ᐅ Garden Photos Chat Corner

Winniefred schrieb:

Nordlys, I’m curious to see how your flower bed develops. It looks harmonious so far. However, I would definitely plant additional plants. I’d be concerned that too many weeds might spread in the meantime, since it will take quite a while before it’s fully grown in.

The flower bed at the front is my wife’s territory. I’m not allowed to touch it. I have the lawn and the embankment at the back—that’s mine. We take care of the planters together. That way, we share the work, as I’m gradually stepping away from full-time work while she’s still fully engaged. K.

I think it’s nice that you’re sharing this! My husband stays out of it (but he helps with heavy tasks when I ask him).

How did you approach planning your garden? Did you have a clear "concept" from the start, or did you just have loose ideas in mind that gradually developed over time?

We have no idea where or how to even begin. (Of course, the house needs to be built first, and we won’t think about this until then.)

In our case, the garden was quite overgrown and there was quite a bit of rubbish and dilapidated structures. For example, there was a wooden shelter about 10 meters long (33 feet) leaning against the wall, a huge compost heap with asbestos sheets, some rubbish buried in places, and rubbish piles overgrown with ivy — and who knows what else. Most of it wasn’t even visible at first. So we started by removing all the trash and cutting back a lot of the ivy. We pruned fruit trees, removed sick and beyond-saving plants and trees, and took down unstable “buildings.” Only then could we really see what we were dealing with. After that, I removed a large part of the flower bed area — a huge amount of work, digging everything up, uprooting, and digging out the edging. I refilled everything and seeded grass. Then I began planting new vegetation, gradually as the budget allowed. My main guideline was that all plants should be perennial, hardy in winter, preferably native and/or beneficial for insects, and as non-toxic as possible since we have children and pets. I didn’t spend too much time overthinking it — I just considered how tall the plants should grow (for privacy or not, front or back of the bed, etc.) and then bought whatever was available. It’s also worth noting that the carport, garage, solid shed, and pavilion were already in place, as was the paved area and the small greenhouse. That saved us a lot of decisions.

Tina mit K schrieb:

How did you approach your garden planning? Did you have a concrete "concept" from the start, or did you just have loose ideas in mind that gradually developed over time?

We actually have no idea where or how to even begin. (Of course, the house has to be built first, and we’re not thinking about it before then.)

We had a rough concept, especially regarding the terrace (two levels with a raised bed in the middle) surrounded by planting beds for privacy screening. The grasses and bamboo are still there. The landscaper installed a 1.50-meter (5-foot) wide gravel border as a path and laid the rest with sod to keep the weeds under control.
Once the landscaper finished, the real work began. We’re still working on it – in winter, you realize something evergreen is missing, in spring, you notice the need for something with pink flowers, and so on.

I am still working on the design and have the issue that I am missing about 5,000 square meters (54,000 square feet) to implement everything I like.

Basically, I approached it similarly to the house project.
What do I want?
How big?
What am I allowed to do?
What is available?

Fruit trees, vegetable garden, play area, terrace, etc.
Pinterest or garden books from the library provide ideas.
Catalogs provide information on location and prices.

Part 1 can be seen in the photos here.
Stones are available.
The wall must match the existing structures.
Privacy screening without a prison-yard atmosphere.
Terrace.
Space for playing.