water feature of some sort would look nice in the centre. Maybe an ornamental pond???

Just a few thoughts...

[Darleen]

Ornamental pond sounds nice. Maybe a few small willows surrounding the back of it, with a small bench to rest out on on hot nights. Would be a nice little hideaway :)

[betty]

Stone table and chairs would be nice.. with a few rows of diffrent colorful flowers, planted there.

Erm.. well.. what do you think about porch swing? whatever swing like wooden/metal amd so on?

[Harold78]

I agree with Gnomeland RE the fence, it is hideous, but rather than just blocking the whole fence outwith trees that are going to take over a lot of your space, some trellis-work and some climbing plants would look nice. Clematis is one of my favourite climbers.

[UKGardener]

I think a bare garden like that needs something to build out from. A central tree, with path criss-crossing it gives a good start. Lawns can be placed in the 4 sections you are left with, and borders added round the edge of these, and if desired, shaped beds can be placed in the centre of the lawns. I'll try to get some plans and see what you think.

[UKGardener]

I've made a very rough plan of the sort of thing she could do with her garden. Obviously depending on location plants can be changed to suit.

Images are attached (I hope).

[mark]

I guess a small fish pond or a children playground will be best.
Juz an opinion of mine.
:)

[KThompson]

It seems to bank up towards that far fence, so there's the possibility there for a decorative retaining wall. Put a few evergreen shrubs up there, dot it with a few ornamental grasses, mulch it with a dark mulch (such as cocoa shell mulch) and you've got a very attractive replacement for that fence.

[dave]

Wow UK, those drawings look fantastic! How did you learn how to do that?

[UKGardener]

I think someone already covered the program I use in this thread. It's pretty simple to use, but as far as I know, most of the plants it covers are picked mainly for their ability to survive in the UK. It can give you a good graphical representation of how a garden would look with those types of plants though. Also, as mentioned in the thread above, it won't save still images, so if you want to print a design out, you need a screen capture program.

[danny]

Turn your backyard into a flower garden or a small playground with ponds.
Nice:) Another opinion, just leave it and trim the grass, and change your walls. it will be quite nice to have a place to lay down and relax during a smooth windy day.

[marciello]

Pool! Build a nice cozy swimming pool! I really love it! Hope one day I'll have my dream pool :rolleyes:

[matt]

My vote goes to growing some flowers, trees and a pond with fountain. UKGardener provides some great reference for a good garden, there are rooms of improvements.

[Tom]

How about building a nice shelter. Maybe a glass wall shelter and then put a cozy L shape couch. In front of it build a fountain. Such a nice place to rest and enjoy water theraphy.

[Frank]

With a blank canvas like that, anything's possible. Does your friend have any idea on what she'd like? Flowers, pond, raised beds, shrubs, water garden, etc?

If we could have some idea as to what she likes, I'm sure we could all come up with something.

[MnM]

Hot tub spa and children playground are nice~! woot~~! You may try it.. =]

[dave]

Well, she doesn't want anything that requires too much maintenance. She travels a lot and can't generally keep up with watering and pruning, etc...

[Philippa]

Ponds, waterfeatures, and swimming pools are all nice......IF you have the time and money to maintain them. I speak from experience. My last house had a koi pond...lots of upkeep, cleaning filters ,buying koi food, etc. I now live in a house with a swimming pool, which is great for getting the grandkids to spend time with you, but again, very expensive and time consuming upkeep, unless you can afford a service to do the upkeep.
I have lived in my new home for 2 years and have gradually been replacing anything that needs lots of care with low maintenance items. I have quite a bit of "yard art" as it never needs watering or pruning! It might sound a bit over the top, but it actually comes to gether nicely and I get lots of compliments. Some of the items I have are: wind chimes, several metal sculptures, vertical banners, solar lights, a garden gnome, a rock garden, a wooden deck, a brick patio, a stone retaining wall, a gazebo with hot tub, garden furniture, canvas awning, a flagstone walkway, a vine covered arbor....you get the picture. If a plant bites the dust it gets replaced by some kind of focal point that I don't have to water or prune.
For your friend's back yard I would suggest a large deck with a railing coming off the back of the house. The area under the deck could be used for storage. Have steps down to a large patio (flagstone is nice, but pricey....compacted crushed granite makes a nice surface), nice patio furniture. Take up as much of the yard as possible with little or no maintenance hard surfaces. Just have a few perrenials, if you have to, but use native plants so they will thrive with little care. Put in a couple of fast growing shade trees and someday put a hammock up between them. Instead of flower beds or grass, put in an evergreen ground cover (asian jasmine or creeping periwinkle works great in my area). Keep on the look out for interesting art pieces at local craft fairs, etc to add interest. I have everything from modern sculpture to folk art. The main idea is to make the back yard a living area, just like a room inside the house, that you can lounge in and enjoy the view or watch the kiddies play and not spend all day pulling weeds, adding chemicals, etc. My motto: Low maintenance! High enjoyment! Best, Philippa

[Philippa]

Ponds, waterfeatures, and swimming pools are all nice......IF you have the time and money to maintain them. I speak from experience. My last house had a koi pond...lots of upkeep, cleaning filters ,buying koi food, etc. I now live in a house with a swimming pool, which is great for getting the grandkids to spend time with you, but again, very expensive and time consuming upkeep, unless you can afford a service to do the upkeep.
I have lived in my new home for 2 years and have gradually been replacing anything that needs lots of care with low maintenance items. I have quite a bit of "yard art" as it never needs watering or pruning! It might sound a bit over the top, but it actually comes to gether nicely and I get lots of compliments. Some of the items I have are: wind chimes, several metal sculptures, vertical banners, solar lights, a garden gnome, a rock garden, a wooden deck, a brick patio, a stone retaining wall, a gazebo with hot tub, garden furniture, canvas awning, a flagstone walkway, a vine covered arbor....you get the picture. If a plant bites the dust it gets replaced by some kind of focal point that I don't have to water or prune.
For your friend's back yard I would suggest a large deck with a railing coming off the back of the house. The area under the deck could be used for storage. Have steps down to a large patio (flagstone is nice, but pricey....compacted crushed granite makes a nice surface), nice patio furniture. Take up as much of the yard as possible with little or no maintenance hard surfaces and ground covers. Just have a few perrenials, if you have to, but use native plants so they will thrive with little care. Put in a couple of fast growing shade trees and someday put a hammock up between them. Instead of flower beds or grass, put in an evergreen ground cover (asian jasmine or creeping periwinkle works great in my area). Keep on the look out for interesting art pieces at local craft fairs, etc to add interest. I have everything from modern sculpture to folk art. The main idea is to make the back yard a living area, just like a room inside the house, that you can lounge in and enjoy the view or watch the kiddies play and not spend all day pulling weeds, adding chemicals, etc. My motto: Low maintenance! High enjoyment! Best, Philippa

[amanda]

wow!!! UK Gardener. Thats an awesome design layout you have. I think it would work well in that backyard. I was going to suggest an area with some seating. The fountain in between both benches looks relaxing
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[wilson]

I'd love to have Koi pond in my backyard.
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