You may have read that we have started Operation Garden Renovation this Spring. We had it in mind that we would get going with this project this year and with the sunny weather arriving, we have made the most of it and got out there nice and early.
At the moment it is all about clearance and creating a blank canvas we can work with. It was so higgledy piggeldy before and felt a lot smaller than it is. We had an idea in our head of how we wanted it to end up looking, but honestly, as the clearance has progressed we have changed our minds and are now uncertain of how we would like it to look.
Love cottage gardens
We have to think about how we are going to use the garden. While I would love a cottage style garden or an abundance of wildflowers, that look doesn’t really fit with the space we have, or what we want to use it for. We have a child and hope to have another. We need space for them to run and play and explore as they grow. We want them to learn to ride trikes and bikes in the garden. We’d love them to play football, or have a swingball in the garden. I love the idea of waterfights in the summer.
We need open spaces. A mix of deck/patio and lawn. With some beds of trees and bushes and flowers too.
We originally thought that we would like a large decked area, pretty much where the existing patio was but going off diagonally rather than squared. However we realised that that area is hugely sunny, and actually it may be better to have the seating area in the one slightly shady bit of the garden, which is under the tree, behind the conservatory.
We’re also wondering whether decking is the way to go, or to go for a patio. Not like the rubbish patio that was there before, but perhaps a curved path starting from the garage door, curving round past the conservatory doors, and opening out onto a large curved patio area. There are so many different designs of patios, with a variety of colours and shapes and sizes of stones.
Hubby really likes this circular design, and I do like it, but I’ not sure how you then lead that into a path around the house…
This is quite nice too:
(Both the above Patio images come from Rose Landscapes in Peterborough)
We want most of the area to be lawned and then will have a few beds, and we would love to plant a few young trees, sort of spread around the edges of the garden, for a bit of privacy as they grow over the years. (Plus I have a hammock and I would love to be able to have a couple of trees to attach it to again! :))
We’d like some trees to give us some lovely colour and texture throughout the year. I’d love some beautiful blossom in spring, and some gorgeous russet or golden leaves in the autumn.
Perhaps a Japanese Dogwood for some nice blossom?
and a Chinese Tupelo, or Oriental Sweet Gum for autumn colours?
These are obviously rather large specimens and we will be starting off with much smaller versions of these!
Then we will think about bushes (love a nice hebe), get some spring bulbs in for next year and plan some summer flowers too.
LOTS to think about with this garden renovation. We are doing well on the clearance front (more to come on that on Wednesday) but I think we will need to get an expert in to help us decide on patio/deck and the designs etc. as we hope this renovation will be the only renovation on the garden and last for many many years to come. We don’t want to make a hasty decision and then regret it within a few years (or months!).
It is good fun though, we have got a real project to sink our teeth into, and a blank canvas so we can make our garden exactly how we want it to be… if we can figure out what that is!!
I am linking this post up with Iona and Jocelyn for The Theme Game, as this week’s theme is Gardens.
I am also linking up to the lovely Sara for The Prompt, which this week is all about Spring Projects, and this is very much our Spring Project!
Loved your ideas! Good luck with renovating your garden! Enjoy the sunshine and spring..:)
Thank you, it will be nice to have a lovely garden to enjoy this summer! Hopefully 😉 x
Wow, lots of decisions to be made there! Exciting though – its lovely watching a garden project come together. #TheThemeGame
Yes, lots of decisions, it’s a bit daunting but definitely exciting too! xx
So many ideas! It’s so nice for little nes to have a space to do all of the things you mention. Especially play swing ball. A though I have memories of ours leaning somewhat!!
I know, bit daunting really, I hope we can make it everything we want it to be! 🙂 xx
Ah, the blank canvas can be tricky, though! I like to imagine and plan, but there are so many options to play with! It is great to have a lovely space for Monkey to play in, and for it all to look pretty. I will look forward to seeing how it develops 🙂 Thanks for sharing with #TheThemeGame x
Yeah, the problem with the blank canvas is too much choice really! I really hope we can achieve what we want from it! Thank you, I am sure there will be 1 or 2 more posts about this! xx
How exciting to have a blank canvas like that (although I know you’ve been working hard to clear it!) I love the top circular design-it could quite naturally tail off into a snake like path maybe? I love fruit so have a permanent fruit section of the garden-maybe some raspberries? Thanks for sharing with #TheThemeGame
Spring is always good for getting going on the garden. We got rid of our decking last year and added a nice patio similar to your pics above, I would recommend patio over decking, the decking was so slippery, whenever it was wet the kids kept falling over on it. Good luck with it.
Hmm that’s what we have been thinking more and more so we probably will go with a patio. We had a man round to look at the garden last night but think it’s going to cost more and take longer than we thought… hopefully will be ok though as our garden now looks like a wasteland so we have to do something with it! xx
What lovely ideas, I really wish our garden even looked like yours now, we have such a lot of work to do. Good luck with yours.
Thank you, hmm yeah sadly it wasn’t as nice as it looked in that picture. It was kind of liveable with but not at all how we wanted it so it’s taking a lot of hard work but we are getting there, slowly but surely! Thank you and same to you! xx
What fun! You have lots of lovely ideas. I’m determined to redesign part of our garden this year. Hope you post your progress. #SavouringtheSeason
Thank you! Oh yes I will be keeping everybody updated, it is taking over a big chunk of our lives at the moment!! xx
I hope everything will turn out great in your renovation! Pictures looks promising and I cant wait to see the finish product =)
#TheThemeGame
Thank you, fingers crossed, will keep everyone posted don’t you worry! 🙂 xx
So many great idea and so many decisions to make, I look forward to reading about your progress #ThePrompt
Yeah it’s a bit overwhelming sometimes but hopefully we will get there! Will keep you posted! xx
Lots of lovely ideas! I’m really looking forward to seeing the transformation 🙂 We share our garden with our neighbour which limits my possibilities rather… I would love to get more colour into mine x Thanks so much for linking with #ThePrompt x
Oh yes I can imagine that would make things a bit more tricky! to put your own stamp on it! I’m sure I will be blogging lots about how we get on! xx
Beautiful ideas, and a lovely patch to work with! Am sure it’ll all look stunning in a few months! We have a small courtyard so not much to do other than go out and buy a BBQ! 🙂
#ThePrompt
Thank you, fingers crossed it will all turn out the way we hope! xx
There’s something actually special of planning out a garden and then watching it mature and flourish as your children grow.
That’s very much what we are hoping – get a solid simple base and then watch the trees and shrubs mature over the years 🙂 xx
There is something about spring that just makes you want to renovate the garden! We gave ours a facelift last year, and it was so lovely all through the summer to be able to really enjoy it! Looking forward to seeing the finished product!! #SavouringtheSeason
aww that is what is keeping me going, the thought of enjoying it throughout the summer!! xx