Need help & advice for our new garden

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Hello all,

This is my first time on this forum and hope you can help. My wife and I have bought our new home (first time buyers) and with the house comes a garden measuring 10m x 9m. We are both absolute novices and depending on the level of work required, may bring in professionals to do part of the work. Although, I would like the chance to do much of it myself, im not shy of hard work and I would like to learn.

The steps we are considering are as follows:
We intend on leveling the garden as far as reasonably practicable and put in sleepers where required.
Remove the rubble and leftover building materials from the garden soil and generally add any treatment products required for the soil
Turf the garden until we can decide where we may want areas to grow plants or have decking/paving.

We have attached pictures to show you how it currently looks and have labelled the pictures with corner numbers to help in explanation. I have more pictures available at ground level.

The gradients between corner 3 & 4 / 1 & 4 do not seem like a problem to me.

There is a gradient between corner 1 & 2 which is very steep and I feel we may need to remove some soil and add some sleepers against the fence area to lower this gradient. In turn this will help us with the gradient between corner 2 & 3.

Please let me know if I am incorrect in anything I have said and I would appreciate any advice on what we could do with the space?

20200225_174210.jpg
20200225_174253.jpg

20200225_174347.jpg


Corner 3 Perspective.jpg
Corner 4 perspective.jpg


Kind Regards,
Adam
 
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Welcome Adam. :) Assuming your home is a new build the first thing you must do is dig fairly deep to remove any building rubbish that's been buried. Even though it's been very wet recently it looks as if you may have a drainage problem, so another issue to be dealt with. If the soil is clay then gravel and or sand and compost will need to be dug in and also possibly laying a French drain if the ground continues to flood. If you decide to use professionals I would suggest speaking to a firm of groundworkers first in preference to landscapers. They will be more likely to solve your drainage issues and also lighter in cost. To offset the gradient the garden could be terraced, similar to the picture of your neighbours garden but not necessarily the same layout. I've attached a link that may help you with ideas.....


Decking is attractive but can be lethal in winter becoming slippery with moss growth or ice and will also need regular maintenance.
 
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Greetings, welcome to the Forums.

I agree that at least one step-up terrace should be installed so that the garden soil and debris doesn't constantly erode onto that narrow concrete patio beside the house. Wooden sleepers can be used, but landscape bricks would be better. They come in numerous colours and shapes. Go with red or yellow to match the brickwork you already have. Also construct a raised bed of brick about 50 cm high and 100 cm deep all around the edge of your garden's brick wall, and against the wooden fence too, with a brick backing wall. This will give you plenty of space to plant and easily admire and access a wide variety of ornamental shrubs, vines, and perennials, or vegetables and small fruit trees if you so desire. Additional raised beds could be installed in the middle of the garden, but perhaps you wish a lawn, slip-resistant deck, or other amenity there.
 

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