Moving in, we had nothing but a lawn, an old glass green house that had to go due to young kids and a neglected veg patch. Getting rid of the weeds was epic and took years. We started by first planting native trees (birch, rowan, oak and rowan) and then focused on shrubs and are now moving on to flowers and climbers up the new fences. We’ve also planted some more trees recently against the fences (crab apple, hazel and field maple). First came the aphids on the birch leaves, followed by the ladybrids, sparrows, blue tits and blackbirds and now pollinators. We installed a sunken pond in a mortar mixing trough from eBay and some pond plants. We now have 7 frogs living in it with numerous insects and water snails. Wild flower seed mixes have brought colour and keep the weeds at bay in the beds we haven’t planted yet. The birch give shade and privacy and it’s our little oasis in city. We started with a plan to build a wildlife friendly garden and just research where to put each plant. Understanding the aspect of your garden is key.
Plebbins
What the hell is a Zone 8
bachobserver
Love it! Looks so cozy.
goosegoosegooz
Wow what a transformation! Thanks for sharing
Early_Cobbler_9227
This is great, and really encouraging as someone who’s at the start of a similar project!
We moved in to a very bland garden with just grass and a dug-in trampoline. Over winter, we took out the trampoline, filled the pit in with soil and have now planted a mix of rowan, guelder, hawthorn, crab apple & spindle of varying ages with a widlflower and native grass meadow underneath. Neighbouring houses have a good array of hawthorn, dog rose and lilac too, in otherwise bland gardens. Our wildflower and native grass are just kicking off and we’ve let them run completely wild, so it looks a bit overgrown currently. It’s great to see the trees growing nicely in yours after just a few years.
FYI, Meadowmania do some great wildflower/native seed mixes aligned to conditions and soil types.
We’ve got a mini-pond in too, and have had a few frogs and newts. It’s proving difficult to manage with the leaf litter from the hawthorn and wildflowers!
tera_dragon
The silver birch are beautiful 💜
oliviaxlow
Beautiful! What a great space
Lotsoffeelings
Why are the supporting poles for trees slanted out of interest?
Total-Combination-47
whats a fantastic transformation. I know how much hard work went into this. It looks fab.
trcocam29
Massive improvement. Looks tranquil.
Booboodelafalaise
That’s lovely! It’s going to get better and better year on year as well. Congratulations on all your hard work!
SnooSquirrels8508
I’m not sure Forest Garden is very accurate LOL. It’s very pretty though.
malmz
Well done! So nice to see the frogs have just appeared. If I ever get a yard big enough I’d love to make a pond.
luala
Great to see a proper deep bed, so many people aren’t bold enough to make proper planting space!
LesDauphins
This is the sort of thing you would see on Gardeners World. Really good, you should be proud.
noddledidoo
Looks lovely! Did you do anything to constrain the birch? I’d love to plant one but I’m worried it’s going to get too big / the roots would disturb some foundations. Any hints on how close to a house or fence I could go?
oldsch0olsurvivor
Much prefer this to slate great slabs and live laugh love signs… wonderful job
18 Comments
Moving in, we had nothing but a lawn, an old glass green house that had to go due to young kids and a neglected veg patch. Getting rid of the weeds was epic and took years. We started by first planting native trees (birch, rowan, oak and rowan) and then focused on shrubs and are now moving on to flowers and climbers up the new fences. We’ve also planted some more trees recently against the fences (crab apple, hazel and field maple). First came the aphids on the birch leaves, followed by the ladybrids, sparrows, blue tits and blackbirds and now pollinators. We installed a sunken pond in a mortar mixing trough from eBay and some pond plants. We now have 7 frogs living in it with numerous insects and water snails. Wild flower seed mixes have brought colour and keep the weeds at bay in the beds we haven’t planted yet. The birch give shade and privacy and it’s our little oasis in city. We started with a plan to build a wildlife friendly garden and just research where to put each plant. Understanding the aspect of your garden is key.
What the hell is a Zone 8
Love it! Looks so cozy.
Wow what a transformation! Thanks for sharing
This is great, and really encouraging as someone who’s at the start of a similar project!
We moved in to a very bland garden with just grass and a dug-in trampoline. Over winter, we took out the trampoline, filled the pit in with soil and have now planted a mix of rowan, guelder, hawthorn, crab apple & spindle of varying ages with a widlflower and native grass meadow underneath. Neighbouring houses have a good array of hawthorn, dog rose and lilac too, in otherwise bland gardens. Our wildflower and native grass are just kicking off and we’ve let them run completely wild, so it looks a bit overgrown currently. It’s great to see the trees growing nicely in yours after just a few years.
FYI, Meadowmania do some great wildflower/native seed mixes aligned to conditions and soil types.
We’ve got a mini-pond in too, and have had a few frogs and newts. It’s proving difficult to manage with the leaf litter from the hawthorn and wildflowers!
The silver birch are beautiful 💜
Beautiful! What a great space
Why are the supporting poles for trees slanted out of interest?
whats a fantastic transformation. I know how much hard work went into this. It looks fab.
Massive improvement. Looks tranquil.
That’s lovely! It’s going to get better and better year on year as well. Congratulations on all your hard work!
I’m not sure Forest Garden is very accurate LOL. It’s very pretty though.
Well done! So nice to see the frogs have just appeared. If I ever get a yard big enough I’d love to make a pond.
Great to see a proper deep bed, so many people aren’t bold enough to make proper planting space!
This is the sort of thing you would see on Gardeners World. Really good, you should be proud.
Looks lovely! Did you do anything to constrain the birch? I’d love to plant one but I’m worried it’s going to get too big / the roots would disturb some foundations. Any hints on how close to a house or fence I could go?
Much prefer this to slate great slabs and live laugh love signs… wonderful job
but… where did the frogs come from
did you have a spawn egg like in minecraft?