Hi everyone. I got so excited when me and my SO bought our new patch of ground; thinking mostly of the garden ofcourse! So I immediately sat down to draw and after "meticulously" setting out the boundaries and the house I could start dreaming.
The drawings are made with paint (yes, very professional, I know...
) and more or less to scale. They differ in the placing of my (potting) shed (IF my bf ever allows me to have one AND in this shape). One more or less south facing and on the other more or less west facing (the garden is north-east oriented).
12m wide, 96m (or 106m according to another source) long
Even though I'm the gardener slash plant hoarder in the house, the bf also has his wishes, so I TRIED to take them into account - more or less muahaha (except for the pool - though very modern and cool to own one, I aint cleaning that sh*t!).
With the house placed "before" the sun, it'll block some light for the first few metres only, especially in summer, but with the length of the garden there's plenty more left furhter down, and it creates wonderful (half)shady opportunities.
So I got to work. I like privacy so I'd like the garden to be totally surrounded by a (evergreen) hedge (maybe a bit of wall to train fruit trees) and some espaliers to block the neighbours views.
Since I already stated I'm a bit of a hoarder and easily get swayed by beautiful jewels from different habitats, I kind of designed around different ecosystems and 'looks': there are two meadow like patches at the back. The largest at the end will be open to the view of the farmer's field with 4 trees off center (I've really spent a sh*t load amount of time online searching for trees and their growth patterns, trying to find the perfect one; not too tall, but not too small either, open canopy, deciduous, gorgeous in winter etc) and I came up with a birch:
Betula nigra 'Little King'.
(If I can get my hands on one, let alone 3...)
Underplanted with medium-tall grasses, camassia's and Dactylorhiza (or other meadow orchids), maybe some Iris sibirica if they can hold themselves amongst the thuggish grasses.
Right in front of that a long narrow lawn - ideal for sunbathing or to play fetch with the dog (yes you guessed it; one of the bf's demands
)
Roughly in the middle of the drawing a large (just how "large" we'll see in a few years time lol) central flower bed. It's in full sun and lies in direct view of the main patio/back windows so I want to take the opportunity to make it a hotbed for plants that love lots of sun, heat and perhaps fast drainage. Think of Agapanthus, species tulips (which I've developped a bit of a thing for recently), herbs, Alliums etc. I don't know what the soil is yet, but from the first glance it looked reasonably well drained.
--> Food for thought: if the soil proves to be more clay like than I thought, would it be possible (read wise) to dig out the bed as deep as possible - if need be with an excavator -, line the edges with a to water sort of impenetrable barrier, but an open bottom and plant in that? Like a pool with no floor and backfill with a sharper draining/sandy soil. If deep enough, possible rising water from the bottom up might not reach the roots so high in time to cause water logging? That's the theory...Advice welcome!
On the (bottom)side that's in shade most of the day is the perfect opportunity for a woodland. This is where things get hard to decide. I like lush, design plantings with the typical shade loving plants: Hostas, ferns, Rodgersia etc. But I also like the moor natural woodland look: a carpet of indigenous yellow Eranthis in late winter/early spring or white Anemone's, mixed with other low growing natives. You know what I mean, a bit of the wilder side with less 'design'.
BUT I also like formality with box balls and hedges.
AND they're color themed: one yellow, the other white.
So I've come up with a - don't mind if I say so myself - genius design: divide the avaible length in three (not nessecarily equal) divided by a low hedge and arrange some (multistemmed! VERY IMPORTANT!) trees asymmetrically between the beds (possibly B. nigra 'Little King' again to continue coherency throughout the garden).
Plant some "formal informality" as I call it at the base: odd numbers of (box) balls, hosta, ferns and other taller shade perennials.
Rest of the bed can then be planted more wild woodland like according to color. I've already decided on which haha
Yellow: Eranthis hyemalis, Anemone ranuncoloides, Erythronium tuolumnense, indigenous primula and for some real gems -> Tulipa palustris and Cypripedium calceolus/pubescens.
White: Anemone nemorosa, Sanguinaria canadensis, Cornus canadensis, Galium odoratum, Allium ursinum.
On the other side that receives plenty of sun: alot of opportunities, but nothing specific yet so I'll spare you the boring part haha.
Moving furter up we come to where I'd like the potting shed. Modern style - almost poolhouse-like with big windows and plenty of space to play around
Next to it a little patio to clean tools etc and some space for enough compost bins and leaf cages; not too far from the house mind you. (Little secret for you guys: I'm quite lazy, so whenever I happen to have a tiny bit of kitchen waste; 1 banana peel for example, I just flick it somewhere amongst the mulch lol
).
Then some more spaces on either side. Again I'll spare you the details. Not that there are any...
We're almost at the house: a medium sized lawn in front of the main patio, ideal for entertaining friends and family that don't feel like walking all the way to the back to throw a with dog saliva covered tennisball back and forth
Up next: main patio - self explanatory. Only thing I'd like to point out is: if there should be the possibility; I'd like to anchor a stury framework in the wall above the large windows running more than half the width of the back (yes, I've got a thing for asymmetry), around the corner and then some more to grow a heavy climber. Preferably wisteria, but doubt it'll receive enough sun there so thoughts welcome.
That's pretty much it guys. I know it's a long read, but I wanted to share my thoughts with people who feel just as passionate about these things as I do.
All commentary is welcome: praise (I know, I know, but bowing is not neccesary
), rant, anger, tips, disappointments, tweaks....Anything, also about plants ^^
