Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Oct 08, 2010 1:59 pm Hey everyone, We moved into our new build 10mths ago and we have barely touched the back garden. We have absolutely no idea what to do with it. We think grass, mainly because we have no other ideas, gardening is so not our area of expertise so am hoping for some ideas and advice The back is only approx 18mx6m. We have approx 4mx2m concrete jutting out from the alfresco into the garden space. Along the rear fence (18m) was thinking of putting in a small bed running the whole length with something in like lemon tree, or some other plants/small trees that grow something useful to eat! We have 3 small children and have a swing set to put up so need some type of covering for playing on (hence why we keep coming back to grass). We keep putting of turfing it as we are both reluctant with the mowing and watering part As very little has been done to it some sort of grass (inc some weeds!) has developed over most of it in the past few months eek Help help help! We have no idea at all but am getting very fed up of the kids not being able to go out and play. Cheers! Re: need some serious help deciding what to do! 2Oct 10, 2010 3:00 pm Have you tried touring display homes, to see what's been done in smallish areas? Garden/landscaping magazines are another good source of ideas, or Google some landscapers and have a look through their galleries... Inspiration rarely appears out of thin air, so I trawl through a lot of photos before making decisions on anything. If you don't want to go for grass in the kids' play area, you could use soft mulches under the swing set etc. Re: need some serious help deciding what to do! 3Oct 10, 2010 10:48 pm i'd suggest planting all sorts of fruit trees round the boundary. Later you can drop some poles in and some fencing wire and train them to grow flat and be productive The select a spot that gets some winter sun and set up some raised beds for growing veggies. Make paths from gravel or saw dust or even fine pine bark. The kids will have a ball running through the pathways round the place and burning off some energy Then select an area for the swing set and some other space for the munchkins to play Some Sir Walter, Palmetto or my fav Empire Zoysia would go a treat. I'll leave turf choice to you as there are enough posts relating to it to write a book. Now I really get a buzz froim seeing how well kids warm to growing their own food! They in many cases become better than the mums and dads! Makes a big difference to your weekly grocery bill and introduces you to a new world of community spirit, swapping foods with neighbours and living a healthier lifestyle. All that and having a space that is well used and highly effective in managing the families activities. the kids will forever remember the stuff kids should remember, climibing trees, smelling fruit, knowing what soil is and what healthy soil smells like. How do you do it? Well review many of my threads out lining soil prep, think about what you like to eat and what you can find. Then just chuck them in the soil and mulch well with natural uncomposted ,mulches like tree lopper mulch or straw, and wait and watch Maybe even have a few chooks Your own eggs. It doesn't take up more time, it just makes us all use our time better for better purposes Hi VK, I am now retired however I have stood beside over 300 owner builders in the past 18 years that have successfully built their own homes. First of all a building… 10 22561 Thank you so much for the effort. We will use it to talk with builder. We also had idea of building duplex instead and seeking suggest ions. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=106744 11 13769 6 11469 |